What Every Woman Wants What Every Man Needs

Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.”
—Genesis 2:18

Unity in marriage is highly overrated. In fact, unity in marriage can be downright boring. It is not your similarities to your mate but your differences from your mate that spice up the marriage relationship. It is significant that when God recognized Adam’s need for companionship, He made a woman, not another man. He created the woman to be the counterpart of the man, different from him and yet able to create harmony with him.

This week, we will look at the relationship between a husband and a wife. And you will discover why you can celebrate rather than commiserate over the profound differences between you and your mate.

Let’s remember the reason for marriage in the first place. After God created the vegetation and the animals, His crowning achievement was creating a human. Then God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone” (Genesis 2:18). This is the first time God said something was not good. Now, Adam was not by himself. He had all the animals around him. He even had a perfect relationship with God. But God created us to need human companionship. So to meet this need in Adam’s life, God said, “I will make him a helper suitable for him.”

Notice two words that describe his wife, Eve. First, God said she was a “helper.” I know this goes against the grain of what we are taught in society today. But women, unless God has given you the gift of being single, your greatest purpose comes from being a helper to your husband. Now, is that saying that women are inferior to men? Not at all! This word “helper” is used 21 times in the Old Testament–and 15 times the word “helper” refers to God. Why do humans need God as our helper? Is it because we are so strong and self-sufficient? No, it’s because of our weaknesses that we need God to help us. A wife is God’s provision to make up for her husband’s deficiencies. God gave Adam a wife to help shore up the weak points in his life.

The second word describing the woman is “suitable.” God calls Eve “a helper suitable for him.” That word “suitable” in Hebrew means “corresponding to” or “opposite of.” If the woman is to shore up the deficiencies in the man, then she has to be different than the man. God never meant for the wife to be a carbon copy of her husband.

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Today’s devotion is excerpted from “What Every Woman Wants, What Every Man Needs” by Dr. Robert Jeffress, 2009.

Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.