(originally sent out as an email to friends on 5/17/10)
Good morning, sweet friends. It is 9:45 on Monday morning, and I will lay down $20 that each of us has already begun to feel the stress of the day, the week, the end of the school year, etc. Some of you are already at work, caring for young children, scrubbing toilets, or running errands as fast as you can before afternoon carpool. Many of our husbands are at work and fighting through their own battles, as well.
In the midst of our craziness this morning, let’s take a few minutes (even if it’s while changing a diaper or driving to a deposition) to remember that we have an “ezer kenegdo.” What? That Hebrew term may be familiar to some or sound like a sneeze to others, but it is the Hebrew word for “helper.”
It is the word used in Psalm 121:1:
Psalm 121 (New International Version)
1 I lift up my eyes to the hills—
where does my help come from?
2 My help comes from the LORD,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
3 He will not let your foot slip—
he who watches over you will not slumber;
4 indeed, he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The LORD watches over you—
the LORD is your shade at your right hand;
6 the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.
7 The LORD will keep you from all harm—
he will watch over your life;
8 the LORD will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.
It is the word used of God throughout scripture for a essential help in a desperate time. “Send thee help from the sanctuary.” Ps 20:2. “He is our help and our shield.” Ps. 33:20. We can rest today in the knowledge that we have an all powerful ezer kenegdo, who is ever faithful. We can let go of the fear, stress, and anxiety about this day, this week, our ridiculously long list of things to do, because our Heavenly Father is, and will ever be, our ezer. Not only from on high, but from within, as His spirit endwells us. But this term encompasses even more than OUR helper. It is true of US, as well.
“Ezer kenegdo” is the Hebrew word used for US in Genesis 2. God saw that it was not good for Adam to be alone, and so he fashioned an “ezer kenegdo” for him. That is YOU. That is ME. We are an essential help in a desperate time for our husbands. Folding his boxers and picking up his socks, doesn’t look like an essential help in a desperate time, does it? Scrubbing the toothpaste off of his bathroom mirror...again...how does he spit that high??...certainly feels unessential to me at times. Why? Because I am not seeing the big picture, the larger story that we are all involved in. I don’t want to put his cereal bowl in the dishwasher, because I’m irritated he left it on the counter in the first place. Who am I? The maid? This thinking is what Paul references in 2 Cor. 10:5 “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”
How can you be an “ezer kenegdo” for your husband today? How can you be an essential help in desperate times today? We will all have specific, individual ways that our particular husbands need us today, but may I submit that we are ALL needed today? You and I are desperately needed by our husbands today. To fight for them. To take captive and fight against any unloving thoughts. To pray for their strength in the battle. We can DO this, because we have our own ezer kenegdo, fighting for us in heaven. God has our backs today, so let’s step into the battle with full assurance. He has GOT us and will NOT let go. He will meet us with all of the fullness of His glory. We are protected for this. We are equipped for this. And we have been called to this. Let’s fight for our men today. God knows they need us.
I LOVE ALL OF YOU BEAUTIFUL EZERS!!
--Jennifer
In the midst of our craziness this morning, let’s take a few minutes (even if it’s while changing a diaper or driving to a deposition) to remember that we have an “ezer kenegdo.” What? That Hebrew term may be familiar to some or sound like a sneeze to others, but it is the Hebrew word for “helper.”
It is the word used in Psalm 121:1:
Psalm 121 (New International Version)
1 I lift up my eyes to the hills—
where does my help come from?
2 My help comes from the LORD,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
3 He will not let your foot slip—
he who watches over you will not slumber;
4 indeed, he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The LORD watches over you—
the LORD is your shade at your right hand;
6 the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.
7 The LORD will keep you from all harm—
he will watch over your life;
8 the LORD will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.
It is the word used of God throughout scripture for a essential help in a desperate time. “Send thee help from the sanctuary.” Ps 20:2. “He is our help and our shield.” Ps. 33:20. We can rest today in the knowledge that we have an all powerful ezer kenegdo, who is ever faithful. We can let go of the fear, stress, and anxiety about this day, this week, our ridiculously long list of things to do, because our Heavenly Father is, and will ever be, our ezer. Not only from on high, but from within, as His spirit endwells us. But this term encompasses even more than OUR helper. It is true of US, as well.
“Ezer kenegdo” is the Hebrew word used for US in Genesis 2. God saw that it was not good for Adam to be alone, and so he fashioned an “ezer kenegdo” for him. That is YOU. That is ME. We are an essential help in a desperate time for our husbands. Folding his boxers and picking up his socks, doesn’t look like an essential help in a desperate time, does it? Scrubbing the toothpaste off of his bathroom mirror...again...how does he spit that high??...certainly feels unessential to me at times. Why? Because I am not seeing the big picture, the larger story that we are all involved in. I don’t want to put his cereal bowl in the dishwasher, because I’m irritated he left it on the counter in the first place. Who am I? The maid? This thinking is what Paul references in 2 Cor. 10:5 “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”
How can you be an “ezer kenegdo” for your husband today? How can you be an essential help in desperate times today? We will all have specific, individual ways that our particular husbands need us today, but may I submit that we are ALL needed today? You and I are desperately needed by our husbands today. To fight for them. To take captive and fight against any unloving thoughts. To pray for their strength in the battle. We can DO this, because we have our own ezer kenegdo, fighting for us in heaven. God has our backs today, so let’s step into the battle with full assurance. He has GOT us and will NOT let go. He will meet us with all of the fullness of His glory. We are protected for this. We are equipped for this. And we have been called to this. Let’s fight for our men today. God knows they need us.
I LOVE ALL OF YOU BEAUTIFUL EZERS!!
--Jennifer
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