F A I T H F U L
Understanding!
This week a new understanding of scripture hit me like a ton of bricks. Right in the noggin’… You see, I come from a broken home with parents who seriously knew how to put “fun” back into dysfunctional. And that is mostly the reason why I am on this journey in learning how to be a wife who quite simply glorifies God as her saviour, creator, redeemer and friend. One of the issues that I battle with – that I think we all battle with – is my mind. For a long time now, on both this blog, and my other blog I have been talking about the battlefield of the mind. The thoughts we think dictate our lives – we cannot possibly have a positive, upbeat and happy life while we’re thinking negative thoughts. It just can’t happen.
But, something that I realised this past week is that often I would have this thought slam me in the middle of something and I would question why. It’s not the “why” that’s important, but rather the “who”… Who see – this is what I realised:
Romans 8:1 NIV: Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus
And what is that little voice in your head telling you that you’re not good enough, you’ll never achieve what you want, you’re not worthy, you can’t do it, you’re stupid, you’ll get sick and die and whatever else your little voice is telling you? That is pure condemnation! You see, I used to think that the condemnation referred to our salvation – only. Now, I realise that it a continuous stream of condemnation for every facet of our lives. And it is straight from the evil one. So, what is our job? Our job is to believe God’s truth that we are not condemned – we are not stupid, or unworthy, or lowly, or a loser. Not in God’s eyes we’re not. You see, in God’s eyes, we’re already covered in righteousness, because Jesus is our saviour. Yes, He is working His good work in us and that may only be completed on the day of Christ Jesus, but for now we are still seen as righteous through Jesus Christ.
Philippians 1:6 NIV: being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
How does this pertain to marriage?
Everything. Because if you’re living a life condemned, that will directly play itself out in our marriages. However, if you’re living a life to be Jesus to your family, and to glorify God, that will play itself out in our marriages.
Is it easy?
No, the paths we Christians walk in this life is along the straight and narrow and is never easy. But through Jesus we can do all things.
Philippians 4:13 NIV: I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
And that is what we need to do – is to live our marriages out in His strength, to glorify God and to be Jesus to our families. Today’s acronym from Faithful is Understanding. And the understanding comes in that when we cease to love our spouses in our own strength and start loving them from God’s strength, our marriages take on new meaning. Now, we’re not married for our own happiness as much as we are married to give glory to God and to be Jesus to our families. And we can never love like this while living in condemnation.
In other words, understand – know – believe who you are in Christ! Then live that out in your marriage.
So tell that little voice in your head to shut the hell up – and start believing God’s truth through His word.
The Fragrance of Marriage! 