Dealing With Devices in Marriage. George, a married man, traveled from work and lodged in a hotel, and then a beautiful lady, Sally lodged beside his room. In no time, they became friends and in a matter of minutes, she is already in his room chatting away. It looked like they’d known each other for ages. It is not because George or Sally is friendly, it is simply a DEVICE to draw them into a compromise, even though it all looked innocent.
Over the years, phone designs and models have evolved and what we have now are beyond phones, they are more rightly called DEVICES. These are multi-functional gadgets that can play multiple roles at the same time.
So we can begin to understand what the Bible means when it says:
“Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his DEVICES.” 2 Corinthians 2:11, KJV
We should not be ignorant of the DEVICES of the devil. What can we learn about the devices of the devil?
1. A device goes through a process before its release.
A device doesn’t just come out, it is something that is conceptualized as an idea, then documented, and then goes through plans and processes before it eventually comes out.
In the same way, we need to understand that the devil sits down to plan its attacks. He makes plans and finds ways to execute plans. That is why the scripture calls it a device. It is something that is packaged from hell to destabilize you. You should not be ignorant about it. You should not be oblivious to it.
2. A device has a target market
A device is not just released haphazardly. It is always targeted. In the same way, the devices of the devil are targeted at you. They are deliberately designed with you in mind. You must never let down your guard. Otherwise, before you know it, you may be compromising heavily despite the fact that you are born again, Spirit-filled and tongue-talking.
3. A device is designed to taste
Do you know you have a device weakness? It may be Samsung, Techno, or Apple device. There is always a device specification that resonates with you. In the same way, there is a device that the devil sits down to design to feed your weakness. That is why the Bible says:
“But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.” (James 1:14, KJV)
For some, they must not see a light-complexioned lady, for some, it is the other way around. For some, their knees weaken when they see a busty lady. Some ladies, get melted when they see a tall, hunky gentleman who is easygoing. The list goes on, but you know within yourself what your weakness can be.
So what do you do? You guard yourself against your weakness. You don’t feed your weakness. You know you must not behold the green bottle, yet you followed your friend to the club? You just shot yourself in the leg. You know your temperature rises when you see a light-complexioned lady and yet they brought a tall, light-complexioned lady to you from the village as house help, you said it is okay? You are setting up yourself for a downfall that way!
You know as a lady if you spend time with a man who “toasts” you for hours, showers you with gifts, and so on, you cannot say No, and yet you followed that man on a shopping spree when you know he is already married? That’s like carrying fire in your bosom!
4. A device is never forced on you
Finally, a device cannot be forced on you. You have to decide to buy it. In the same way, the devil cannot impose anything on you, you have to patronize him to buy into his traps. What do you do?
Guard yourself. Pray a lot. Be vigilant, be sober, be alert, and be alive in Christ. Don’t go and spend the night with the one you are not married to. Don’t fly to Dubai with a person who is not your spouse. That is not God’s favor working for you, that is a device trying to trap you.
Do you know the scripture says favour can be deceitful? Before you jump and conclude it is God’s favor, the question is if a compromise is involved. Is your conscience violated? If that is the case, it is not favor, it is set up against your destiny.
A person who doesn’t want to be ignorant stays informed. Stay informed by reading and studying God’s word regularly!
I pray for you this morning that God will indeed send help your way in Jesus’ name and help you to confront and overcome that device of the evil one.
Those Who Do You Wrong. Sally has been deeply hurt! Thinking she would soon be the enviable bride, she was dropped like hot potatoes! She landed badly and bitter! Her expectations were crushed, and she felt like life should just end. Life became boring, she became depressed and despondent and in her bitterness, she began to plot how to deal with her offenders. In this state of mind, she wondered why things even got worse for her. What was she supposed to do?
Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil: the Lord reward him according to his works: (2 Timothy 4:14 KJV)
Those Who Do You Wrong. Paul had a real opportunity to be bitter judging from the tone of his words. He was genuinely hurt. Whatever Alexander did must have really got to him. Like you and I, Paul was human, and he was seriously hurt here.
The Amplified Version puts it this way:
“Alexander the coppersmith did me great wrongs. The Lord will pay him back for his actions.” (2 Timothy 4:14, AMP)
In life, you will meet the Alexanders! You will meet Those Who Do You Wrong. There will be trusted people that will disappoint you in big ways.
In fact, it is possible you have already met several Alexanders. From jilting experiences that got you jolted, from betrayals that got you crucified, from the disappointment of promises that got you depressed, from lies and intrigues that got you livid, the list goes on and on. Everybody has a share of being let down one way or the other, and it can really be painful when it has to do with relationships or marriage.
Pastors are not left out when their trusted allies back out from them when they couldn’t have their way. Several people, you have trusted when in the real sense, they have vagabond spirits, moving from one church to another, searching for clout and control, and never settled in a place. Such men will leave you in the cold thinking their leaving will deal a lethal blow to the system. As Pastors, resist the temptation to hit back on the pulpit!
Those kinds of hurts and bitterness are deep-seated, almost breathing within and giving direction to all your actions if you are not careful.
What do you do to Those Who Do You Wrong? What do we do when we are in this state of mind? It is not a good place to be at all. If you were given a gun, you could shoot the person involved if you go by the flesh.
We must learn from Apostle Paul. No doubt he was hurt, but he made a powerful statement:
“…the Lord reward him according to his work!”
This is what we must do. Don’t bother to try and fight back in your own way, because you might end up fighting dirty. Learn to commit the situation into God’s hands as Apostle Paul did.
Do you know why you need to do this?
You need to let go so that the wicked and careless actions of those who betray and disappoint you will not end up immobilizing you! What do I mean? You see, when you hold people in an unforgiving spirit, it will slow you down. It will hinder your prayers. It will turn you into a bitter person and it will affect your productivity, even at workplace.
You need to let go. It could be childhood abuse, it could be rape, it could be lies and betrayals, it could be unfaithfulness, whatever it is, give it back to God and let God compensate you for every trouble and heartache you went through. God who knows the intent of men, who knows the motives will appropriately reward those who deal wrongly with you! Let them scheme against you, let them plot ways to bring you down, let them devise how to slow down your work, let them do all they know to do, but don’t fight back!
Forgive and forget and get healed. Don’t let that past event tamper with your present. Get healed from the past so that you can move on. It might even be that you are the one that hurt somebody else. Go to God and make your way right. Desist from such actions and God will give you a new beginning. God knows how to reward Those Who Do You Wrong
I pray for you this morning, may God compensate you for every trouble you went through. I pray for healing in your soul and I ask that God will indeed lift up your head in Jesus’ name!
These Three Are Needed! Hear this, the people you admire and you often envy are not really favoured more than you, they simply know what you don’t know.
As a single or married couple, there are three things you should pray into your life daily. They are not exhaustive, but these three things will almost take care of every aspect of your life.
What a man knows can be very powerful. That is why the scripture says that: “A wise man is strong; yea, a man of KNOWLEDGE increaseth strength.” (Pro 24:5, KJV)
There is something about God’s help in your endeavours. It will just simplify everything. Much of what I have enjoyed in my marriage is what I call God’s help.
I want to release that which we have upon this ministry to come to bear upon your life. I read from my Bible that grace and enablement can be transferred. I want to do that this morning. I have always told you, that my wife was the first and the last person I asked out. I was twenty-seven when we married and she was twenty-four. We’ve had our share of challenges, but God has always helped us all the way. The grace that works upon our lives and upon this ministry, I want to pray it over you today.
There are three things you should always pray into your life daily. Mention them and pray in the Spirit about them. Here they are:
These Three Are Needed!
1. Ask for Direction
There is nothing as valuable as knowing where to go. That is why men have created maps and compasses. That is why we have GPS. That is why there is Google Earth. Very powerful.
There is nothing as frustrating as traveling in the wrong direction! There is nothing as heartbreaking as loving the person that will never marry you. There is nothing as nauseating as walking down the aisle and walking up and out of the same aisle a few months after!
After praying this into your life, what do you need to do?
“In all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him, and He will DIRECT and make straight and plain your paths.” (Proverbs 3:6, AMP)
These Three Are Needed! The second thing is to
2. Ask for Wisdom
No wonder Paul said:
“That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory may give unto you the spirit of WISDOM and revelation in the knowledge of him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,” (Ephesians 1:17-18, KJV)
After knowing the direction and the way to go, then you need wisdom in your journey. It is not enough to fall in love with the right person, you need the wisdom to handle yourself and your loved one especially when it comes to behavioural tendencies and temperaments.
That a relationship is God’s will doesn’t mean it can not crash. If you don’t walk in wisdom, it will collapse like a pack of cards and yet it is God’s will. Always ask for wisdom before beginning a relationship, during courtship, and in marriage.
These Three Are Needed! Finally, you need to always
3. Ask for Strength
That is why Paul prayed like this here:
“That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be STRENGTHENED with might by his Spirit in the inner man;” (Ephesians 3:16, KJV)
You have direction, you have wisdom and now you need the strength to pull through in the face of challenges. You need strength to obey God. You need strength to be able to say “NO” to man and say “YES” only to God. You need strength to refuse compromise like Joseph. These Three Are Needed!
Now I pray for you this morning, from the depths of my heart, with the strength of my call, that from today:
Confusion will not be your portion.
If indeed God has called me and anointed me in this area of ministry, I enter the fullness of my calling this morning, I terminate every operation of diabolical spirits in your life in Jesus’ name.
I have seen impossible cases dissolved by God’s power, this morning, I release God’s power to dissolve that impossible puzzle in your life in Jesus’ name.
I speak with unction into the lives of those caught in the bond of iniquity, I curse the spirit behind pornography, masturbation, adultery, homosexuality, lesbianism, and every other form of sexual perversion, I bind that strong man of infirmity in your life right now in Jesus name.
I speak forth abundance into your lives today. I release God’s help into the very areas where you need it in Jesus’ name. You will not struggle to settle down! God will help you!
I put a stop to every infirmity, I speak healing unto your bodies. The grace that rests upon me and upon this ministry, I release unto you this day in Jesus’ name! I declare that the light shines over you in relationship and marriage, and every darkness flees. Thank you, Lord Jesus! I await your beautiful testimonies! Amen!
You can’t fix yourself in your own way with your own methods.
You’ve been offered a divine invitation! Respond to it!
Mat 11:28 (KJV) Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Sleeping around and giving yourself to men will not help your self-esteem, it will actually erode it more. Drinking and smoking will not fix your inner struggle, only Jesus would!
Partying, wild living, and careless friendships, will not lead you into a godly marriage. Waiting on God and trusting Him as your shepherd is what will.
Three More Things You Shouldn’t Do 2. Never compare yourself to others
You are uniquely crafted with exclusive gifts that are branded on your destiny. There is something you can do better than anyone, find it and concentrate on that, rather than wear yourself out trying to do something that others are doing. Comparison trap is referred to as foolishness.
“For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.” (2Co 10:12, KJV)
Three More Things You Shouldn’t Do 3. Never give up on yourself
You will still have a beautiful marriage. You still have your own children. You will see the travail of your heart. I curse that spirit of fatigue and tiredness hovering over your destiny. I infuse God’s strength into your inner man by the Spirit of God right now. I command the light of God to shine into dark areas of your mind right now, I terminate the activities of the spirits of confusion over your life right now.
I curse the spirits of depression and despair in your life. That spirit that has caused you to hibernate into passiveness and dulled life is cursed in Jesus’ name. Fresh energy and divine strength are bursting from within you now, grace to receive the best of God and to wait for His salvation is released unto you right now in Jesus’ name. Creativity is bursting forth from within you now!
The spirit that wants you to give up, wrap up and quit, we stop its activities in Jesus’ name. I proclaim over your life and destiny right now, God’s word will no longer be prolonged over you. There is a speedy accomplishment over you right now because the hand of the Lord is coming upon you right now. Believe it. Say it. You will see it and people will rejoice with you! These are Three More Things You Shouldn’t Do
Two Things You Shouldn’t Allow. There is a man called Dr. Nick. I am sure you have seen his video. He was born without limbs. No legs. It was a pathetic case, enough for any man to commit suicide. But he didn’t see himself as disabled, rather he sees himself as a complete man, as a servant of God, and thousands of people, gather to see him inspire them, they forget he has no legs and they listen with rapt attention. He is married to a dashingly beautiful lady who didn’t care about his disability because Dr. Nick himself never sees himself as inferior to any other man!
How do you see yourself? What do you call yourself?
“And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.” (Num 13:33, KJV)
People tend to see you through you! They were not grasshoppers, God did not create them as grasshoppers, but the moment they saw themselves as grasshoppers, the same image was replicated in others who saw them.
If you see yourself as stupid, you will act stupid and people will call you stupid, even though you are smart.
If you see yourself as a nuisance, you will last like that, and definitely when you show up, people will know that the nuisance has arrived.
If you see yourself as rejected and disfavoured, you will do everything to follow the script, and people will surely reject you, even though God’s favour rests upon you!
If you see yourself as blessed and fortunate, people will keep blessing you, even though there is some generational curse, but the curse will simply fail to work over your life
Here are a few things to note.
Two Things You Shouldn’t Allow
1. Never look down on yourself.
You are created in God’s image. Believe it. You are not a mistake. You are not an error. You are not a disaster. You are not a regretful creature. Don’t look down on yourself, for if you do, people will look down on you and they will trample on you.
This is why the scripture advises:
“Let no one despise or think less of you because of your youth, but be an example (pattern) for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, and in purity.” (1Ti 4:12, AMP)
Nobody can despise you until you permit them by the way you have despised yourself. Celebrate yourself.
2. Never speak ill of yourself
Words are powerful. Words are so much powerful that whatever you speak about yourself will eventually overwhelm your life and give direction to your life. Your words are like a map and a compass, much more powerful than Google maps.
Mephibosheth looked at himself and called himself a dead dog. No wonder he lived in a deserted place crawling like a dog, yet royal blood flowed in his vein.
When you say, you are not sure you will marry, you are embracing delay in your marital journey. There may be pressures around you, but the ultimate things are what you believe and say with your mouth.
If you say you are under a curse and that is why you are not married, things that happen to people who are under influence of curses will happen even though you are not cursed! That is how your words can be powerful. What a man utters carelessly can lead him into the gutter. These are the Two Things You Shouldn’t Allow
Decide to believe the best of God for your life and you will indeed see His best in Jesus’ name!