Life is a question of power. The moment power is drained and strength is dissipated, life will ooze out slowly and death will set in.
Wealth and riches are a question of power. Poverty is an expression of weakness and lack of strength in finances.
Strength! It determines a lot.
Marriage requires strength. A successful relationship that will translate into a great courtship and eventually a blissful marriage requires strength all the way. When a person lacks strength, all kinds of stuff will happen to the weak emotions. The emotions are as vulnerable to the degree that the soul is weak.
I love the scripture below:
Eph 3:16 (KJV) That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;
If there is anything you should pray for today, it is strength in your inner man. Strength to navigate the meanders of the marital road and be able to avoid emotional mirages that appear as you journey on that road. All of us will ply that road at one time or the other.
Getting a spouse, getting married, having a glorious wedding, and then a great marriage all require strength. Walking down the aisle is no less a task, there is strength needed every step of the way to avoid distractions that scream at you.
Strength to be a husband! Strength for leadership! Strength to be a wife; to submit and respect! All these are no small feats. You are going to need strength.
God can grant you this strength. Ask for it. Pray for it. And when you have it, it will make all the difference!
I love the Passion Translation:
Eph 3:16 (TPT) And I pray that he would unveil within you the unlimited riches of his glory and favor until supernatural strength floods your innermost being with his divine might and explosive power.
I pray for you this morning, may supernatural strength flood your innermost being in Jesus name!
Have a great day!
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I have supernatural strength as a person
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Lord, increase my strength
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Eph 3:16 (CEV) God is wonderful and glorious. I pray that his Spirit will make you become strong followers
This is the scripture I used in our OIL FOR TODAY prayer time, and when I asked my husband what to write on today, he just pointed out this scripture. I want you to pause and say this to yourself “God is restoring my dignity in marriage”
So I will be bringing out some salient points from this scripture.
I Sam2:8 MSG He puts poor people on their feet again; he rekindles burned-out lives with fresh hope, Restoring dignity and respect to their lives— a place in the sun! For the structures of earth are God ’s; he has laid out his operations on a firm foundation.
I will like to address the wives, using this portion of scripture. You can stand on it, meditate on it and pray it into your life. It is a promise you can claim.
God is able to restore dignity and respect to you as a wife.
In so many marriages, wives don’t have any dignity or respect. Their husbands treat them like they are of little value, (of cause to the detriment of the husband that does so).
The bible says male and female He created them and He blessed them.
God spoke: “Let us make human beings in our image, make them reflecting our nature So they can be responsible for the fish in the sea, the birds in the air, the cattle, And, yes, Earth itself, and every animal that moves on the face of Earth.” God created human beings; he created them godlike, Reflecting God’s nature. He created them male and female. God blessed them: “Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Earth! Take charge! Be responsible for fish in the sea and birds in the air, for every living thing that moves on the face of Earth.” Genesis 1:26 – 28 MSG
If you are born again, you are in the image and likeness of God. You reflect God. You are a piece of the Master, a masterpiece. Any husband that treats you less than that is abusing you as a wife
Every husband must seek to push their wives to be all that God created them to be. Your wife should become better, bigger, smarter, now that she is joined to you.
We see husbands pitting their wives down, talking down on them. God is restoring dignity and respect into your life and calling as a wife.
You are meant to be a helpmeet to your husband. No husband is better than his wife in the sight of God. But positionally, the husband is the head of the union. The wife stoops for him to take the lead because that is the order of God. That is what God recognizes and honors.
The husband and wife are co-laborers and joint-heirs with God. When God calls the man, he calls the woman too to assist him.
Some wives respect and dignity have been eroded. Their words are not respected. Their wisdom is not respected. They cannot advise. I feel one way to show respect to wives is to listen and trust God to always put His wisdom into their hearts.
When husbands maintain this attitude, it will even make the wives more sensitive in the Spirit because they will know that demand is been laid upon them by their husband to be spiritually sensitive.
I first heard this from Kenneth Hagin. As spiritual as he was, with several visions of Jesus Christ, he will always check with his wife before he takes any major step. I mean that is humility. Some husbands prefer to spend hours talking to some friends as against talking to their wives.
Whatever has taken away your dignity and respect in your marriage and home, God is restoring it in the mighty name of Jesus.
Restoring wealth is one major way God restore dignity and respect. Even the bible says the wisdom of the poor man was despised because of his poverty.
God will give wives voice and wealth. Mama Adejumo said not every wife can be slapped and sent packing, a husband is gentle when the wife brings in a 6 digit income every month.
I see God restoring every wives’ dignity and respect in Jesus mighty name.
Every wife should develop themself so much that before anything happens in the home, they know. Their words carry weight and God the Holy Spirit uses them.
As a wife, you cannot be respected if you still engage in lying, stealing, you have no integrity, et cetera. You have to exercise the fruit of the spirit as recorded in Gal 5:22
Let God fight and defend you. Hold your peace.
God bless our marriage in Jesus name.
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY God is restoring honor and dignity to my marriage.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Oh Lord, restore unto me all that I have lost.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY 1 Sam 2:8 (CEV)You lift the poor and homeless out of the garbage dump and give them places of honor in royal palaces. You set the world on foundations, and they belong to you.
ACTION PLAN FOR THE DAY Study the word ‘restoration’
We startedlooking at this all-important topic yesterday. “How to relate with in-laws without strife” We looked at 2 scenarios and we will look at more scenarios today.
It is impossible to deal with all possible scenarios but this is just to help you draw wisdom from them and know that you are not alone.
There are no custom-made problems. You just have to draw the needed wisdom and handle your own situation.
Scenario 3 Ronke’s mother-in-law is a good woman and she has heard a lot of good reports from her husband about how she single-handedly raised her son and sent him to the University against all odds. So, naturally, Ronke was happy when Tunji announced that mama was coming to spend the rest of her life with them in the city. Unknown to Ronke was that mama was very petty.
They were all excited to welcome mama to her new home and she loved it in the city. Mama would always express her view and air her opinion which Ronke didn’t mind until it was getting too much.
Ronke likes flowers and would always buy flowers for decorating the sitting room. Mama would ask how much she bought them and would complain that they were too expensive since it was not food. Mama would complain whenever Ronke went to the stores and came home with nylons of household needs. She would ask how much each item cost and Ronke would tell her only for mama to scream of wastage.
Tunji would always wake up early to prepare breakfast because the nature of her job is quite strenuous and need extra sleep to be refreshed of the next day’s job. This mama frowned at seriously and even took offense at.
In other for her son not to do this, mama will wake up early to prepare breakfast. During breakfast, mama would look at her with displeasure and this continued until Ronke decided to be eating out. Tunji noticed this and called his wife to order.
Mama too noticed and all the time something went wrong between mama and Ronke, mama would go inside her room and sob. This was getting on Ronke’s nerves and Tunji was in a dilemma.
What should be done?
To ask a parent-in-law to stay with you has a lot of disadvantages especially a long-term stay. Before they come, the husband and wife should be in agreement. The husband must promise to protect the wife. After much discussion, if there is no other option, she might come to stay, but not after all options have been exhausted. They might look at the option of sending money to her regularly, get her a house help etc
If she would eventually stay, the husband must always be ready to defend his wife at the slightest opportunity. She must not come in between them. She must be made to mind her business and know that this is her son’s matrimonial house.
The husband and wife must be very prayerful and patient to accept her and her excesses.
Scenario 4 Bode’s father-in-law is in a cult. At first, they didn’t know but just felt he was unnecessarily hard on Bode. He showed little or no compassion for them when they first got married and had financial crisis. He had the money but was not just disposed to helping them.
Bode first noticed that each time they took the children for a visit to see grandpa outside town, they will be down with fever. Each time he also comes visiting the same thing happens.
It was difficult for them to stop visiting. Kemi was not happy especially because it would mean not seeing her mother who was more than an angel to them. They also noticed that the father-in-law would always give the children money.
After such gift of money, they would notice a financial hardship at that period. This would last for a while and go after they have prayed. This went on for a while and this usually caused conflict between them.
What should be done?
They should reduce their visits and if confronted for not visiting, they should say they are very busy. They should minimize their visits to only important occasions and should not sleepover. The children should be protected and once given money, it should be given away.
The wife should find other means of communicating with her mum especially since she had been good to them.
The husband should be very prayerful, avoid quarrels with his wife and understand her sentiments. He should try and get his wife to his side on every decision.
They should both pray for divine intervention.
You will always find different situations in different homes. No two situations are exactly the same but may have similar situations. Follow through with wisdom, be patient, mature, and godly.
Remember, you too will be a parent-in-law someday. Every action is a seed.
God bless your marriage
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY Lord, I am wise as regards all in-law issues.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Father, teach me your ways as regards my in-law issues
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother and cleave unto his own wife.
ACTION PLAN FOR THE DAY Begin to handle every in-law issues in your marriage with God’s wisdom
There are a lot of questionsabout in-laws that some of us might need answers to. An In-law issue is a very complicated one that one needs a lot of wisdom to address. You love your spouse very much, you don’t want to hurt or offend them, and yet there are issues with his/her parents.
They have been the ones taking care of your spouse before your spouse met you, so they cannot be wrong. They are flawless. They are saints, so does your spouse see them. How do you handle them in such a way that it doesn’t cause frictions? We will try and look into some of these issues.
Scenario 1 She grew up with her mum in Kaduna, who has been taking care of her ever since her dad traveled to South Africa when she was 12 years old. She is the firstborn and has been very close to her mum since then. Now she is married. Her mother does not understand that she is married. They live close to each other and their mum visits them every day. The husband is infuriated and irritated each time he sees her. She even passes the night and spends weeks with them.
Initially, she helps with the daughter. The husband complains a lot about this but the wife feels he is taking things too seriously. The wife, who is a Medical Doctor, is sure divided between her mum and her husband. Her time is divided, her attention, her finances, her care, she is divided in spirit, soul, and body.
Her mum will often take her time talking with her. She enters their room and she has no boundaries whatsoever. She gets on the husband’s nerve so much that they often have open confrontations. Instead of the mother seeing that she is intruding, she sees it as enemies not wanting her to stay with her daughter. The husband has instructed his wife a number of times about her mother but only falls on deaf ears. She claims ‘will I send my mother away?’
What should be done?
This is a clear case of over-familiarity. The bond between the mother and her daughter is so close, more so that she is more or less separated from her husband who has not been home for many years.
The husband should be patient and use a lot of wisdom while being firm. While they are looking for another accommodation far away from where the mother lives, the husband should try and reduce their dependency on her.
The husband should be very strict and put certain instructions and rules in place. The husband should also be very prayerful and very patient. No matter what, he should not allow himself to be provoked.
Scenario 2 The husband is the first born and lived with his parents before he got married. He was to get a house after the wedding but one week became six months.
The wife is not finding it funny but she tries her very best to be a good daughter in-law. The wife leaves her job as a Pharmacist in Abuja to stay with her husband in Ogun state where he leaves with his parents.
The wife doesn’t have a job yet in the new place and she is frustrated. They fight, quarrel and the husband concludes she’s not been patient enough. The husband’s job is not that stable so he doesn’t know whether he will settle in Ogun state, Abuja or outside the country.
The problem is with the mother in-law. She is so attached to the son. Her body language is that they should stay and keep living with them.She behaves like her son’s wife. She takes care of him, asks what he will eat as though the wife does not exist. She competes with the wife over him and for his attention
What should be done?
The husband has to try as much as possible and get a house in where he plans to settle down. Even if it is a room, he needs to take a drastic decision because it is obvious his wife is running out of patience. With that distance, they can reduce their proximity to the mother. They will still remain in touch through regular calls.
The wife should be full of prayers and very patient at this time not to do anything she will later regret. She should be calm and try harder to endure till it’s over.
They also need counsel and should be guided all the way.
Tomorrow, we will consider more scenarios and pick out lessons from them.
God bless your marriage.
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY Lord, I receive wisdom to handle all in-law issues.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Father, give me wisdom and discernment to handle all in law issues.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother and cleave unto his own wife.
ACTION PLAN FOR THE DAY Begin to handle every in-law issues in your marriage with God’s wisdom
BIBLE READING FOR THE DAY 2 Chronicles 28; 2 Kings 16-17
David was very much loved of God. He was simply God’s favorite. Just as today, we are all God’s favorites through the death and the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.
However, he fumbled along the way. From adultery, he descended so fast on the lane of iniquity, fueled by lust of the eyes and of the flesh. From the cage of adultery, he dug further into the dungeon of a murderous act.
In one swoop of his signature, he exterminated the life of one of his most loyal men, in a desperate bid to cover up a pregnancy.
And after all of that, our God’s man gathered enough temerity to convert the widow of the man he murdered into his harem. This did not go down well with God.
He had to be confronted, because his present deception will put him into eternal jeopardy.
Out came the fiery man of God, Prophet Nathan, in one of the most dramatic confrontations ever recorded in the scriptures.
David was cornered. But he did something so powerful I want you to see. He did not live in denial or delusion once confronted. He owned up. Psalm 51 was a prayer from the heart of a repentant man.
One verse that struck me however, which inspired this morning’s discourse is this:
Psa 51:11 Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.
He knew if the Holy Spirit is gone, he is finished. He must have remembered Saul, and what happened to him when the Holy Spirit departed and took His mercy away from him.
Perhaps in your quest to settle down and get married, your greatest asset is the Holy Spirit.
He is the revealer. He is the teacher. He is the comforter.
Protect your relationship with Him. It is a key to a lasting relationship and marriage. He is the one that will show you who to marry, just as He showed me!
May God grant you more understanding!
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY The Holy Spirit is my greatest asset. I value his friendship.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Thank God for the Holy Spirit. What a great asset!
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Psa 51:11 Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.
