There’s no way to overstate the awe and excitement in the FAM Fellowship when we have another marriage restoration in our midst, which is especially true with the most recent restoration we’ve been blessed to witness! While every marriage restoration looks impossible when looking at the circumstances through natural eyes; it is true that some seem even more unlikely than others, and this was definitely such a situation! I’ve often written about this young lady, so regular visitors to the site are sure to recognize MNO’s (Member Name Omitted) testimony.

MNO is very young and her husband left when she was a few months pregnant; leaving her and her children with NO financial support at all for many months. Unfortunately, since she was pregnant and didn’t know how to drive or have a car or driver’s license, she didn’t qualify for any of the available housing assistance programs, because they all required participation in either educational or work training programs. And things were complicated by the fact that she lived in a very small rural area. Since she had already received assistance to pay her rent from the only local agencies that do it (as a one time thing), and had no way to pay her rent, her landlords (a church) were threatening to evict her and her two VERY young children when God brought her to the ministry.. But God had BIG plans for MNO, and even how she came to the ministry is a huge testimony in and of itself!

I first met MNO when she posted a response to a Seeds Of Faith posts in early July, and even though I meant to reply, I didn’t do so in a timely manner. Then a few days later, she posted a response to a post in which I meant to reference Isaiah 55:10-11 and inadvertently typed Jeremiah 55:10-11. As she told me later, she just doesn’t look scripture up most of the time, but that day she did and, Of course, discovered that there is no such passage of scripture! So she responded to that SOF post as well and politely pointed out that there was no such scripture and stated that she wasn’t perfect by any means, but that she felt it was real important to make sure that we use the correct scripture references! Well, I guess the last thing she expected was for me to publish her response and thank her for it AND respond to her response to the earlier SOF. But that’s what I did and we started talking after that, and she ended up becoming a FAM Fellowship member. And very soon after she joined the fellowship, I encountered health issues and was VERY grateful to have MNO around to cover for me when I was unable to manage the sites as usual! There’s no way that was not the hand of God in action!

Well, we just couldn’t let her be put out on the streets or end up in a shelter, and we happened to have the money in the ministry account (I was trying to save that for that book I’ve been trying to get written and published for so long! LOL). So I contacted her landlords and told them we would be paying her rent and asked if they could reduce it to help us out; but they wouldn’t reduce it a bit! I told MNO that since she wouldn’t ever want to find herself in the same situation again in the future, we would require her to get her GED and learn to drive and get her driver’s license. Unfortunately, we couldn’t find anyone to teach her to drive, so we actually paid for professional driving lessons! I know that instructor never had a nine month pregnant woman behind the wheel before—probably why he so generously kept making excuses to reduce the fee for each lesson! And fortunately, MNO was a VERY fast learner!

But to shorten things a bit, we helped support MNO and her little ones for six to seven months, paid for her driver’s license, registration and the repairs on a very nice little DONATED car (which was available right at the same time she got her license—again ONLY by the hand of God!) and helped her get started in her own business as a Disciples Cross producer. We did that right up until the ministry jus ran out of money and we weren’t able to do it anymore! But God had that covered too, because several people contacted MNO to let her know that an opening was available for an assisted housing program and that since she was working toward her GED, she should apply. She was approved and was able to move out the very same month we could no longer afford to pay her rent! Who but God could manage all of that!

I’m sharing all of this to demonstrate that MNO had MANY reasons and opportunities to give in to the natural fear and doubt we’d all have, but she never did! Her situation was further complicated by the fact that her husband was living with an NCP (non-covenant person) who was pregnant and whose baby was born about one month after hers. In the beginning, her husband was very angry and bitter. Every time child support was taken out of his checks, he’d quit his job, and there was a time when he didn’t seem to have any interest in his children, and he NEVER even acknowledged his wife’s pregnancy. In fact, he did his best to ignore the baby once it was born and that really broke MNO’s heart. BUT SHE NEVER GAVE UP ON THE PROMISE SHE HAD FROM GOD OF A RESTORED MARRIAGE AND FAMILY! And she did NOT get angry or bitter. She just focused on doing what she needed to do for herself and her children, and she became an invaluable asset to the ministry. We all came to greatly appreciate and admire her attitude of gratitude, praise and encouragement. And when the ministry was reorganized as a non-profit corporation, she was even asked to serve as one of our Board members.

The details of MNO’s testimony and God’s faithfulness to her could well fill the pages of a book, but after a little more than a year of separation and finally understanding who she is in Christ and PRACTICING what it means to be a wife according to God’s Word, MNO’s husband told her this past Friday that he’s coming home! They obviously have a lot of details to work out, but his heart has been turned and directed right back to his wife by the ALMIGHTY hand of God (Proverbs 21:1) and His Word has NOT returned void Isaiah 55:10-11!

I had intended to write this yesterday, and share it along with a wonderful post written by Dan over the weekend, but just wasn’t able to get it done. And then this morning I received an email message containing a link to the following message from Tiffany Ann Lewis, which ties in perfectly to the assurance we have of victory when we overcome fear and doubt. So read “And the Lord Remembered”, and then the following post from Dan, and you’re bound to be blessed and encouraged, because you’ll have more reason to KNOW that VICTORY is CERTAIN when we OVERCOME fear and doubt!

As I reflected on conversations I had with several guys last night, I was reminded of how Satan loves for us to be gripped with fear and doubt. We get caught up with fear that what we say and do will only push our spouses away, so we are afraid to set boundaries or perhaps afraid to respect the boundaries set by our spouses. But when we give way to fear and doubt, we are telling God that He is not in control. Yet, at the same time, we know that what we’re doing is not working. Unless we give everything over to God and put our trust and faith in Him, we are not being obedient. God’s love is unconditional, but His promises have conditions that we must meet. So we have to be totally dependent on Him and abandon our own ways.

In Bayless Conley’s newsletter this month, he talks about the second chapter of Daniel. When Daniel was experiencing the worst moments of his life and confusion and panic were all around him, he reminded himself of God’s Word; God is good; He is merciful, kind and faithful; He is an ever-present help in times of trouble. Daniel was able to resist panic by remembering the nature and character of God and what He promises in His Word.

Daniel 2:20-23
– He said, “Praise the name of God forever and ever, for he has all wisdom and power. He controls the course of world events; he removes kings and sets up other kings. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the scholars. He reveals deep and mysterious things and knows what lies hidden in darkness, though he is surrounded by light. I thank and praise you, God of my ancestors, for you have given me wisdom and strength. You have told me what we asked of you and revealed to us what the king demanded.”

God knows exactly what we are going through and every tiny detail of our situations. And He will help us Resist the temptation to be gripped by fear and doubt; thinking we can control the situation or circumstance ourselves. So when fear and doubt strike, we must remind ourselves who God is and fix our minds on the promises of His Word. And if we’re not reading and meditating on the Word, we must make it a priority. God desires that we have knowledge and understanding of His Word, so all we have to do is seek Him and He will pour out more and more of His wisdom on us. But if we don’t know and understand His commands and promises for us we just give Satan the opening he’s waiting for to come in and steal, kill and destroy us. Our families are under attack, but Jesus has already defeated Satan and won the victory for us. But we have to have His promises and His Word in our hearts, and not just in our heads, so we can speak His truth, have faith and believe that He will do exactly what He says He will do.

God makes a way when there seems to be no way. But God uses His supernatural power for His glory and honor; not for us to receive glory and honor. He will have His way and if we don’t believe that, we’re not where He wants us to be. There is no place for fear and doubt when we are in God’s hands. If we are in a panic, we are not in faith. The Lord loves us and cares deeply about every one of our situations. He wants to work on our behalf; all we have to do is let Him!

Posted Tuesday, April 22nd, 2008 at 7:51 pm in Seeds Of Faith.