Men are naturally stronger than women; just as boys excel in physical strength than girls. But physical strength do not always translate into strength of character and good will in many men.

The glory of young men is their strength: and the beauty of old men is the grey head (Proverbs 20:29). Grey heads speak of wisdom, wisdom of character and rich experiences that have translated into a strong base of goodwill.  Most young men are strong but age and grey head do not always mean strength of character and goodwill.

Qualities of a Strong Husband:

1. A strong husband is the foundation for being a strong father. Men often tried to be a good father, a strong man for the children without first, being a good husband of a wife. To think we can love the children without first loving the wife and the mother of the children is to fail from the start. A woman that is hated cannot be a happy mother of happy children. The best way a man can be strong for his children is to show unflinching love for their mother. A happy woman will make for happy children.

2. To be a strong husband does not necessarily mean physical strength but strength of character. A leader leads by example, a strong husband will be a good man to the woman he has chosen to live the rest of his life with and in return the wife, by her examples show same strength of character and goodwill in raising her children.

3. The strong Husband desire to keep and build his home no matter what.  In a society where public weeping depicts weakness and derogatory helplessness, Phaltiel wept for his loss, weeping and following her all the way, showing a strong desire to keep his house, at the face of deadly power play.

4. Strong Husband doesn’t strive to win all domestic arguments, they know how to let go and let the woman win on purpose at times. Godly men know the difference between communication and winning at all cost. To win an argument and lose a lover is to play the fool in your own life history. Maturity begins with letting go.

5. A strong husband makes plans that keep his wife winning, even if he’s absent for reason he can’t help.  Your strength should not be limited to when you are physically available.  There are men whose families suffer irreparable damages and abuse due to unexpected absence or death. A good man makes plans for the impossible, lack of concrete family structure and goodwill to fall on by wife and children after a sudden demise of a husband in the hands of terrible in laws are traceable to husband lack of character and will to protect his own family, alive or otherwise.

6. The strong desire to say No, even when everything including herself says yes. Phatiel has every reason to abandon Michal to her fate, at least her problem was not of his making, and it was a generational trouble he has never been a part of. He would have easily walked away but he chose to stay and fight for his wife.

7. A strong Husband will protect the wife against familiar abuse from relatives, especially from respected female relatives. A lot of women have suffered unnecessarily from female in-laws and the husbands look the other way. To allow emotional abuse of your own wife, from your own relatives while you can help is to fail as a man.

8. A strong Husband is full of kindness.  He’s kind to his own wife; he will seek her good even when he has reasons to do otherwise. The heart of humans is a fertile breeding ground for revenge. Your ability to protect your wife privacy and interest even when she’s undeserving makes you the strong husband you are meant to be in her life.

9. A good husband suffers well for his wife and family. A strong man is known in days of adversities, especially in time of medical adversity of a child or of the wife and in days of delay in child bearing where there is one

10. The best show of strength for a good man is humility and gentleness.  Humility is godly strength, when missing in a man, all other godly characters will fade away with every domestic argument and you can be sure there will be plenty of them in a marriage. “All of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility” (1 Peter 5:5).

All men or at least most men are strong but only few have the strength of a good husband and the living example of a good father to the children he loves. A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children’s children (Proverbs 13:22). There is no greater inheritance to leave for the children than a godly home where the mother is made the central rallying point of the Home because she’s loved by her husband and he stayed strong for her despite her and in all situations and at all times.

Originally written and published for the Voice for the Women Magazine Quarterly Magazine, Volume 3, September 2020