Put Him in His Place

Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me. Exodus 20:3-5

Have you ever been tempted to grab a frying pan, loose your bridled tongue, open the floodgates of emotion, and put your husband in his place?

He should be put in his rightful place from time to time, shouldn't he? After all, he hasn't exactly been been living up to the image of the husband you want. Has he been neglecting your needs, failing to provide for your emotional and physical well-being? Maybe he's dropped the ball when it comes to making you feel special, secure, and cared for? Marriage is full of high expectations and frequent disappointments.

Today I encourage you to finally, once and for all, put your husband in his proper place (no frying pan required) - below Almighty God.

I can only speak from personal experience, but it's often easy for me to make an idol out of my husband. Idols don't necessarily need to come in the form of a plaster saint or a golden calf. An idol can be anything we put in the place of God. Too often I rely on my husband, instead of God, to meet needs and fill voids.

It's not my intent to let husbands off the hook for treating their wives poorly or neglecting them; however, our husbands are not God. At best they are trying to allow the attributes of Jesus to shine through them and at worst, they are selfish, sinful humans just like you and me.

God is our provider, comforter, security, protector, friend. He should also be our fulfillment, strength, and the rock that we lean on in times of trial. God should have His rightful place in our lives as married women.

It has been my experience that when I allow God to meet my deepest needs, I suddenly realize that my husband is actually doing a good job of being my husband. No man, no matter how extraordinary can take God's rightful place in your life. Each time we make an idol out of our husbands, we set them up for failure.

Simply put, our husbands cannot be God.

If God is not number one in your life and you are not relying on Him to meet your daily needs, your marriage will suffer. Your intimacy will suffer and ultimately, you will suffer. When we give God first place, we will change and so will our marriages.

And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto the camp, that he saw the calf, and the dancing: and Moses' anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and brake them beneath the mount. And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and strawed it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink of it.Exodus 32:19-20

If you have made an idol out of your husband, put him in his rightful place today and give God first place in your life. I think your husband will appreciate it, because being God is a tough job!

This cartoon is actually a magnet from Inherit The Mirth. I figured if you have a problem with keeping God in His rightful place, maybe you need to buy this magnet as a reminder. Click HERE for link. ;-)

(FYI: I in no way am trying to sell you stuff. I just found the magnet very funny.)