Her Husband is Known in the Gates

     Is your husband a success?  You may be surprised to know that you have a role to play in the answer to that question.  In Proverbs 31 we are told what a virtuous woman looks like.  And then we are told what her husband looks like:  known in the gates.  In other words, successful.
    You might be wondering exactly how that plays out.  I can't answer that question, specifically, but I can tell you how it worked out in our lives.  Tom has been working for Rohrer Bus ever since I have known him, and we are married twenty-nine years.  If you know my husband at all, this wouldn't surprise you.  We have also lived in the same house for twenty-nine years.  My husband doesn't like change.
   There was a time when Tom was frustrated and unhappy in his job.  Don't get me wrong.  He isn't given to complaining, and I doubt he was considering another job, but his job was unchallenging.  Tom is a problem solver, but there were no problems to solve.  He was just doing the general maintenance on buses.  They were sending buses out, for example, to have transmission work done on them.
    Knowing this, I began to pray.  I've no doubt my prayer was Holy Ghost inspired because, truth be told, it didn't make any sense.  I was praying for a new position for him, but, in fact, there was no "new position" to be had.  Not until, that is, a decision was made to open a branch in our area.  You see, Tom had a forty-five minute drive to work.  When a branch was opened in our area, Tom was put in charge of the shop.  This changed everything.  Tom is not given to excitement, but he definitely was excited by this change.  Now Tom isn't exactly a celebrity, but he isn't "unknown" either.  He doesn't have a lot of people in under him, but he does, nevertheless, have a certain amount of authority and prestige, if you will.
   Please don't misunderstand me.  If my husband were lazy, irresponsible, or unreliable, it is doubtful this job would have ever opened to him.  He "earned" the job, not me.  Having said that, I believe my prayers were also a factor.  And may I say, "If you are a constant source of trouble to your husband, it's going to affect his job performance."
   Maybe your husband isn't the success you would like him to be.  Don't take this out of context.  I didn't pray about his job because I wasn't content with his position, remember.  I'm not advocating discontentment.  But it might be wise to examine, through prayer, what role you are playing in the whole scheme of things. You may be surprised at the answer God gives you.