Giving God the Praise and Glory He SO Richly Deserves!
There’s nothing more awe inspiring and encouraging for those of us standing for marriage restoration than seeing the way God works to restore what the world considers hopeless and dead marriages, and we were blessed to witness that as it happened in the lives of several FAM Fellowship members last week! What a wonderful way to celebrate the birth of Jesus! And I especially want to thank the FAM Fellowship members who gave permission to share some of those testimonies here, because experience has taught me that New Year’s Eve is often more difficult for those standing for marriage restoration than Christmas. So it’s really important to glorify the Lord by acknowledging and praising the awesome work of restoration we see Him doing and to use the word of our testimonies to encourage others who may well be growing discouraged or weary; after all it is by the word of our testimony that the devil is defeated! So we do praise the Lord and give Him all of the honor and glory for the great and mighty things He has done and which we know He will continue to do!
Revelation 12:10-11 – Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.
One of our members who had filed for divorce when she found out last summer that her husband was involved with another woman, finally took the plunge and told him that she has changed her mind and didn’t want to go through with the divorce. Of course, he had told her that he didn’t love her anymore; that she didn’t make him happy and that the NCP (non-covenant person) gave him everything he wanted and needed…blah, blah, blah…the same thing almost all prodigals say. And even though their relationship seemed less hostile, she wasn’t sure what his relationship was with the NCP, so it was a huge leap of faith for her to put her feelings on the line as she did. But she put aside her fear and pride and humbled herself before her husband and under the mighty hand of God and the reward was so worth it, because her husband acknowledged that he didn’t want the divorce either, but felt unworthy to approach her about coming back home. So he was thrilled to hear her news and he’s been home for almost two weeks now! Needless to say, hearing that their parents weren’t getting a divorce was the very best Christmas present for their kids and she said that this was their best Christmas ever!
And we’re all so happy and excited to see what the Lord has done in the restoration of another member’s marriage and family! They’ve been separated for seventeen months, during which time her husband has lived with the NCP. They’ve both suffered greatly through the ups and downs of the past seventeen months, as have their young children, but we’ve seen the Lord steadily at work through it all! And this week, he announced that he was moving to take a job in another state. And as hard as it was to believe, he told his wife he thought the kids would like that and when she repeated what he said with surprise, he stated that they would all be going with him! And when she asked about the NCP, he just said that he had to leave her some time; that he couldn’t just keep wasting his life with her! So they’re now making plans to look for a new home together and planning to start all over again…TOGETHER!
And we’ve seen the Lord at work in other relationships as well, so we just might have more restorations to give the Lord praise and thanks for real soon! God is so faithful to uphold the power and integrity of His Word, so we all have to keep our focus on the power and promise of His Word instead of the things that make our marriages look just as hopeless and dead as these did; along with those of all of the FAM Fellowship members who are now continuously posting wonderful, God glorifying testimonies of the awesome work of restoration the Lord has done and continues to do in their marriages and families since they were restored! God is no respecter of persons and what He has done for them, He will do for all! So put your hope, faith and confidence in the Lord and the fact that His Word NEVER returns void and GET READY! You could be next!
Isaiah 55:10-11 – As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
I want to share the following reply I received from the FAM Fellowship member whose husband has returned home when I asked for permission to share her testimony here, because it’s so important to realize that when our spouses return; that’s when the REALLY hard work begins. And it’s not just difficult for us, especially when adultery has been an issue, as it usually is; but coming home is very difficult for our spouses too and it’s VITALLY important for us to know and remember that. They often have so much guilt and shame (and even pride) to overcome and it’s very important for us to understand that and try to make the process easier for them, which we won’t likely be able to do without a lot of prayer and strong support from those who are standing with us. So just having a prodigal spouse come home doesn’t mean that our work is done; that’s often when the truly hard work begins, and it is most certainly when the devil will step up and intensify his attack. So for those of you who may experience restoration and who are not yet plugged into a strong support network of some kind, PLEASE don’t try to go through the completion of your marriage restoration process alone; that will just make you too vulnerable when the devil comes to steal, kill and destroy. Be it FAMM or some other marriage restoration ministry; make sure you get the one on one support you REALLY need immediately after your marriage is restored (when your spouse returns home or makes a commitment to work on your marriage). Here’s the message I received this morning giving me permission to share the above testimony of another marriage restoration for our Lord’s glory!
“Hi, Linda
Yes, it is okay with me for you to post our testimony. I was at work and I wasn’t able to post our restoration testimony, but I will do it this week. I agree, last week was difficult for me and it helped to speak to you. I went into my prayer closet a lot this weekend and it has helped me stay focus. I know that prayer is powerful and I realize that since SNO (spouse name omitted) has been home my prayer life is not as frequent, but I got back on my feet this past weekend and asked God for forgiveness. I have so much to continue to pray about; for God to maintain my faith and keep this marriage strong, to let me see SNO with God’s eyes, to love and cherish him, to stay focused on the family, and on my children’s needs. I pray that SNO one day will come to God and that God continues to work in both of us.
Linda, I want to wish you a Happy New Year 2008. May God continue to bless you and the FAM family, I know many more marriages will be restored. I have friends that are going through difficulties and I have told them about this ministry. I won’t be a stranger and I thank God for leading me to FAM at the right moment in my life and marriage; that is another testimony I would like to share one day…..God Bless and love you too!!”