The Lord will continually guide you, and satisfy your desire. – Isaiah 58:11
Day 20 was a vitally important day in the Love Dare – and in your life. You came face-to-face with the glaring need of every human heart. And perhaps for the very first time, you became aware of how personal this need really is. You may have realized that nothing in your toolbox of talents and resources could repair the damage that sin leaves, and that Jesus is the only One who can supply what you’ve been missing. If you’ve received Him by faith and have turned your life over to Him to manage and lead, then His Holy Spirit is renewing your heart. His wisdom, grace, and power can now be released into everything you do. Including, not the least, your marriage.
But whether this is new territory for you or if you’ve been a follower of Jesus for quite a while, now is the time for you to firm up one thing in your mind: you need God every single day. This is not a part-time proposition. He alone can satisfy, even when all else fails you.
Your husband may be late coming home. Again. But God will always be right on time.
Your wife may let you down. Again. But God can always be trusted to deliver on His promises.
Every day you place expectations on your spouse. Sometimes they meet them. Sometimes they don’t. But never will they be able to totally satisfy all the demands you ask of them – partly because some of your demands are unreasonable, partly because your mate is human.
God, however, is not. And those who approach Him in utter dependence each day for the real needs in their life are the ones who find out just how dependable He is.
Can your spouse give you an inner peace? No. But God can. “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7).
Can your spouse enable you to be content no matter what life throws at you? No. But God can. “In any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled … I can do all things through Him who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:12-13).
There are needs in your life only God can fully satisfy. Though your husband or wife is able to complete some of these requirements – at least now and then – only God is able to do it all. Your need for love. Your need for acceptance. Your need for joy. It’s time to stop expecting somebody or something to keep your functioning and fulfilled on a non-stop basis. Only God can do that as you learn to depend on Him. But He wants to do it His way. “My God will supply all your need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19).
The needs of love, peace, and adequacy are real. No one is saying you shouldn’t have them. But rather than plugging into things that are unstable at best and are subject to change – your health, your money, even the affections and best intentions of your mate – plug into God instead. He’s the only One in your life that can never change. His faithfulness, His truth, and His promises to His children will always remain. That’s why you need to seek Him every day.
Our only reason for not doing this is because we really don’t trust God to supply what we need. And yet the Bible says, “Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4). When we are seeking Him first, loving Him first, making our relationship with Him top priority, He promises to supply us with what we really need – which, actually, is all it really takes to satisfy us.
Jesus once spoke to a woman at a Samaritan well, a woman who had tried getting her needs met through a string of failed relationships. With both her life and water bucket empty, she had come to this place broken and hardened yet still desperately in need. But in Christ she found what He called “living water” (John 4:10) – a supply that wasn’t just for quenching temporary thirst. What He offered her was a drink of soul satisfaction that never quits giving and refreshing. And that is what’s available to you each morning at sunrise and each night before bed, no matter who your spouse is what they’ve done to you.
God is your everyday supply. Of everything you need.
I find when I start my day or spend a part of my day focused on The Word and in prayer with God I have a much calmer day and find myself being able to fight the demons in my own head.
The chapter allows me to look beyond the desires of the flesh to see that my expectations in life and in my marriage need to come by seeking the Lord rather than seeking my hubby to fulfill them. When we walk with God He gives us what we desire and what He has planned for us.
I have wonderful support from my hubby, even in our darkest hours he has always been there for me and makes sure that my needs are taken care of to the best of his ability. He helps me reduce my stress by encouraging me to change things in my life. He takes care of the ins and outs of daily life when it comes to our household and bills. He does all these things to try and make life just a little bit easier for me. But when it comes to peace in my heart, even though my hubby has a lot to do with that, I must seek this from God.
Putting demands on my hubby for my insecurities isn't fair. Some of them have came from my hubby's past actions but there are others that have been there for years and I must seek God to help me release myself from them. I must seek God to release me from not being able to trust. I must seek God to help me fully forgive and move on from the past. All of these things need to come from God and as I have talked about several times in the past, it is all about learning to "Give it to God."
I read Proverbs 1 as part of my chapter "homework." The book of Proverbs is amazing with all it's life lessons and spiritual healing within the chapter. I am going to make it part of my day to read one chapter a day. I am hoping by reading these scriptures I will take my lessons in my faith to another level and really begin to work on being a better person in all areas of my life. Thus making my marriage better as well.
I have a large family. Sometimes I can go through my day on auto pilot and think everything is okay. But if I continue on this path and not take the time to teach my kids the Word then someone, somewhere out there is going to teach them something else. Part of being a better person and wife is being a better leader in my faith for our family. Ultimately this is the role of my hubby but it should not fall on his shoulders only.
We only have this one life to live, and we are only guaranteed this one second we are living in at this very moment. I want to make sure that I use my time to the fullest and live it in God's world vs trying to get God to live in mine.
~Mellie
*****
You may have realized that nothing in your toolbox of talents and resources could repair the damage that sin leaves, and that Jesus is the only One who can supply what you’ve been missing. If you’ve received Him by faith and have turned your life over to Him to manage and lead, then His Holy Spirit is renewing your heart. His wisdom, grace, and power can now be released into everything you do. Including, not the least, your marriage.
I can fix anything. Which, is good, considering I tend to break a lot of things. However, over the several months I have realized that sometimes things cannot simply be repaired with words or the commitment to "never do it again."Somethings, truly take time, dedication, real commitment, and most of all....actions.
It is my job, my God giving responsibility to lead my family to a better life, with faith as its foundation. Some days, weeks, months--I do this better than others. We all live in this busy world, on the grind from one day to the next. It is easy...perhaps even inevitable to lose our way and focus, at times.
I have learned, mostly through observation and a bit of experimentation, that I really do influence how things go both at home and in my careers/ businesses. I once read, and wholeheartedly believe, that power is not inherent or given authority, but rather power is measured by one's ability to influence. In that sense, I am very powerful.
At times, I fail to concentrate that power on "doing good" and instead use that ability to influence to manipulate or otherwise guide things to go the way I want them to do. Really, to a large extent, we all do this either consciously or sub-consciously.
However, again, I know I am very powerful. And with that power, that God-giving ability to influence, persuade, and otherwise manipulate others, comes a tremendous responsibility to use that power for good. Not for my own selfish wants or desires.
I am recommitting myself to my family. I am recommitting myself to my work. I am, in fact, recommitting myself to use my power for good--lead my family, friends, business partners and associates, to a better life. I know I can do it--I always have been able to do it. I just have not always wanted to do it.
I have an amazing, supportive, tolerant wife. She deserves me at my best. My family deserves and needs me at my best, as do my business associates. It is going to be a grind. Some days go better than others, and at times I will fall off the path to success. But, I know which direction I am headed in and as long as I keep moving in that direction, I will lead all those around me to a better life....a faithful life.
Joseph
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