For the LORD gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding; He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk uprightly; He guards the paths of justice, And preserves the way of His saints. Then you will understand righteousness and justice, Equity and every good path. Proverbs 2:6-9 (NKJV)
Through my marriage counseling, I often talk to people who have lost hope. They have come to the end of their abilities, and I frequently hear them anguishing because they don’t know what to do, so they simply say, “No more.” It always saddens me to see the relationship between a husband and wife come to this point, especially when it started with so much hope, promise and excitement.
All too often by the time I get a chance to speak with the couple and share God’s heart and plan for their life, one, or both of them has already made up their mind to quit the relationship and appears to be only there to justify and show others they have done all they possibly could to save the marriage. It saddens me to see, but I am confident in God’s ability to restore completely destroyed marriages and to resurrect them from the fiery ashes.
One of the first things I attempt to ask those in counseling is, “When did you make Jesus your Lord?” Often times the response is the day when they accepted Jesus as their Savior. I then ask them again, “Okay, this is when you accepted Christ, but when did you make Him your personal Lord?” I find this to be a pivotal answer as it will give me a clear indication as to whether they are going submit to God’s will for their lives, regardless of what they may be facing, or feeling. I think it would be good for all of us to ask ourselves,
Q: Is Jesus my Lord, or did I just accept Him for the Christian fire insurance?”
Lordship means our life is no longer our own, because we have been bought and paid for by the blood of Jesus. Lordship is when we invite Jesus to live in our hearts and we desire to be transformed to be like Him. Lordship is when we seek God’s will for every situation rather than following what our culture does, or what we feel like doing. Lordship means when someone else isn’t doing what he or she should be doing we don’t allow it to affect our decisions. I will often ask those who are complaining about their circumstances or about their spouse's selfish and hurtful actions,
Q: What does that have to do with you and God?
I don’t ever want to make light of the pain and suffering people go through within the confines of their marriage relationship, but I do want to encourage them to remember the promises and provisions from God for their lives. God has a plan for every one of us, regardless of how bad the situation may be. Our part is to find out what His will is for us and then for us to be obedient. We must remember to do everything as if we are doing it for Him and with a heart of joy.
I want to encourage you to meditate upon these things today. Let’s choose to trust in God’s plan and provision for our lives today. Let’s choose to fix our mind upon Him and trust Him fully when we find ourselves wanting to quit in a relationship.
STUDY QUESTION: According to Proverbs 2:6-9, what promises and provisions are we given by God?
PERSONAL INVENTORY: Are you willing to submit to Jesus’ will for your life and allow Him to be the Lord of your life?
APPLICATION: Let’s choose to seek God’s Word to find out what His will is for us in our relationships?
Through my marriage counseling, I often talk to people who have lost hope. They have come to the end of their abilities, and I frequently hear them anguishing because they don’t know what to do, so they simply say, “No more.” It always saddens me to see the relationship between a husband and wife come to this point, especially when it started with so much hope, promise and excitement.
All too often by the time I get a chance to speak with the couple and share God’s heart and plan for their life, one, or both of them has already made up their mind to quit the relationship and appears to be only there to justify and show others they have done all they possibly could to save the marriage. It saddens me to see, but I am confident in God’s ability to restore completely destroyed marriages and to resurrect them from the fiery ashes.
One of the first things I attempt to ask those in counseling is, “When did you make Jesus your Lord?” Often times the response is the day when they accepted Jesus as their Savior. I then ask them again, “Okay, this is when you accepted Christ, but when did you make Him your personal Lord?” I find this to be a pivotal answer as it will give me a clear indication as to whether they are going submit to God’s will for their lives, regardless of what they may be facing, or feeling. I think it would be good for all of us to ask ourselves,
Q: Is Jesus my Lord, or did I just accept Him for the Christian fire insurance?”
Lordship means our life is no longer our own, because we have been bought and paid for by the blood of Jesus. Lordship is when we invite Jesus to live in our hearts and we desire to be transformed to be like Him. Lordship is when we seek God’s will for every situation rather than following what our culture does, or what we feel like doing. Lordship means when someone else isn’t doing what he or she should be doing we don’t allow it to affect our decisions. I will often ask those who are complaining about their circumstances or about their spouse's selfish and hurtful actions,
Q: What does that have to do with you and God?
I don’t ever want to make light of the pain and suffering people go through within the confines of their marriage relationship, but I do want to encourage them to remember the promises and provisions from God for their lives. God has a plan for every one of us, regardless of how bad the situation may be. Our part is to find out what His will is for us and then for us to be obedient. We must remember to do everything as if we are doing it for Him and with a heart of joy.
I want to encourage you to meditate upon these things today. Let’s choose to trust in God’s plan and provision for our lives today. Let’s choose to fix our mind upon Him and trust Him fully when we find ourselves wanting to quit in a relationship.
STUDY QUESTION: According to Proverbs 2:6-9, what promises and provisions are we given by God?
PERSONAL INVENTORY: Are you willing to submit to Jesus’ will for your life and allow Him to be the Lord of your life?
APPLICATION: Let’s choose to seek God’s Word to find out what His will is for us in our relationships?
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