Prayer

O Lord Most High, fountain of all wisdom and grace, I praise you for sending your Son, the Lord Jesus, to lift the lowly and giving grace to the contrite in heart. Teach me to see myself as I truly am—needy, dependent, and upheld only by your mercy. Crush every proud thought that rises against your truth, and clothe me instead with the beauty of Christlike meekness. Let me delight in serving rather than striving, in yielding rather than grasping, in being made low so that you may be exalted. Help me, by your Spirit, to walk in the valley where you dwell, and there find rest for my soul.

Reading

Genesis 2:18-25.

“Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” 19. Now out of the ground the Lord God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. 20. The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him. 21. So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. 22. And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. 23. Then the man said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” 24. Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. 25. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.”

Meditation

Men and women need each other. What we see very clearly in this passage is a profound harmony and interdependence between the sexes. For this reason, there really ought to be a mutual humility for each of us, as men and women. I believe that’s how God designed it to work.

He made the woman for the man, and that’s a deeply humbling truth for a woman. Wives, you were made for your husband. That man who lives in your house, God formed you in your mother’s womb for his benefit, to be a helper to him. The idea that the woman was made for the man is not some abstract theological point. It’s a truth that hits home quite literally. It touches your home, your marriage, your everyday life. And I think that’s precisely why the world hates this message today, because it takes real humility to accept it.

But this truth works both ways. Yes, the woman was made for the man, but the man needed the woman. Men often like to think they are strong enough to do it all, and do it their own way. But the fact is, Adam wasn’t sufficient for his calling without Eve by his side. That, too, is humbling. He was dependent on the woman. He needed her help. As we see in verse 18, God declares that it is not good for the man to be alone.

So, do you see how this works? God built into each sex a dependence on the other. The union of man and woman was designed in such a way that both parties would be appropriately humbled and thankful. Women were made for men, they weren’t called to live for themselves. And men are dependent on women, they can’t live by themselves.

Be doers of the word….

Don’t fight the battle of the sexes. One of the tragic outcomes of the fall has been the ongoing battle of the sexes. It’s part of the curse, as Genesis 3:16 make clear. This struggle has existed throughout history, and it continues even today. As believers, we must not buy into this mindset. There is no superior sex. Men and women were designed to function in harmony. Each one of us has different roles to play, but both sexes were perfectly made to complement each other and serve God together.

Our culture often thrives on pitting the sexes against one another. It’s easy enough to do, men and women do have different strengths and weaknesses. But those strengths and weaknesses were never meant to be used for competition. They were given so that we could work together, each supplying what the other lacks. The church ought to radiate with this kind of harmony. There should be no room, no space at all, for the battle of the sexes within the body of Christ.

Prayer of Confession & Consecration

Righteous Father, we confess that as men and women, we have often walked in pride, despising your design, resisting our roles, and seeking to exalt ourselves rather than serve one another. We have acted as if we were our own masters, forgetting that you are the one who formed us, male and female, for your glory and not our own. Forgive us, Lord, and cleanse us from the sin that divides and dishonors. By the power of your Holy Spirit, enable us, with all the saints, to walk in joyful, humble obedience in the roles you have assigned. We pray this that we may reflect the beauty of your wisdom in every place you’ve appointed us. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

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