“Be confident of this. You know, this is powerful that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 1:6
You made it! Your marriage has been restored. Now what? So many people tell me that they grew lazy in their walk with the Lord after their marriage was restored. They stopped reading the Bible and praying for others. I want to caution you about this and encourage you to remain a person who is constantly growing in the Lord. I want you to live a life of victory, not defeat. When you are not spending time with the Lord, you will see defeat overtake your life.
If we could understand who the Lord truly is, we would not be so defeated, discouraged, and depressed. You have likely gone to the Lord and prayed, “You are my deliverer.” You have seen the Lord deliver your spouse and restore your marriage. Then why do you get stuck in defeat and doubt in other areas of your life? I think we end up there due to our lack of knowledge and lack of knowing how to pray. We don’t take the authority that we have as Christians, and we pray weak prayers. God taught us how we should pray in the Lord’s Prayer.
“This, then, is how you should pray: “‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’ Matthew 6:9-13
God knows everything about you and your spouse. He knows your past, He knows your present, and He knows your future. He’s going to guide and direct you as you both work on your marriage. Please don’t lose your passion to fight for your marriage now that it has been restored.
It says in 2 Corinthians 10:3-4:
“For though we live in the world. We do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.”
And there is what we need to pray against, strongholds.
You need to break the strongholds in your and your spouse’s lives. You are in a spiritual battle because our enemy will constantly try to harm your marriage again. Bob and I lived it, and we had to be on guard against the enemy’s tricks. Sometimes we gave in to our selfishness instead of fighting the enemy as one in Christ.
Let me share the key to victory. It’s a daily walk with the Lord. It is reading your Bible every day. It’s praying every day and not giving Jesus your leftovers. I wouldn’t say I like exercising. I never have. I have done it because my doctors tell me it is good. I started tracking how many days I would ride my stationary bike, and sometimes I am shocked to find I haven’t done it in two weeks. I can make excuses, but I know it is my fault because I am not prioritizing exercise. The same thing can happen with our time in the Bible. We use our business as an excuse but have time for other things. The Lord does not want to be squeezed in. He wants to be a priority in our lives.
When Bob and I divorced, I realized I did not know the Word of God as well as I should have known. That is why I never realized that Bob could be touched and transformed if I prayed and stood in the gap. I never prayed for my marriage the way I should have. That changed after our restoration, and I hope you can say it has also changed for you. Don’t ever stop being a person of prayer for your marriage.
The Lord is going to complete what he started. He’s giving you the heart and the burden for your spouse and for your marriage to be saved, delivered, and set free from any or all things that may have harmed it. I am confident that He will continue a good work for you and your family. You are a new creature in Christ. Ask the Lord to make your marriage a new creation because of His healing work through it.
Don’t get discouraged if your marriage isn’t what you had envisioned today. Don’t be afraid, but trust the work Jesus Christ is doing through each of you. How often does Jesus say, “Do not be afraid,” in the Bible? Take up your position. Stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you. The Lord is going to do it. The Lord brought your spouse home. God is in control of your spouse, and you’ve got to let go and let God deal with them. But you must stand firm and realize the battle is not yours. Give Jesus the room to continue molding each of you into His image through your restoration.
God bless,
