Every Great Wife: Companion, Comforter, Counselor

In John 14:16, the Bible says this about the Holy Spirit: “I will pray to the Father and he will give you another helper forever.” The word helper in the Greek language is procolasit, which means “called alongside.”

Jesus says that, as our helper or companion, the Holy Spirit will be with us forever as the most faithful friend we could have. It occurs to me that a great wife will exhibit many of the characteristics of the Holy Spirit. For instance, as a companion.

Unless there is some kind of division in the relationship, every man I know would rather be with his wife than with anybody else. Men want to hang around with their wives. That’s how you fall in love: you do fun things together. Women become their husbands’ best friends.

One of the most dangerous things that can happen in a marriage is when a couple stops having fun together—when they stop being each other’s closest companions.

Wives, don’t let your children or your identity as a mother get in the way of being your husband’s companion. Be fun, be adventurous, and work hard to remain his best friend.

Another parallel between the Holy Spirit and the role of the wife is as comforter, which is another definition of procolasit. This second definition indicates one who pleads another’s case before a judge.

I’ve mentioned before what a terrible husband I was when Karen and I first got married. I was horrible, insensitive, selfish, and everything else. But God wasn’t going to give up on me.

At the time, Karen was in a Bible study where the leader challenged wives to pray for their husbands. Karen began to consider the areas that were wrong in our marriage and take them before God. She became serious about praying for me and our marriage.

It made such a huge difference in the environment of our home, and ultimately it resulted in change. It changed Karen’s life and it changed our marriage. Karen brought faith into our home. That action brought God into our home and it comforted her. It comforted me. It saved our marriage.

The Bible also describes the Holy Spirit as a counselor, the Spirit of Truth (see John 14:17 or 16:13). Women aren’t always right, but they do have incredible wisdom. Every smart man has learned to listen to his wife.

I can’t explain it, but it’s like women have sonar, especially when it comes to relationships. They are relationship geniuses.

I have said before that men and women are two halves of the same whole. God designed us to join together in this life, and we both bring different skills to the table. Husbands may be good at objectivity or reasoning, but their wives complete the picture with brilliant insight and counseling when it comes to relationships and emotional issues.

Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to bless the daily life of the believer. Likewise, a great wife is a blessing. She is her husband’s companion, a comforter, and counselor.