S) "23 Elkanah her husband said to her, 'Do what seems best to you. Remain until you have weaned him; only may the Lord confirm His word.' So the woman remained and nursed her son until she weaned him."
1 Samuel 1:23 (NASB)
O) This is a good example of how a godly husband will allow his wife to make a decision. Elkanah had no conviction about what Hannah had decided (despite the fact that the decision was about his own son, but but that's a different issue). He asserts confidence in her ability to discern what is good, he confirms that he is on board with the decision itself, so long as it is in accord with the word of the LORD. Lastly, Hannah follows through with her dedication, so it's safe to say that Elkanah, at the very least, did not hinder her.
A) It's a tricky thing to find balance when leading my wife. On the one hand, I know I cannot be overbearing and try to make every decision for her. Not only is it impractical, even worse, it's oppressive. That's the sort of arrogant, prideful, and borderline-misogyny that created so much backlash against biblical gender roles. On the other hand, my lazy, sinful nature also wants to take a back seat and make no decisions whatsoever, completely neglecting my responsibility to lead. The trick to balancing something that is in motion (as life itself is in motion), is that you must constantly make adjustments to your balance point. It's never going to be perfect, but the hope is to find as small a swing as possible to the so-called pendulum. So, when my wife has certain convictions, and I don't discern anything about them one way or another, then I need to support them completely. If I do have some kind of conviction about the matter myself, then I need to be active and loving about discussing it with her. Ultimately, we are both submitted to the Bible as the final authority, so it's really about learning His will together.
P) Father, please give me wisdom to lead my wife in love, grace, righteousness, humility, understanding, and truth. Through the Holy Spirit within us, let us be united on convictions, and hearing from You, God. Let us, together, test every conviction we have through Your written words, to know if they are convictions from You. Discipline me to be the effective, leading, righteous husband I am created and called to be. In Jesus's name I pray. Amen.
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