Husband vs. Wild

Bear Grylls, a famous survivalist expert, teaches on his show, Man vs. Wild, how to survive in the wild for any enthusiastic explorer who may find himself lost one day, not knowing what to do next.  He teaches how to survive extreme elements, fatigue and starvation while finding your way back to civilization.  One survival lesson of Bear Grylls is to watch the animals in order to find water and to know when there are dangerous predators around.  He also says, when you find water, never think that just any water is safe to drink.  Always make a fire to boil it and cook your food when you can.  

Bear loves to teach others about survival because without a basic knowledge of these skills, a man lost deep in the woods could die before he is rescued.    He says, when you're lost, the sun can help you most because it always rises and sets from east to west.  You should always use it, when you can, to know what direction you’re going.  

Years ago, every husband was sent packing into the woods to hunt and provide for his family.  He would need hunting skills or knowledge, stamina and provisions to hunt for long hours.  However sending our husbands out into today’s wild world to “bring home the bacon” requires different survival skills for our husband and ultimately our marriage.  So how can we help them survive…

EXTREME ELEMENTS

When someone is lost out in the wilderness, the temptation to enjoy the beautiful day playing and resting is a dangerous one because elements can change at any given moment.  According to Bear, the survivalist expert, the need for a shelter and fire should be your first priority. 

The world outside of Christ is an extreme element that may become very dangerous too.  Like that beautiful weather while lost in the wild, too many think there’s no harm in flirting with temptations, until they’re swept away in a flood of sin. 

We should certainly look forward to the day when we no longer have to worry about the elements of the world but until then, as a wife we can help our husband survive the extreme elements of sin by praying for him while he’s away.  Telling him, before he leaves for work, how much you love him and appreciate him for providing for the family will remind him of his priorities.  

2 Peter 3:12

¹² looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat!

FATIGUE

Bear Grylls says, once you’ve secured shelter for safety, fire and water, getting some rest is crucial to surviving.  Without it, delirious exhaustion will take over, leaving you vulnerable to the elements and wild animals. 

Sometimes our marriage can become exhausted too.  The daily grind of making money to provide for the family is exhausting and can take its toll on a marriage.  It’s crucial that we make time for each other every day, not just once a week or worse, once a month.  We should always recharge our marriage for the next day to face the world and its elements/ temptations. 

Galatians 6:9 

⁹ And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

STARVATION

Bear Grylls also says, no matter how thirsty or hungry you may be… DO NOT eat or drink just anything you find in the wild.  Contaminated water, poisonous berries or rotten meat can cause severe diarrhea and possible death.  It may look good but in the end, there may be no salvation for you.   

True starvation is hard for most of us to understand but you may have learned as I have at least, that it’s best not to go grocery shopping on an empty stomach.   It’s just not a good idea if you can keep from it.  Why…because it’s harder to tell yourself no to that big tub of ice-cream and extra snacks when you’re hungry, plus it ultimately increases what you planned to spend on groceries.  

A wife should think about what it’s like for her husband in the wild “starving” with sexual needs.  So keep in mind…a man with a full stomach will come closer to remembering his GPS (God’s Perfect Scriptures) to find his way home, than a desperate starving man who becomes lost while looking for food.  Lost because he used his “bread crumbs” for a trail that was eaten by the birds. 

Luke 8:5 

⁵ "The sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell beside the road, and it was trampled under foot and the birds of the air ate it up.

Your marriage will survive if you follow the living water! 

(John 4:10)