As couples, we are not meant to do marriage without God. He instituted marriage and there’s a picture in His heart, there is a purpose in His heart that needs to be accomplished.
The day you start neglecting God and treating His word with contempt is the day you begin to experience hardship in your marriage.
God’s word is His covenant with us ratified in the blood of Jesus. The word contains all the covenant terms and conditions.
All the requirements of the covenant must be satisfied. When we fulfill our part of the covenant, we automatically enjoy the blessing of the covenant.
That is why the scriptures say I have hidden your word in my heart that I may not sin against you.
Behold, the days come, saith the Lord , that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the Lord : But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord , I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. –Jeremiah 31:31 – 33 (KJV)
To enjoy the covenant blessings of marriage, you have to have respect for the word of God. Not only respect it but follow it to the letter.
Your obedience becomes your proof of respect. So Bible says;
Husbands love your wives and wives submit to your own husbands. –Ephesians 5: 23 – 29 (KJV)
That’s the covenant requirement, whether it is convenient or not you have to obey and do just that.
That’s having respect unto the covenant. Jesus had to do the covenant requirement even though it wasn’t easy.
You now see why God will not shift grounds. He is a God of covenant, not a sentimental God.
If He could turn His back on Jesus when He was on the cross because He cannot behold sin and because He was carrying the sin of the whole world, God will turn His back on anyone who treats His covenant with contempt.
Let’s begin to respect the covenant God has with us. Let’s begin to do what the word says despite what our body wants or what our flesh is saying.
God grant us more understanding.
God bless your marriage.
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I honour God’s word and covenant in my life, and marriage
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Father in Jesus name, strengthen me to honour your covenant all the days of my life.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Husbands love your wives and wives submit to your own husbands. –Ephesians 5: 23 – 29 (KJV)
ACTION PLAN FOR THE DAY Take time to search out what God says about marriage
I am sure Peter must have settled a lot of quarrels for many wives. Many felt invaded or, cheated, and that it’s just not fair being a woman.
They felt they had no rights and they are being trampled upon. Apostle Peter must have had compassion for them. Trying to solve their problems; which varied in dimensions, and seemly complicated.
He, by the Holy Spirit’s inspiration, gave this one all-purpose solution. If every wife follows this instruction they will solve all their marital issues and problems.
I got to a point in my life where I realized this very truth.
The instruction is in 1 Peter 3: 1-6, it is what I call the Honor code for all wives.
In like manner, you married women, be submissive to your own husbands [subordinate yourselves as being secondary to and dependent on them, and adapt yourselves to them], so that even if any do not obey the Word [of God], they may be won over not by discussion but by the [godly] lives of their wives, When they observe the pure and modest way in which you conduct yourselves, together with your reverence [for your husband; you are to feel for him all that reverence includes: to respect, defer to, revere him–to honor, esteem, appreciate, prize, and, in the human sense, to adore him, that is, to admire, praise, be devoted to, deeply love, and enjoy your husband]. Let not yours be the [merely] external adorning with [elaborate] interweaving and knotting of the hair, the wearing of jewelry, or changes of clothes; But let it be the inward adorning and beauty of the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible and unfading charm of a gentle and peaceful spirit, which [is not anxious or wrought up, but] is very precious in the sight of God. For it was thus that the pious women of old who hoped in God were [accustomed] to beautify themselves and were submissive to their husbands [adapting themselves to them as themselves secondary and dependent upon them]. It was thus that Sarah obeyed Abraham [following his guidance and acknowledging his headship over her by] calling him Lord (master, leader, authority). And you are now her true daughters if you do right and let nothing terrify you [not giving way to hysterical fears or letting anxieties unnerve you]. -1Peter 3: 1-6 (AMP)
The instructions here are very profound, yet simple and well spelled out.
I want to admit it won’t come naturally to obey this. You will only obey when you give heart to it, study it and spend time meditating on it, study every word and prayerful soak them onto your spirit.
I pray God grants us strength to be doers and not hearers only deceiving ourselves.
God bless your marriage
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I am a wise wife, I obey the scriptures, and I honour my husband
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Lord, please work on my heart not to reject your word at any point in time
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, 2 when they see the purity and reverence of your lives. 3 Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. -1 Peter 3:1-3 (NIV)
In the early days of our marriage, I get angry very easily. It was a kind of subdued anger, not enough for me to raise my hands against my wife!
I have never done that and will never do that, no matter what! That is not a manly thing to do! It is unscriptural, and your prayers will be hindered when you raise your hands against a lady.
But, I used to be impatient. I am a quick person but my wife takes her time. I wanted to change her. When I am angry, I start lecturing my wife. After a while, I just had to change because the lecturing thing was not working. I had to learn early in marriage, to calm down when I am angry and then discuss it.
Over the years, I have come to learn to smile at some of the things that get me bothered and aggravated and looking back at those years, I wondered why I had to be angry in the first place! We were not meant to be the same way! A book on temperament I read was what delivered me!
If you are married to someone with an anger problem, here is some advice for you.
A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger. –Proverbs 15:1 (KJV)
A gentle response defuses anger, but a sharp tongue kindles a temper-fire. –Proverbs 15:1 (MSG)
Don’t get angry together and at the same time! Learn to calm down for each other! Get books and read and deal with that anger so that you don’t end up raising angry children who will take the anger to another level.
He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city. –Proverbs 16:32 (KJV)
A few things to do if you have problems with anger
1. Pray about it and ask God to help you by His Spirit
2. Seek help from your pastor or mentors
3. Stay in God’s word. Your soul can be restored when you meditate regularly on God’s word
4. Get good books that address the weakness and study
5. Discuss with your spouse and look at how you can deal with the weakness
6. Learn to keep quiet when you are angry. You often say things you will regret later, but the words, like swords could have done harm.
7. Do not make quick decisions while you are angry. Your sense of judgment is warped at such times.
8. Forgive easily. Don’t be revengeful and stubborn. Let God handle the situation for you.
9. Don’t allow anger and hurts to push you into sexual sins because you want to get back at your spouse. That will complicate issues for you.
10. Don’t listen to someone who appears ‘nice’ and wants you to sin when you are hurting badly. It is usually a trap of the devil to complicate issues when a ‘nice’ person suddenly shows up when you are at loggerheads with your spouse. Be careful!
I rebuke every spirit behind anger and wrath in your life, marriage in Jesus name. I pray for God’s help over you in Jesus name.
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I am calm. I am not an angry person.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Pray that God will give the grace to resist unnecessary anger
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Make no friendship with an angry man; and with a furious man thou shalt not go –Proverbs 22:24 (KJV)
ACTION PLAN FOR THE DAY Read a book on dealing with anger
There is nothing that kills marriages faster than what I want to write about today. Anger! In the verses below, Simeon and Levi are brothers, but their combination was a tragedy! Both of them had anger problems. What was the eventuality? They were divided and scattered!
Simeon and Levi are brethren; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations. O my soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their assembly, mine honour, be not thou united: for in their anger they slew a man, and in their selfwill they digged down a wall. Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel. –Genesis 49:5-7 (KJV)
That is exactly what happens to two angry unrepentant people in a marriage. That marriage cannot survive it. Look at the way the Message translation puts it:
Simeon and Levi are two of a kind, ready to fight at the drop of a hat. I don’t want anything to do with their vendettas, want no part in their bitter feuds; They kill men in fits of temper, slash oxen on a whim. A curse on their uncontrolled anger, on their indiscriminate wrath. I’ll throw them out with the trash; I’ll shred and scatter them like confetti throughout Israel. –Genesis 49:5-7 (MSG)
One angry person can curse a lot of havoc, not to talk of two angry couples!
Are you the type of person that is ready to fight at the drop of a hat? You need to consciously and deliberately start working on that anger problem because it can ruin precious opportunities.
There is a place for a level of anger because we are all human. There is also a place for righteous indignation. But the type of anger that is dangerous is the one that lingers unnecessarily and makes you do things you will later regret.
This type of anger is almost a stupid one because you know you will eventually regret your words and actions!
Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger resteth in the bosom of fools. –Ecclesiastic 7:9 (KJV)
Message translation is quite interesting:
Don’t be quick to fly off the handle. Anger boomerangs. You can spot a fool by the lumps on his head. –Ecclesiastic 7:9 (MSG)
I once heard a man of God in one of his messages, where he said he used to have anger problems until he read the above scriptures.
To be continued
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I am calm. I am not an angry person.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Pray that God will give the grace to resist unnecessary anger
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Make no friendship with an angry man; and with a furious man thou shalt not go –Proverbs 22:24 (KJV)
ACTION PLAN FOR THE DAY Read a book on dealing with anger
Let’s look at this scripture below well. We will see the faith process. Whether you are believing God for babies, contract, prosperity, or general well-being the process of faith must be completed.
For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. –Mark 11:23 (KJV)
Let me analyze the faith process here.
1. You must speak to your mountain. Don’t speak about it, speak to it. Address it because you have authority.
2. Speak and give direction to the mountain.
3. Don’t allow doubt in your heart.
4. Believe that you have what you SAY.
5. Then, You will have what you say.
6. Thank God in advance. The faith process is not complete until you thank God by faith for your answers.
The big question is, what are you saying about the situation you are trusting God to see changes?
Do you pray? Declare God’s word and then begin to worry?
Its time as believers to begin to exercise our faith against the attacks of the enemy. Any issue the enemy brings our way is an attack on our faith.
We can deal with the enemy by exercising our faith.
Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. –Ephesians 6:16 (KJV)
With our shield of faith we quench every fiery darts the wicked one throws at us.
When we have issues in our marriage, issues with our spouse, or our in-laws, it is not the person that is the issue. It is the wicked one stirring up issues to steal your joy, peace, prosperity and health.
Rise up in the authority of the Lord and hold up the shield of faith against the fiery darts of the wicked one. There is victory on the other side of faith.
God bless your marriage in Jesus name.
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I have faith in God, my words align with what I believe God for
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Pray and ask God to give the grace to be steadfast in faith
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith. –Romans 1:17 (KJV)
