Why not be
certain of having the marriage God intended? Is it the demon yelling in your
ear that your spouse will never amount to anything, that they will never
change, or that this is the best it will ever by in your marriage? You see,
Satan loves to take a picture of where your marriage is right now and tell you
that this is the pinnacle. Satan tells us to get ready because this will never
get better.
First and
foremost: tell Satan to take a hike! Jesus said, “Get behind me Satan” in Matthew
16:23. Jesus did not ask Peter why he said what he did. Jesus did not ask Peter
if he was having a bad day. No. Jesus spoke directly to Satan. Remember, that
we have that authority and we must exercise it daily.
We must use
the gifts given to us by the Holy Spirit, (1 Corinthians 12:1-11) and our
Spiritual Gifts (Ephesians 6: 10-18) to thwart Satan’s attacks. I know some
will say these gifts died with the 1st Century Church. It does not
say that in the Bible. Either the entire Bible is true or all of it is false.
Hint: it is all true – the living Word of God. Hebrews 4:12 says, “For the word
of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates
even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and
attitudes of the heart.”
If you really want your marriage
to get better, here is the best way. Keep God first in our lives. By putting God first, we are seeking His will for our lives. This will help you hear the Holy Spirit
speak to you on what to do next. A counselor friend says, “Do the next right
thing.” Sounds easy but the world will try to rebuff your right thinking. Stand
strong and then keep standing.
Put your spouse second. Many
spouses put the children second by living their life through their kids. This
is not respecting the husband or loving the bride. Ephesians 5:33, “However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves
himself, and the wife must respect her husband.” We must model
the kind of marriage we want to our children. We don’t want the world modeling
marriage for them. Satan is using inappropriate television shows and bad music to
model the wrong kind of lifestyle to our children. They must see it at home
first.
Our kids come third. Yes,
third. Our role as parents is to train them up in the ways of the Lord. When
they mature, 18-22, they will leave our nest and begin their own lives. Until
then they are under our covering. But afterwards, we can become friends with
them and give them advice – when they ask or if we see them about to go over
the cliff.
Church and/or Ministry are
fourth. Yes we all have a ministry whether we want one or not. It is to tell
others of Jesus, to be the spouse God calls us to be, to model a Christian
marriage to our kids and to teach our kids about God, Jesus and the Holy
Spirit.
Verbal declarations are a
great way to help set your mind on the things you are believing for. My bride and
I have some we say daily. They are below. By saying them aloud, you are telling
yourself, your mind, of what is to come. Remember Hebrews 11:1.
Our Declarations:
1. That we fulfill the call God
has placed on our lives.2. That our marriage is blessed by God and we are the spouse that God designed us to be.
3. That our finances are blessed
and we have paid off all debt. That our finances increase because God prospers
what we lay our hand to.
4. For witty ideas and
inventions.
5. That we and our family walk in
divine health.
6. That our children are blessed
and they marry strong Christians, have a strong Christian marriage and that our
grandchildren and great-grandchildren are strong Christians.
God spoke the world into
existence so we must speak our great marriage into existence also. Words are
very powerful! That is why we are commanded to say with our mouth that Jesus is
Lord and not just think it in our heads. Romans 10:9-10, “That
if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that
God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it
is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.”
Keep speaking life over your marriage!
