As we witness God’s hand at work in the circumstances of many of our spouses’ lives in full accordance with what His Word says, it’s very important for us to take our own inventory to insure we’re providing the right atmosphere for the restoration of our marriages. And that’s an atmosphere of grace, because without grace there can be no redemption, and without redemption, there can be no restoration. So it’s not by any means a coincidence that the same things that keep us from providing an atmosphere of grace are the very things that keep God from hearing and answering our prayers and which interfere with or hinder the flow of the Holy Spirit; such as pride, unforgiveness, bitterness, resentment, self-righteousness, envy, anger, strife, grumbling and complaining; being self-centered, condescending and judgmental – just to name a few.

There’s been some very interesting conversation about this on the private websites, especially in response to a message shared early this morning by a fellowship member. One of our other members said she felt the message was meant for her, because her husband asks her to do things for him all the time, and she said she has a tendency to feel like he’s just using her and that she battles to overcome that fear. Since my response to her addresses some of the issues we all have to overcome to create an atmosphere of grace, I’m just going to share that as follows:

“(Name Omitted), that’s something many of us struggle with as we stand for our marriages, but we have to remember that the Lord tells us to HUMBLE ourselves under His mighty hand and that HE will lift us up in due time. So EVEN if someone is taking advantage of us, IF we are humble, especially since the Bible says we are to submit ourselves to our husbands in EVERYTHING AS UNTO THE LORD, we can count on God to make that wrong right. Don’t forget, His Word ALSO tells us that if they ask for our shirt, give them our coat as well; if they ask us to go a mile, go two and if they slap us on one cheek, turn the other. That’s something we don’t hear taught much these days, but that is biblical teaching and something we need to heed to see the awesome power of God released in our lives and the restoration of our marriages. And another biblical teaching that is not very popular in today’s society is that God created us for our husband’s delight and completion, and not the other way around. Since our husbands are to us as Christ is to the church, then we are here for their praise, honor and glory. When we truly understand God’s plan for marriage and submit to it in faith and obedience to Him, we WILL see miracles right and left…and we will end up with everything we want as well!”

Then in response to what I shared above, the same fellowship member requested prayer for the Lord’s help to demonstrate love according to 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, which says Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. And since these verses provide God’s perfect formula for creating the atmosphere of grace necessary for marriage restoration, we ALL need God’s help to love our spouses accordingly. And by studying the following verses, we can gain an even greater understanding of the nature and characteristics of the grace we need to demonstrate as we stand for the restoration of our marriages:

2 Peter 1:2
Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.

2 John 1:3
“Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father’s Son, will be with us in truth and love.

Revelation 22:21
The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen.

Proverbs 3:34
He mocks proud mockers but gives grace to the humble.

John 1:16
From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another.

Acts 15:11
No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.”

Acts 20:32
“Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.

Romans 3:24
and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

Romans 11:6
And if by grace, then it is no longer by works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.

2 Corinthians 4:15
All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.

2 Corinthians 8:7
But just as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us —see that you also excel in this grace of giving.

Ephesians 1:7
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace

Ephesians 2:5
made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.

Ephesians 2:7
in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.

Ephesians 2:8
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—

Colossians 4:6
Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.

2 Thessalonians 2:16
May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope,

2 Timothy 1:2
To Timothy, my dear son: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

Titus 3:7
so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.

Hebrews 4:16
Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

Hebrews 12:15
See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.

1 Peter 1:13
Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.

1 Peter 5:5
Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

So the truly good news for us as we stand for marriage restoration is that the Lord’s grace is always sufficient and that when we rely on Him through the power of the Holy Spirit and walk in accordance with His Word, our grace WILL be sufficient too! That’s just one reason we’ll ALWAYS be blessed and encouraged when we stand on the truth of God’s Word!

Posted Wednesday, March 28th, 2007 at 12:01 am in Seeds Of Faith.