In life and in our various situations and circumstances, there are times when our calculations fail us. We planned for certain things to work in certain ways but they end up not turning out the way we planned.
Every one of us hoped that our marriage will be ‘happily ever after’. Every bride had such beautiful dreams as they walked down the aisle. After the wedding, our eyes are opened to a rude shock.
Most of the time, we never bargained for the speed breakers, the potholes, turnings, speed limits, traffic lights, and bends in marriage. Life just happens and we learn to cope with whatever comes our way.
Being a believer is so good because we know that the promises of God are yea-and yea Amen.
And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. – Rom 8:28
Even if our plans do change and things go in the opposite direction, Jesus is still Lord.
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As couples, we must learn the unforced rhythms of Grace
“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. – Mat 11:28
From this scripture, I will show us what to do.
1. Find time to worship Him
2. Spend more time in His presence studying.
3. Speak out the promises of God
4. Ask God for His peace
5. Patiently wait for wisdom that will guarantee your way out.
Always do these, any time anything overwhelms you.
God bless your marriage.
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I know what to do.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Ask God for his peace
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Matthew 11:28 [ESV]Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
ACTION PLAN FOR THE DAY Pray for God’s direction for your home
Experiencing peace in marriage is priceless. You don’t want to know what some other couples experience when they have no peace.
Peace is our birthright as believers in Christ. It is part of the things Jesus bequeathed us with. The peace He gave us is all-round peace. Not some peace in the workplace and crisis at home with the children and lack of peace in your health. No, He died to give us all-round peace.
But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. – Isa 53:5
Jesus actually paid the price for us to experience peace. If you are not experiencing peace in any area of your life, the devil is cheating you out of what belongs to you.
Jesus already paid the price for your peace. He was chastised for you to experience peace. You are not just to hear about peace but experience it in your life and marriage.
Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. – Joh 14:27
Did you miss out on yesterday’s devotional, we’ve got you covered kindly go HERE. For KHC video Devotionals kindly go HERE
We can claim the peace of Jesus. You can experience peace with your in-laws, peace with your money, peace in your neighborhood, all-round peace.
Let no man trouble me for I bear in my bodies the marks of the Lord Jesus Christ, Paul said.
Here are five ways to experience peace
1. Know what Jesus has done for you by His shed blood on the cross.
2. Learn of these truths and begin to appropriate them. You can’t afford to be lazy about it. You have to search scriptures diligently.
3. Begin to confess that which you discovered from scriptures
4. Begin to take practical steps to enjoy peace in every area of your life.
5. Be a person of peace. Avoid being quarrelsome. Stop being overly aggressive, hot-tempered. Avoid jumping to conclusions on matters.
God help us to experience all-round peace this year in Jesus name
God bless our marriage
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I experience all round peace in my marriage.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Pray against everything that wants to steal your peace
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. – Joh 14:27
If you have been in courtship for some time, the likelihood is that your lover/fiancé has at one point or the other probably told you, “You don’t respect me!”
You see, you need to understand that the way a man thinks and the way a woman thinks are so different and are miles apart. While the man is thinking, “She doesn’t respect me, the woman is thinking, He doesn’t love me!
One important thing you need to know about men is that they are logical and so tend to interpret most things from logic.
The logic is “I am the head of the house. The decision rests on me. The bucks stop at my table.”
A woman interprets things from a relationship point. Her thoughts are “If he really loves me, he wouldn’t do this or that, he would spend time with me and so on and so forth.
Now, if your fiancee ever looked you in the face and tell you, “You don’t love me,” you don’t need to argue at all. She is the one that is supposed to receive the love and she can’t feel it. Rather than get logical and rant about what you did last year and so on, be humble and try to understand what she is trying to say and what love means to her.
In the same way, if your fiancé tells you repeatedly that you don’t respect him, you don’t need to get hurt or moody over that and manipulate his emotions through silent treatment until he comes to apologize for saying what he feels. Rather than get hurt over that, simply try to enter his brain through loving communication to find out his concept of respect.
To one man, it could be as simple as genuflecting (bending the knee a little). He is simply “traditional” and he has seen his mum and siblings do that for his dad for thirty years. It has been tattooed into his brain and if he voices that out to you as what he wants, be smart enough to do it.
It wouldn’t reduce you, it will bring peace to your home and the surprising thing, after a while he wouldn’t demand that again because in his mindset would be the statement, “My fiancee respects me!”
To some other man, it is cooking a good meal. The important thing is to find out what your fiancé deems as respect and do it!
If you keep getting hurt over everything at your fiancé, after a while he would simply keep quiet and that would impact communication. You wouldn’t want to know the consequences of that.
Study your fiancé. Generally, men don’t talk until they are sure of what they want to do or the decision they want to take. Have you ever asked him about some pressing issues and he refuses to say a word? And you are hurt because he ignored you?
Let me tell you something, he didn’t ignore you. The reality is that he didn’t know what to say or what to do. The proper thing is to say, “Dear, give me some time to think about that.” But most times, when a man is confused, he will simply keep quiet and refuse to say a word. His ego would not allow him to own up and say something like, “Dear, on this issue, I am as confused as you!”
Here is the difference between a man and a woman
A man thinks his way into a decision
A woman talks her way into a decision.
So, there is always tension and difficulty in communication when a woman wants to talk her way into a decision that a man has not thought about!
Learn about him and there would be fewer conflicts. This is why a lot of marriages crack and most courtships dissolve.
In the same vein, study your fiancee and simply do what she wants as long as there is no scriptural contradiction. Find out the love language of your lover and speak it. Spend time with her and give her attention! And have peace of mind!
May God grant more understanding.
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I understand my partner properly.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Pray for wisdom to understand your lover.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Eph 1:18 (KJV)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,
ACTION PLAN FOR THE DAY Start speaking the language of your lover
A lot of people are at a loss when it comes to this issue of knowing who to marry. A large number are bothered that God has not ‘shown’ them anybody particularly or ‘spoken’ to them in clear terms, yet they have fallen in love with someone and they feel the peace of God about it. Can that be God? No dream, vision, voice, or any spectacular direction, yet it looks like it is God. Is that possible?
A lot more have believed the lie of the devil that God is not really with them in their relationship because they did not hear God tell them who to marry or see anything.
Well, God did not promise to show all of us a dream or vision. He did not promise that He would speak to all of us in an audible voice or in some spectacular way.
However God did promise that He would LEAD all of us!
My dear, that is all you need. Stop bothering yourself. You don’t need to hear a voice. You don’t need to see a dream. You don’t need to fall into a trance before knowing who to marry. The person that sees five dreams in a day is not more spiritual than you that sees nothing. In fact, for all I care, you that don’t dream at all may be more alert to hear God, because the one that hears God through dreams only will be knocked to sleep each time he needs to hear God. Imagine a brother that needs to make a decision, and then he tells you, give me some time, let me go and sleep!
Deliver yourself; stop being intimidated by some overly excited dreamer, allow God to lead you to who to marry the way He wants to. If you are given to dreams, that is great, but don’t feel superior to others around you.
So how do I know I am a child of God when I don’t dream, and I don’t have any spectacular encounter?
Here is the answer.
For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. (Romans 8:14 KJV)
There can be leading without some audible voice. All you need to do is to follow. The Lord is my shepherd!
Thank God for who He is that can abandon ninety-nine other sheep to look for me!
The real deal then is to be led.
God can lead you into a relationship without hearing a single voice or seeing any vision!
But you know you are led.
So, how do I know if I am being led?
How do you know you are really born again? How do you know Jesus really exists? Have you see him before? How do you know there is a God in heaven? Did you hear His audible voice or did you see Him in your vision seated on His throne with Cherubims and all that? Why then do you believe in Him?
Because you simply know within yourself that God is. You may not be able to prove it, but you just know in your ‘knower’ that God exists. You know in your ‘knower’ that Jesus died for your sin. You were not there in Golgotha with him physically, but you just know it happened deep within you.
That is what is referred to as ‘Inner witness.’
Inner witness! That is the primary way God speaks to His children. No voice, no vision, no trance, nothing, but just this knowing that comes with an unexplainable peace, too deep and assuring that you cannot put it into words!
Don’t let the devil come to you and tell you that the reason you have a troubled marriage is because you didn’t have any dreams or hear a voice about who to marry!
Do you know that when you have had twenty-five dreams about a particular lady and yet this inner witness is not there, you are not supposed to proceed? This inner witness, the peace of God, is most important!
See it described in the scripture
And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:7 KJV)
I like it particularly in Amplified version
And God’s peace [shall be yours, that tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and being content with its earthly lot of whatever sort that is, that peace] which transcends all understanding shall garrison and mount guard over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Did you see that? That peace of God, that transcends every understanding shall garrison and mount guard over your hearts and minds. Garrison! Mount guard! Those are military terms. That is exactly what happens when you allow the peace of God and you are led by Him. His leading is a like a soldier protecting you. You know why? God will never lead you wrong! Glory to God! He will not lead you into misery! Thank God for His leading.
God is the one that can re-order our steps when we have made mistakes; He is the one that will lead us into our wealthy place. Stay with God and you will never regret. Don’t be led by your feelings which can be fickle, be led by the Holy Spirit, and you will be protected!
This morning, as God’s servant, I speak God’s leading into your life. I speak His peace into your life! May you experience His leading in Jesus name!
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I am a child of God. I am led of God
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Pray that God lead you by His peace
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY God’s Spirit beckons. There are things to do and places to go! (Romans 8:14 Message)
ACTION PLAN FOR THE DAY Read Kenneth Hagin’s book – ‘Following God’s plan for you life’
