Knowing the Secret of Staying Strong

 

It is common knowledge that life is a big challenge now. The world's economy is not smiling, and many people are forced to make lifestyle changes. One important thing to also see in this situation is that it is driving a wedge in many homes, and marriages are breaking left, right, and center.

As a couple, if you are not very watchful and prayerful, it is just a matter of time before you fall under the burden of the wave of hardship the world is experiencing. So, I say a big well done to the millions of marriages still standing despite it all. May the Lord continue to uphold your marriage and pour fresh oil of love on your union. 

But guess what? At this point, some marriages are getting more robust, and the love is building like these couples are newlyweds. How come when quite a handful of marriages are crumbling, and some are struggling, these ones are thriving? What are they doing differently? Do they not feel this economic crunch?

I will share some of what I know in today's blog post. The first piece of information to share is prayer. And the first response to that is, "We all pray, so why is it different?" Well, what kind of a prayer person are you? Are you a grumbling prayer person or a thankful prayer person?

I noticed that whenever my daughter wants something from my husband, they will first have to play and joke, and she gets her father in a playful and gentle mood and then chips in her demand along the way. Often, the first response is always a no. But guess what? She gets what she asks for.

In the same way, if we want a fast and sure answer, we will do what Paul teaches us in Philippians 4:6-7, "with prayer, supplication, and thanksgiving, we should make our request known to God." Hold fast to that keyword thanksgiving because God dwells in the praises of His children.

The second piece of information I want to share is the need to make every effort to keep the bond tight. The power of agreement can never be over-emphasized, and that agreement will not come cheap; it comes with the cost of compromise. One party must learn to trust the other party's judgment into God's hands. Often, this is done by the wives. The wife aligns with her husband in agreement. She commits her husband's decisions to God's hand, who alone can turn an unbelievably lousy situation around for good.

 A virtuous wife is not the fool who gives up herself all the time for her spouse and family; she is the one who stoops to conquer. Arguing and fighting are what we are avoiding here. Conflict is what we are running away from. Sometimes, those decisions are terribly wrong, and our husbands are unbelievably adamant. So, your view as a wife may contradict your husband's decisions or conclusions or the direction in which he leads the family. Still, rather than becoming assertive, we pray. We must keep the bond strong, maintain agreement, and stoop to conquer. The only way to get through him or lessen the impact of his decision-making is by praying. And before I jump to the next paragraph, I want to highlight that it runs both ways. Some wives are a hard nut to crack. 😉

There is power in agreement; even God said it in Genesis 11:6, so wanting to be right continually erodes the power of agreement in your marriage and makes your union vulnerable to the attack of impossibility. In Matthew 18:19, "Jesus said if two agree on earth concerning anything they ask, it will be done for them by Our Father in heaven." So, we should ask in agreement, and we should ask thankfully and in faith. You know that faith is the currency of heaven. 

God will not come to do the agreement aspect for us; that is for us to do. Will we always agree? The true answer is NO. However, the work is for one party to align their will with the will of the other party, and then an agreement is achieved. Doing this over time makes it less complicated.

But see what God said in Genesis 2:8: "It is not good for man to be alone, so He makes a helper for him as his wife." The two will not be strong in the same area of life, with the same strength, and even at the same time. The idea is where and when one is weak, the other is strong. That is the design from the Creator. So, acknowledging your weakness and the strength of your spouse and allowing them to be strong when you are weak is the birth of agreement that brings power.

So, we see why some marriages wax strong in the world's meltdown, and others are melting with the meltdown. I pray for wisdom today and the grace of God to stand strong and firm when everything else is falling apart. Not just for my marriage but for yours, too, in Jesus' name.