[For all you married folk...]

Welp,
God gave me the answers to my struggles in the form of devos this morning.

:)

Gen. 3:16b
"“I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing;
        in pain you shall bring forth children.
    Your desire shall be for your husband,
        and he shall rule over you.”"


I'm mainly looking at that last part about the woman's desire for her husband.
Now, I've always understood that that phrase it talking about a woman's desire to "rule" over, or to be the leader of things in her home, rather than being submissive to her husbands authority.
Both roles can get distorted though, and its all because of sin and its desire for us!!

This is an exeerpt from the ESV study bible's footnotes on this verse, it definately got my attention this morning:

" 'Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.' These words from the Lord indicate that there will be an ongoing struggle between the woman and the man for leadership in the marriage relationship. The leadership role of the husband and the complementary relationship between husband and wife that were ordained by God before the fall have now been deeply damaged and distorted by sin. This especially takes the form of inordinate desire (on the part of the wife) and domineering rule (on the part of the husband).
The Hebrew term here translated “desire” (teshuqah) is rarely found in the OT. But it appears again in 4:7, in a statement that closely parallels 3:16—that is, where the Lord says to Cain, just before Cain's murder of his brother, that sin's “desire is for you” (i.e., to master Cain), and that Cain must “rule over it” (which he immediately fails to do, by murdering his brother, as seen in 4:8).
Similarly, the ongoing result of Adam and Eve's original sin of rebellion against God will have disastrous consequences for their relationship: (1) Eve will have the sinful “desire” to oppose Adam and to assert leadership over him, reversing God's plan for Adam's leadership in marriage.
But (2) Adam will also abandon his God-given, pre-fall role of leading, guarding, and caring for his wife, replacing this with his own sinful, distorted desire to “rule” over Eve. Thus one of the most tragic results of Adam and Eve's rebellion against God is an ongoing, damaging conflict between husband and wife in marriage, driven by the sinful behavior of both in rebellion against their respective God-given roles and responsibilities in marriage."



Yikes.

Like I said, I think and am pretty sure we even studied this topic in our premarital counseling, but I think I definately need to read this passage a lot more often in my devos to keep my mind focused on the truth, and to keep myself in check about where my heart is at in relation to my husband and his authority over me.

I love him so much, and I am realizing more and more at how much he can see that love by the respect and submission I give to him. :)


Welp, thats my profound findings for today folks, until next time....

*lj*