But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. 2 Corinthians 9:6-7
This verse is typically mentioned when speaking about finances. That makes sense knowing the background: Paul encourages the Corinthian church to continue giving liberally.
This weekend, though, my mind opened. I took God's Word out of a box.
One of my girls - a True Sister - and I were getting it in with marriage encouragement! We were reading a book that referenced 2 Corinthians 9:8. The Spirit urged me to read the verses leading up to there and that is what's above.
It really was a light bulb moment: If I sow sparingly into my husband, I will reap sparingly; if I sow bountifully into my husband, I will reap bountifully; and when I sow it must be done cheerfully.
Simple, but very True. As Godly wives, we know what God requires of us. We are to give grace at all times - that is, even if we feel they don't deserve it, we are to give it.
Let's be honest - that can be very hard to do.
Realizing that any act other than what God has commanded is disobedience, our actions should always glorify God and please Him. Therefore, honoring and respecting my husband first shows my allegiance to God. Second, it allows room for my husband to walk confidently in his God-given role.
So this grace that we wives give must be done cheerfully! Being honest again, I think that cheerfulness comes after we practice doing it - lol. The more it's practiced, the more natural it becomes. It's just like free throws (iDig basketball) - the more you practice, they become effortless. You can make them in your sleep without even thinking about it. That's where we want to be - where we don't think twice about showing grace because it's effortless, it's natural.
I can grudgingly hang up the coat that I have asked repeatedly to be hung up and not thrown over the chair OR, I can cheerfully and gracefully hang up the coat.
All the "but what if" questions that come to mind - I know them. I've said them. And I felt very justified in doing so. I'm telling you that they have held me up from simply obeying God's Word. I didn't feel that way last week. I thank God for His pruning process.
Basically, God said, "Wife, reverence your husband." There are no caveats to it. Our feelings will get in the way of this. Those feelings are not a valid excuse to disobey God's Word.
*sigh* I know - take a deep breath. Father, you are perfect in ALL your ways. You designed the marriage relationship to be a beautiful reflection of the loving God that you are. Help your daughters to be obedient in all things. Please help us to kill our flesh daily so that we are not in bondage to our fleshly feelings. We thank you for your Word that guides us and tells us exactly what to do. Father, we Love you and we want to show Your Love to our husbands, unconditionally. We praise you NOW, for abiding in us and giving us the power to be the Godly wives that YOU called us to be. In Jesus' mighty name we pray ~ Amen!