I’ll never forget the day. I was a broken man. I had no reason to be broken, I had just baptized eight people, our sanctuary was packed to the gills, the Holy Spirit spoke convincingly during my sermon, people responded by repenting of sin, and we had new families join the church. By all normal accounts, this should have been one of the greatest Sundays of my life and yet, there I was, seated in a chair in my office after the service, sobbing.
It was there that I was found. Not found in the salvific sense, God found me and saved me at nine years old. No, I was found by my wife in a heap of emotions and depression. I, the strong leading husband, pastor, and father was broken and alone–or so I thought. Certainly in that moment I was broken, I was a wreck and though I didn’t know it at the time, I was on the precipice of the most challenging six months of my life. The days following that warm summer Sunday would be filled with sleepless nights, personal sickness, the deaths of loved ones and church members, uncertainties and darkness would surround me and many that I knew and loved. I was in a mess and the mess was about to get worse, but I was NOT alone.
Of course we are never alone, we have those warm promises from Jesus, “I will not leave you as orphans.” But, in that moment I felt like Elijah must have, “I alone am left.” I felt that kind of alone, all alone to suffer and carry my problems. And there I was alone in my office, wallowing in my own all alone problems, and there I was when my wife found me. She found me and I was ashamed. I was as emotionally naked as I could be, I felt like Adam must have felt when he was first seen by Eve after the fall–I was ashamed and I wanted to hide. But, of course, it was too late to hide. I had been found and I had been found by the one person on planet earth from whom I could not truly hide.
In that moment Angela prayed for me. I don’t know exactly what she said, I know that she sat in my lap and took my head in her hands and she prayed not only for me, she prayed over me. She begged for God’s protection and she prayed for me to be strengthened. I was broken, but I was not alone. My helpmate had found me, bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh, she had found me and she began the process of seeing to my healing and my restoration. My wife prayed for me.
Ladies, there is power in your prayers. What do you long for God to do in your husband’s life? Have you told God? Have you cried out to God on behalf of your husband? Have you interceded for your husband? I have a huge passion to see men lead in their homes in accordance with God’s plan, but I have a passion to also see women thrive and grow in their homes alongside their husbands. Ladies, is your husband failing to lead? PRAY. Is your husband struggling with depression? PRAY. Is your husband weighed down by the burden of providing for your family? PRAY.
Proverbs 18:22 says, “He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord.” I have a great wife. She is my best friend, my cheerleader, my strongest accountability, and my fiercest protector (its true, even though she is little). Ladies, your husbands are blessed to have you in their lives. Do not lose sight of the great power you possess as a godly wife. Your husband should never be alone. Pray for him, love him, and trust him to lead you. If you want a husband to lead you, it can’t happen until you are willing to follow him.
Resource:
Piper on how to get your husband to lead. The specific directions for ladies begins at 18:45
