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This is for
couples who presently are in stormy marriages:? ? ? Oftentimes,
preachers (or counselors) talk to people about how they can
have the restoration of joy, happiness or peace in their
lives. But those kinds of messages are good for folk who
once had peace in their lives (and in cases like yours,
marriage), since the word "restoration" means to restore or
rejuvenate or renew. In other words, if something (like
peace in one's heart) was NEVER there in the first place (in
one's marriage) then there can not be a restoration of
something that was never there in the first place.?
But
here's where it gets tricky. If one has been married two
years or 20 years, and has never had a true sense of peace
within that marriage, then the Lord asks a question to which
He already knows the answer. WHY haven't one ever had a true
peace and joy and happiness in his (or her) spirit, in his
(or her) heart? The Lord asks the question "Why?" because He
challenges us to think.? ? He asks the question "Why?"
because He, Himself, put in us the power (through PERSONAL
[not to be confused with COMMUNITY] relationship with Him)
to be happy, joyful, at peace. In other words, before we
ever got married, or even had any friends, or even knew our
own names, the power to obtain happiness (in HIM, nothing or
nobody else, not even Mama) was ALREADY placed in us.
So, God
already knows the answer to the question He poses. He
already knows that we will have excuses for why we didn't do
what He's been telling us to do all along ---- be happy, be
joyful, be at peace, for He provides each liberally to all
who truly want it. But the only way to accomplish this thing
called peace is in Christ Jesus and in walking in the
purpose that He's created for our lives.
Back to the
preachers (or counselors) who talk to people about how they
can have the "restoration" of joy: MORE SPIRIT-LED MEN (&
WOMEN) OF GOD --- counselors, preachers, friends (only those
who are LED by the Spirit [and not just FILLED with the
Spirit ----- keep in mind that one can be filled with the
Holy Spirit but refuse to be led by Him]): More messages
need to go forth on how to obtain joy in one's marriage
(whether it be after 2 years or 40 years of pure-dee-hell on
earth in that marriage) for the first time.
It's possible
because THE BOOK says it's God's will for our lives. So, if
there isn't any joy in one's life (in one's marriage),?
understand that there is a way to CONSTRUCT such God-fearing
peace in one's marriage. I say CONSTRUCT because to
construct is to build. If you're building, then you're
putting up something for the first time. Notice, I didn't
say "RE" Construct. I said CONSTRUCT. To "reconstruct" is to
rebuild that which has been damaged or destroyed. But to
construct is to build up something for the first time.
How does one
do that? Every tool you'll ever need is in the Word of God.
If God says it can be done, then one must understand that it
can be done when one submits himself (or herself) unto the
will of the Lord. And if one has done that, and STILL has
not seen any fruit come up from the ground after sowing,
then I'm STILL not convinced that the Word of the Lord, the
Bible, is flawed and needs to be REconstructed. Because to
anybody to say that he (or she) has tried the Word and his
(or her) spouse is too great a problem for God is to come
right on out and call God a lie, and to say that Jesus
Christ's death, burial and resurrection didn't pack the
punch the Bible says it did.
Therefore, if
one has tried the Word of God and applied it to his (or her)
life and there still is a problem with getting results that
God says we're supposed to get (the ones in line with His
will, that is), then that doesn't mean that one's
mountain-dominated marriage is the one great problem that
God absolutely cannot do anything with. That DOES mean,
though, that if you've have tried the Word and it doesn't
work, it's because you haven't applied it long enough.? ?
And when I
say "long enough," I'm actually saying "long enough" for YOU
to get something out of it, long enough for YOU to learn
that God's will is supreme. Don't mis-read what I'm sayin'.
If I were talking to your spouse, I'd be telling him (or
her) to: "Forget about what your mate is doing or isn't
doing. YOU do YOUR part. Let God take care of the rest. But
His hands will always be tied if you put YOUR will, YOUR
feelings, ahead of His will."
Well, this is all I have time to share with you this week.
But tune in next week for the rest of this two-part series
on submitting to your spouse. In the meantime, meditate on
the fifth and sixth chapters of both Ephesians and
Galatians. And don't be mere hearers of the Word, but be ye
doers of the Word especially. It's better to be submissive
than cursed!
Donald Lee
Donjlee @ bellsouth.net
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To read archived stories, click on this link:?
Archived
Starfish Stories
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Blessings to you today
Bob Johnston
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