Therefore shall a man LEAVE his father and his mother, and shall CLEAVE unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
Gen 2:24 (KJV)
The word “Leave” means to loosen, relinquish, permit, and forsake It is a total departure. But it is never a disconnection.
The man has to do the leaving. Without leaving, there will never be a successful marriage. All undue interference and control from the parents must be minimized.
The word “Cleave” means cling or adhere; to catch by pursuit: – abide, follow close (hard, after), be joined (together), and pursue hard
Allegiance must shift from parents to your wife. This is what marriage is.
Your wife comes first from the wedding day. Your spouse becomes your priority. Your mum is another man’s wife, not your wife. Your own wife must be your priority.
Cleaving means to catch by pursuit, so you never stop pursuing your wife. You keep at it, even after the wedding. In the pursuit lies the cleaving. The man is to cleave unto HIS OWN wife! An attempt to cleave to another man’s wife will usher in a marital crisis.
It also means to follow close. Be joined and connected to her emotionally and otherwise.
When things seem not to be going right, you don’t quit. This is what it means to cleave. You don’t pack your stuff and start singing songs of divorce when there is a little provocation.
This is what cleaving is. It is just like your relationship with God. You are to cleave unto Him and not try to leave when things seem not to be going your own way. Leaving God and refusing to cleave will complicate issues, and that is the same thing in marriage.
You are to cleave for life! Any attempt to leave is a tearing part that would be painful.
Stay with each other no matter what. Cleaving means that you are dedicated to each other. It means sharing with each other on the deepest level. It means enjoying each other and supplying warmth for yourselves.
Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone?
Ecc 4:11 (KJV)
I pray that God will grant understanding. Your marriage will not suffer a crisis. Your marriage will not lose that godly steam. I pray that God will pour new wine into your marriage and cause the love between you to come alive!
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I choose to cleave to my spouse only
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Help me to cleave oh Lord.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Gen 2:24 [MSG]Therefore a man leaves his father and mother and embraces his wife. They become one flesh.
1. Don’t ignore her needs When you ignore the most importantneeds of your wife over and over again, she is going to get hurt and eventually feel that you never loved her.
This feeling can degenerate to a point where she comes up with an emotional defense, and the peak of that is closing her spirit.
You see, in loving your wife, you have to do so in God’s term and her own terms and not in your own terms. This is basically because the needs of a man are miles apart from that of a woman.
So, in meeting her needs, it is often easy to interpret her needs based on your own, but it is not often so. Priorities are at variance, especially at emotional levels.
Let her communicate her needs to you, you will be amazed that what is important to her is non-issue to you!
And so, the challenge is to focus on what is insignificant to you but is a big issue for her. That is selflessness!
Her greatest needs are always towards attention and quality time!
2. Don’t make her feel stupid and dumb When you are always insinuating that your wife is dumb and stupid, she will get hurt.
Sometimes you don’t say it, but it shows in your body language and the way you dismiss whatever she tries to suggest.
Sometimes, a husband doesn’t even want to hear her opinion. She is to be seen and not heard. That is never the plan of God for marriage. The reality is that she is your helper. Her “dumb” or “stupid” suggestions would have saved you a lot only if you had listen.
You see, she may not be logical, but she is intuitive.
You know the man you want to go into business partnership with because he has all it takes, but she will tell you by reason of intuition that the man will mess things up. She has no evidence, not precedence, but she has intuition!
Don’t ignore that intuition!
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I love my spouse on God’s terms and theirs.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Pray that God will teach you how to love your spouse.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY 1 Cor 13:7 [CEV] Love is always supportive, loyal, hopeful, and trusting.
ACTION PLAN FOR THE DAY Carry out the above tests on your potential partner
Every wise woman buildeth her house: but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands.
Pro 14:1 (KJV)
Women are just simply powerful. And that is how God created them. This is why they are also called helpers. And the only other person that was referred to as helper in the entirety of the New Testament is the Holy Spirit.
Every other time, you will hear about the prayers of mothers. Hardly will you hear people talk about the prayers of their fathers. That tells you there is something about women.
Dear wife, there is a lot of power and accompanying responsibilities that lie with you. Your decisions, prayers, and actions will eventually build your home or tear it down, therefore, you cannot afford to be foolish. Be wise and cooperate with what God is trying to do in your life.
How do you do this?
Avoid all the strife, bickering, quarrels, and the like for that is how a foolish woman tears down her home. Avoid emotional affairs. They are distractions.
Now, since it is the woman building the house, what then is the responsibility of the man?
Build the woman!
That is what the man should do. Build the woman.
Dear men, build your wife so that your wife can build the house.
Invest in your wife. Support her endeavors and career. Be interested in her passion and you know what, she will give it all it takes to pray for the family.
May your marriage be blessed.
CONFESSION FOR TODAY I chose to honor my spouse.
PRAYER FOR TODAY Pray for your wife.
THOUGHT FOR TODAY Pro 14:1 (KJV)Every wise woman buildeth her house: but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands.
1. The verbal expression of your love to your wife
This may sound insignificant to men, but I can tell you it is a big issue for women.
Saying the words “I love you” could be the solution to the crisis rocking your home. She wants to hear it from you as often as possible.
As a lady, she will definitely get compliments from outside. The problem begins when the compliments she is getting from outside outweigh the ones her husband is giving her at home.
Women go through a lot and struggle so much with their emotions, that is why they always carry a mirror everywhere they go.
As a man, learn to affirm your wife as often as possible. It will go a long way to make her feel loved.
2. The regular attendance of same church
The bible encourages us not to forsake the gathering of the brethren.
As a man, take the lead and find a bible believing church to attend.
It is important for you and your wife to be hearing the same thing. Attending different churches when you both are in the same location is a no-no for me.
Grow together.
Study together.
Pray together.
It will strengthen the marriage.
3. The refusal to assault your wife
Resist the urge to hit your wife. Never do it, for whatever reason.
That is what separates the men from the boys
Yes, she can be disrespectful, stubborn, arrogant, or whatever.
Hitting her will not be the way out.
Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.
1Pe 3:7 (KJV)
Make up your mind never to physically assault her.
Decide to honor her, protect her and take care of her.
That is how to be a man.
May God bless your union.
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I walk in love towards my spouse.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Pray that the love of God fills your heart.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY 1Pe 3:7 (KJV) Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.
In marriage, it is our money! Marriage fuses two individuals together, and they are no longer two but one!
Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.
Mat 19:6 (KJV)
The Passion Translation puts it this way:
From then on, they are no longer two, but united as one. So what God unites let no one divide!”
Mat 19:6 (TPT)
There is nothing like “My money!”
Marriage wedges two destinies together, wherein you are naked and not ashamed.
In marriage covenant as ordained by God, there should be no secrets, no coded businesses or relationships, no hidden agendas, no side relationships, and so on.
Life has to be lived like an open book, the moment there are things you shield from your spouse, some form of compromise is already knocking.
As husband and wife, decide jointly on how money should be budgeted and administered.
This agreement means you are not putting your spouse in the dark as regards financial matters. There should be proper communications and involvement in all financial decisions. This will create a sense of belonging and it will be difficult for the devil to bring in assumptions and create confusion for the family.
You see, assumptions are the lowest forms of knowledge. They are mostly wrong. You need then to ensure there is proper communication so as not to render your spouse vulnerable to assumptions.
Don’t yield to that suggestion from the devil to hide any information as regards money to your spouse. Each time your spouse discovers you are hiding from him, trust will be broken and once trust is broken, it impacts a lot on the marriage.
I pray God will grant your more understanding.
Good morning!
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I cooperate with my spouse to move our marriage forward.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Pray against the works of the devil in your family.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Mat 19:6 (KJV)Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.
