Thursday, April 25, 2013

Delighting In Your Man

I recently had the honor and privilege of sharing a few thoughts on marriage at a friends personal shower; it was a convicting experience for me!  I still, daily, need reminders like this.  I hope these thoughts can be a blessing to all who read them :)

~ Lydia


Delighting in Your Man

 
You've waited, prayed and kept yourself for this man.  The day you marry him will be one of wonder and delight, but as those moments fades into memories never forget to delight in this man you chose.

Elizabeth Elliot says in "Let Me Be a Woman",  "You hear the call, you answer, you accept the task, you enter into it willingly and eagerly.  You commit yourself to its disciplines and responsibilities, and limitations, and privileges.  You concentrate on it, giving yourself to it day after day in a life long 'Yes'.  Having said 'yes' to the man who asked you to marry him, you go on saying 'yes' to marriage."
 
Saying "yes" to marriage is a daily privilege and at times requires great effort.  But striving to delight in your man is one of the most powerful things you can do for your marriage!


Principles of Delight (or practical application):


1)  Never quench the spirit of delight and wonder you experience at the sound of his voice!

   I charge  you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes and the hinds of the field that ye stir not up nor awaken my love till he please.
   The voice of my beloved!  Behold, he cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills.
                                                            Song of Solomon 2:8&9



2)  Know why you love/chose this man, and never forget it!
                                                Song of Solomon 5:9-16
   - Make a list (write it down)
   - Tell him! (the spoken word is powerful)
   - Show him (actions reinforce your words)
   - Tell others (there is nothing wrong with bragging up your man!)
   - Tell your children (there is nothing more powerful in the life of a child than knowing their mama adores daddy)


 
3)   Love on him!

                                    1st Corinthians 7:1-5
   Men need physical affection, more so than we as woman, never let your ministry of love be lacking in this area, there is no better way to show your man how much you delight in him!



4)  Listen to his concerns and preferences

In household matters we tend to think we are all knowing and he is not.  God will bless you as you show your delight to your husband by choosing to honor his requests or preferences in your home, in food, clothing, media (both if he is more strict or more lenient than you)


In Closing:
Jealously Guard his Love
  Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame.
   Many waters can not quench love, neither can the floods drown it: if a man would give all the sustenance

 of his house for love, it would utterly be contemned.
Song of Solomon 8:6&7

-  Keep his confidence
-  Encourage him
- Submit
- Show honor in the small things
- Brag on him
- Lavish him with Affection
- Always be physically available for him
- Initiate


You are now the keeper of his heart! 
As you nurture your wonder and awe of the man God created for you, lavish him with your delight
and let him know how much you treasure the gift of his heart.
Never let him wonder!
Be "proactive".
Don't be afraid of letting EVERYONE know how much you DELIGHT in
YOUR MAN!