There is much that has been said about the definition and role of a husband in a marriage. A woman’s husband is her lover, leader, provider, protector, and companion. Her role as a woman is to respect and submit to her husband in love. Not to mention, biblically, we are to submit to one another. Ephesians 5:21 tells us that we should submit ourselves to one another in reverence to Christ, right before verse 22 which tells wives to submit themselves to their own husbands. Therefore, it would be most wise for a woman to know the man she plans to marry possesses these qualities before she marries him. Though there is only a certain level of familiarity a Christian woman can have with a man to whom she isn’t married, there are signs that reveal these characteristics in his behavior during their friendship.
Moreover, God has provided the union of a man and woman to be fruitful and multiply humans on the earth. Yet some women and men have chosen not to marry or found themselves without a spouse for various reasons. When this is the case, we can place our faith in all those promises that God has given us regarding His commitment to take good care of us as a husband would. He gives us those responsibilities that are ours and His in having a successful marital relationship. The Bible is full of God’s wisdom on maintaining successful relationships whether between a man and woman, the Father and His own children, a worker and supervisor, relatives, or neighbors.
The Lord references a love and marital relationship with Him in the following verses:
Isaiah 54:5/ESV
For your Maker is your husband, the Lord of hosts is his name; and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer, the God of the whole earth he is called.
Hosea 2:19/ESV
And I will betroth you to me forever. I will betroth you to me in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love and in mercy.
Hosea 2:16/ESV
“And in that day, declares the Lord, you will call me ‘My Husband,’ and no longer will you call me ‘My Baal.’
Revelation 2:4-5/ESV
But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.
1 Corinthians 11:2/ESV
For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ.
I find these scriptures to be amazingly special in how He has redeemed us and made us worthy to be called His own spouse. To see one’s self as a wife to the creator of the universe is beyond pleasing to my imagination. It causes me to question if I really know what this means. This union with God is a truth stated in His scriptures to be taken seriously, but takes some consistent study and prayer to really understand and get it settled in one’s heart.
Should one desire to prepare for marriage, what better head start than to cultivate one’s marriage with God? Learning to show Him the love, honor, and respect He deserves, which also entails doing that toward others can sometimes feel like a lifelong journey to master, but by God’s grace, we can do it!
These things can’t be accomplished without gaining sufficient knowledge and familiarity with the Lord and His ways, as with anyone we might desire to marry. What do they value, or believe? What do they love or hate? How do they feel about us and how do they relate to us? What can we do to show love and respect toward them? All of these things take time and patience to garner.
Nevertheless, while seeing my Lord as my husband is a beautiful thing, I feel I relate more to being a princess or queen in my Father’s kingdom, a daughter of the Most High God, learning and growing in the victory He’s provided me; staying close to my Dad, knowing He’ll protect and provide for me forever.
So, if you have no earthly husband, understand that as a believer redeemed by the blood of Christ, you have a husband whose name is God among so many other names. In carrying out His role as Father, He is also a husband to us and we can depend upon Him to fulfill His role excellently in that manner. Further, Ephesians 2:6 tells us “God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.” Hence, let’s be joyful in not only knowing the King but also seeing ourselves as married to Him.
Ms. Rita's Minute 