How To Stand
We often use the word “standing” when referring to our decision not to give up on our marriages, but I wonder if we pay enough attention to how the Bible tells us we’re to do that? It doesn’t do much to know what to do if we don’t know how to do it, so it’s important to see what the Bible tells us about standing. The Bible verses relied on most often are the following verses from Ephesians 6:
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.
11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.
12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,
15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.
16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
19 Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel,
20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.
I never thought about it before when reading these verses, but they follow Paul’s instructions about living moral and upright lives, and walking in right relationship with others, including our husbands and wives, as seen in Ephesians 5, and they acknowledge and validate how difficult it is to do what he instructs us to do, which is why I think he began them with “Finally.” There is no doubt in my mind that it is not possible for us to stand for the restoration of our marriages without doing exactly what Paul tells us to do in these verses. You’ll get a much clearer understanding of them by reading them in the context of Ephesians 5 and 6, which you can read atwww.BibleGateway.com
So many of the most important principles of faith and marriage restoration are contained or confirmed in these verses, so I’ll be posting this in Heart To Heart with some additional thoughts for the FAM members to discuss. It is my prayer for every woman standing for marriage restoration that you will make the decision to forgive, and learn to see your husband through the eyes of God, and not through the pain of your experience. The devil is your enemy, not your husband and he desperately needs you to love him enough to stand in the gap for him.