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“For everyone
born of God overcomes the
world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith” (1 John 5:4 NIV).
In the first
part of this message, I
concluded that there is hope for those whose marriages are in distress. I
stressed that divorce should never be an option out of marital crisis.
In this
concluding part, I will like to begin by saying that the solutions to
your
recurring marital problems lie with you. If you are to see your family
bouncing
back in love, you must start with yourself. And if you are to start with
yourself, you must exercise faith.
The first thing
is that you must become
a child of God: “Who is it that overcome the world? Only he who
believes
that Jesus is the Son of God”. Believing in Christ and His name
makes
you to become a child of God.
The second
thing is to realise your
position in Christ and its attendant benefits. For example, you are
complete in
Christ. This realisation will provoke you to proclaim like Paul the
apostle, “I
can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”. Standing
on this
ground, you can resist Satan and his agents and they will flee from you
and
your family. If you realise your completeness in Christ, you will not be
moved
by what people say about your family or the threats of Satan or his
agents
concerning your family. Your concern will be what God says about your
family.
Again, in
Christ you are a new creature.
As a new creature you are dead to the things of the world. You have been
given
power to live a crucified (holy and regenerated) life. Also, the Holy
Spirit
dwells in you to guide you to all truth. He will enable you to please
God in
all things. And “when a man’s ways are pleasing to the Lord, he
makes
even his enemies live at peace with him” (Proverbs 16:7 NIV).
Those who
were once working against your family will now be working in favour of
your
family.
Furthermore,
you are fully secured in
Christ. Your in-laws or rivals may threaten you with death. Many
husbands and
wives had deserted their spouses as a result of such threats. But I’m
assuring
you that if really you are in Christ, nobody can kill you before your
time. You
must ignore such a threat and call upon the Lord in whom you trust. He
will fight for you.
These are God’s
promises for you: “He
shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in
trouble; I
will deliver him, and honour him. With long life will I satisfy him, and
shew him
my salvation”. (Psalm 91: 15-16).
Third, you must
have faith in the word
of God. For you to have faith in God, you must allow His Word to dwell
in you
richly in all wisdom. You must meditate upon the word. Your faith rises
to the
level at which you can apply God’s Word that dwells in your heart in
your daily
activities. The word of God is the operating manual that God designs for
marriage to be successful.
You and your
spouse must make a
strong commitment to live by the Word of God. Through the word you can
identify
your marital problems and obtain solutions to them without fallen out
with your
spouse. Jesus says, “If you remain in me, and my words remain in
you, ask
whatever you wish, and it will be given you” (John 15:7 NIV).
It follows then
that the sure and best
solution to marital problems is for the husband and wife to allow the
word of
Christ to remain in them. This will enable their prayers to God
concerning
their marital problems to be answered.
Also, the word
imparts the wisdom to
build a stable home. Through the Word of God, the mystery that surrounds
marriage could easily be decoded. Proper understanding of this mystery
is the
secret needed to build a stable home.
I will like to
conclude that marital
problems are the handiwork of Satan and the only way for husband and
wife to
overcome is through faith. We are to resist Satan in the faith and he
will flee
from us. I challenge you to apply the power of faith in confronting your
marital problems and you will soon share wonderful testimonies with me.
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