Tuesday, March 13, 2007

In "Other" Words

As a young bride at twenty two, married to the man who had prayed for me at the tender age of fifteen, I had a very limited understanding of what God's design for marriage was. I knew I was to "leave" and "cleave" and that we were "one flesh", but beyond this, I began a life hoping to find joy and fulfilment only to discover that I struggled deeply within myself. I had a husband who loved me immensely, I was a born again Christian and it just seemed everything should be fine. I found the unfulfilled expectations I had seemed hopeless. Most of my struggles did not stem from my husband, but from my own fears and insecurities. I did not believe that I was capable of being loved. I struggled to accept God's unconditional love for my life and all of this only spilled over into my relationship with my husband. Over the years God has stretched our relationship to the very core. Our love for each other never wavered but the storms of life pounded against us one right after another at times.
James 1:2-8 (ESV) says,
"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways."
As the years went on I sought the Lord with everything in me. I did not want all these trials and troubles wasted. I asked the Lord for wisdom and understanding on His plan for marriage. I lived to this point in my plan for marriage and it was not working for me. Slowly, the Lord moved me down a path showing me not only His plan for marriage but brought healing and deliverance from the struggles that had entangled my life. God brought people and put me in places where biblical truths were taught and this changed my life dramatically. One truth in particular sticks out in my mind that changed my course for good. "Marriage was not designed to make me happy, but to bring God glory!" My marriage was to bring God glory! What a enormous relief this was to me. My joy (happiness) could only come from the Lord and Him alone, and therefore the joy I experienced in my marriage was a result of following God's plan for a biblical marriage. I live each day hoping my marriage will continually bring glory to God!

"One of the secrets to a happy marriage is remembering the source of our joy, which is not one another. The source of our joy is the Lord. Yes, we share tons of joyous moments, but we don't expect, let alone demand, endless joy-filled moments from each other. "

~ Liz Curtis Higgs ~from the devotional: Rise and Shine

For more "In Other Words" visit Darlene Schacht here

11 comments:

Crystal said...

Thanks so much for sharing your take on this weeks quote.
Blessings

Denise said...

Enjoyed reading your thoughts, bless you.

Miriam Pauline said...

You write: ""Marriage was not designed to make me happy, but to bring God glory!" My marriage was to bring God glory!" Thank you for this! I so needed this reminder.

Janis Rodgers said...

When we are growing up, we think that marriage will be "the thing" to make us happy, but it is not! Thanks for sharing with us! Blessings to you!

Lori said...

" I struggled to accept God's unconditional love for my life and all of this only spilled over into my relationship with my husband." Oh Amen!!! Me Too!!! My self-image (lack thereof) was really effecting things, and he did nothing but love me. God worked in me, it was not easy, many tears shed, but I praise God for loving me so much to break me out of some of the lies I was believing.

Unknown said...

This is so fitting. Thank you so much for sharing this.

Blessings to you.

Lisa @ The Preacher's Wife said...

I am also a pastor's wife and I loved your take on this quote...Great to meet you!

Darlene Schacht said...

This is something I should post on my fridge, "Marriage was not designed to make me happy, but to bring God glory!" Thanks for the wisdom.

Unknown said...

This is lovely. I have to say that I cling to the fact that my marriage is meant to bring God glory whenever we hit a rough patch. I know that I can pray for us to be closer and that complete healing and restoration is in God's will for that very reason.

melanie said...

what a great truth Chris. we went through many struggles the first 5 years, many related to expectations in each other and lacking in our truth from His view. thanks for sharing.

Cyndi said...

This was wonderful, Chris. I was not able to do IOW this week, but I just had to come over and see what you posted. I loved this!