Experiencing Victory in our Marriages
For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? (1 John 5:5-4)
When God created the institution of marriage, He intended for us to be victorious. However, many wives are in marriages where they feel defeated, and feel that it is hard to see the hand of God. Victory in marriage looks like a marriage that is ordered as God destined – the husband serving as the spiritual head, submitting to God; and the wife submitting to the husband, as unto God (read Ephesians 5). It also looks like us walking in unity in our marriages, being on one accord with our husbands. Instead, we are seeing husbands who are out of position or division and disagreements prevalent in our marriage. The purpose of this blog is to encourage wives and remind you that victory is available in our marriages! However, it will only come through Christ. We cannot do things our way and expect to experience the victory of Christ. I John 5:5-4 reminds us that we, as children of God, will experience victory through our faith in Jesus Christ. According to dictionary.com, the word through is defined as by way of, or within the limits or medium of; the source of acquisition. For example, when buying a house, we acquire a loan through a bank or lending agency. And just as we are able to purchase a house through a loan - the only way we are going to acquire victory in our Christian walk is THROUGH CHRIST!
Here are some things we must remember when experience victory through Christ?
We have no say so in terms! When acquiring a loan to purchase a house, the terms are already set. The bank determines the interest rate, the length of time you will have to pay the loan off, and the monthly payment. We have no say so in the terms; and just as we don't show up and tell the bank or lending agency the interest rate we want and how long we’re going to take to pay back the loan, we don’t have the right to show up and tell God how we are going to fight the fight to gain victory. The Bible is clear about what needs to be done to gain victory in our spiritual fight. In Ephesians 6:10-18, God lays out exactly what we need to do to gain the victory. Doing things our way by nagging, pouting, being critical, crying, and getting frustrated will NOT get us victory! We have to suit up in our armor, and we have to FIGHT! (please read Ephesians 6:10-18).
We don't get the credit! When acquiring a loan to purchase a house, the person you are purchasing the house from receives a check from the lending agency. You do not get any credit for coming up with the money. Likewise in Christ, the purpose of our victory is to give glory to God. Many times in marriage, we want to receive the credit. When things turn around, we spend a lot of time talking about how much WE prayed, WE fasted, or WE persevered! And all of this may be true; however, more attention should be given to the person (God) than the process (what we did). I desired to experience victory in an area of my marriage, and in prayer one day, God confirmed that I hadn’t been blessed with the manifestation of the victory because He couldn’t trust that I would give Him the glory! I was blown away, especially after I searched my heart and knew He was absolutely correct. Apart of my testimony as a wife is also my husband’s testimony, so some of it God is not releasing me to tell because it's for my husband to tell, and not me! God wants to be able to trust that we will give Him the credit for the victory. I Peter 4:11 says whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
We lose our identity! 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. To experience victory through Christ we have to identify with the things of Christ. The problem is that we are still identifying with old things and old ways. We get mad when things don’t go our way instead of growing up and being able to maturely assess a situation and ask God what He would have for us to learn. We continue to gossip about other wives’ marriages, instead of praying for them and encouraging them with the word of God. Instead of standing firm on our faith and the promises of God, we get distracted by current circumstances and allow doubt to creep in. We continue to identify with our old way of doing things and we wonder why we are not experiencing victory! We must begin to identify with Christ. Victory is available, but it only comes THROUGH Christ. To all of my sisters in Christ, I encourage you to seek the Holy Spirit for strength, understanding, and knowledge in order to experience this victory. And, to my sisters in creation, who have not accepted Christ as your personal Savior, I pray that you ask Him into your heart today, so that you can begin experiencing the victory of Christ . Dear Lord, I pray that you will touch every wife who is reading this right now. I pray that they will yield their will to You and commit to doing things your way. And, when this is done, I pray that they will experience victory in every area of their marriage. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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