There is NO OTHER Way!
Knowing that we want to stand for the restoration of our marriages and families is one thing, but knowing HOW to do it is another thing entirely. And the ONLY way to stand for marriage restoration and be assured of getting God’s results (full and complete restoration) is by DOING what His Word teaches and there is no other way. Yet, some really struggle to understand that, which is so unnecessary and so destructive, and it might well be the very thing that hinders what we so want. But there is a LOT we can do about that; we can learn to DO what the Word of God instructs us to do. And if we don’t, we have no one but ourselves to blame for the unhappy state of our minds and the delays in seeing our prayers answered and our marriages restored.
There are a lot of verses that get quoted here frequently, but are we PRACTICING their wisdom and BELIEVING them? Do we REALLY, REALLY even know WHO God is? Because if the answers to those questions are no, then we can’t live and walk in the victory Jesus came to give us and we aren’t going to experience the abundant life He died to make possible for us because there is no other way.
We all love Psalm 37:4-6 and the awesome promise it holds, but do we DELIGHT in the Lord; are we committed to doing things HIS way; do we REALLY trust Him? IF the answer to any of that is no, then we have no reason to expect God to give us the desires of our hearts or to make our righteousness shine like the dawn and the justice of our cause like the noon day sun! As it is written, Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. So why is it that we expect God to do HIS part when we are unwilling to do OUR part? Well, I’m here to tell you, and there are pages and pages on the FAMM websites that prove that it just doesn’t work that way. We have to KNOW that Jesus is NOT a liar and when He said that we have to DO what He says if we want to withstand the storms of life and everything that comes against us and our marriages, that is EXACTLY what He means and there is no other way! And He was also not lying when He warned that if we DON’T DO what His Word teaches, our houses (marriages and families) will be destroyed. Sadly, our failure to do that is why all of us are here; because we did NOT DO WHAT THE LORD TEACHES US TO DO. As Jesus taught in Luke 6:46-49, with my emphasis added…“Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? I will show you what he is like who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice. He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.” Why most of us are totally blinded to the very obvious, simple and powerful truth of this passage is beyond natural explanation and understanding, because I too had read and heard it preached for years before I read it again one day and FINALLY understood what it REALLY says! This passage is NOT about Jesus being our rock; it is about being obedient and DOING what He teaches us to do! It is about the difference in our lives when we DO what He teaches us to do and when we don’t. And as hard as it might be for us to get past the years of false doctrines we have had drummed into us over and over again for years, it is absolute proof that no amount of God’s grace and mercy make up for our failure to DO WHAT HIS WORD TELLS US TO DO! And no amount of faith and prayer will give us the desires of our hearts when we continue to live in disobedience to God’s Word and not DO what it very and unambiguously tells us to do! And it’s very important to note something else I just noticed for the first time when reading it again just now…Jesus said that this applies to us when we come to Him! So there is no point in turning to Jesus in our time of need if we aren’t going TO DO WHAT HIS WORD TEACHES! Yes, God’s grace and mercy are bestowed on us; but ONLY WHEN WE REPENT AND TURN FROM OUR evil thoughts and WICKED WAYS OF DISOBEDIENCE AND FAILURE TO LIVE BY FAITH…AND THEN TURN TO DOING THINGS GOD’S WAY. And we have God’s assurance of that in Isaiah 55.
And when God promises to give us all that we need and even want IF we seek FIRST HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS AND HIS KINGDOM; that doesn’t mean anything BUT that! We can’t think of everything else first and consider ANYTHING else before God…how HE feels…what HE wants…what HE thinks…what HE says…what HE does and how what WE do will affect HIS glory and the furtherance of HIS kingdom and then expect God to give us the things we need; much less the things we want. (Matthew 6:31-33 says what it says and means what it means and that means that there is no other way to be certain of God’s provision other than seeking Him and His ways FIRST!
So the next time we’re tempted to doubt and/or question God’s faithfulness, especially when it seems that He is doing absolutely nothing on our behalf, we would be wise to question and examine our obedience instead! As Numbers 23: 19 declares, God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill? Of course, the answer to that is NO, which we have God’s Word on in Isaiah 46:10-11 and Isaiah 55:10-11, as well as numerous other verses that declare that God is not a liar.
Also, based on recent conversations and so much of what we’ve seen on the private site and in so many sermons and messages lately, one of the biggest hindrances to marriage restoration and receiving all that the Lord wants to bless us with is obviously unforgiveness. We just have to get this about God–even if nothing else; He does not forgive us when we don’t forgive others, and reading The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant leaves absolutely NO doubt about that. And He doesn’t want to hear our prayers when we haven’t forgiven others, as Mark 11:25 makes very clear. So He is not going to bless us with the desires of our hearts and meet our needs when we harbor unforgiveness, bitterness and resentment toward our spouses and/or NCPs, which often manifests in words and thoughts of self-righteousness and being judgmental about THEIR sins with TOTAL disregard of God’s VERY EXPLICIT instructions in passages like 2 Corinthians 10:6,John 8:7, Luke 6:37-42 and Luke 18:9-14. And our spouses are certainly not going to feel loved unconditionally by us when we are filled with unforgiveness, resentment and bitterness because of their past behavior and even what they might well be doing right now; the only way they will know that we love them is when our love COVERS OVER A MULTITUDE OF SINS (1 Peter 4:8), COVERS OVER ALL WRONGS (Proverbs 10:12 and COVERS OVER AN OFFENSE (Proverbs 17:9! And they will know that we love them when we learn to EXPECT, HOPE and BELIEVE the BEST of them; because as it is written of love in 1 Corinthians 13:7…It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. And if this is what God, WHO IS LOVE, tells us love is and love does, and we say that we love our spouses and DO NOT DO WHAT the above VERSES TEACH LOVE IS and does, we do not love our mates; or at least we fail miserably when it comes to demonstrating love. As Proverbs 19:22 tells us, every one of us desires UNFAILING LOVE! That is exactly how we want to be loved and it is exactly why we are often offended and hurt by our spouses—-because they failed to love us that way. So we expect them to do what we ourselves will not do and have not done, but Jesus taught us that we are to love others AS we love OURSELVES, which we cannot do if we don’t first love HIM with ALL of our hearts, minds, soul and strength (Mark 12:33)! AND THERE IS NO OTHER WAY! And when we learn to DO things GOD’S way and trust Him with ALL of our hearts, and refuse to lean on our own understanding as we acknowledge Him in ALL of our ways, we will indeed be blessed and encouraged beyond belief as HE makes our paths straight (Proberbs 3:5-6)and we see the power and promise of His Word manifested in our lives and in the full and complete restoration of our marriages and families!!! And the FAM Fellowship members have indeed been blessed to witness that as two husbands have SUDDENLY returned home out of the blue and totally unexpectedly in the past week!!! PRAISE GOD!!! He is not a liar and He will do exactly what His Word promises when we do what His Word teaches us to do!
I intended to share the following Small Straws message from Marsha Burns the day she wrote it (when I initially wrote much of this post), and I still want to share her encouragement because it was something the Lord spoke into my heart and spirit when I read it and it’s still just as true today, so I hope and pray that it will encourage those who read it.
Spirit of Prophecy Bulletin
Small Straws In A Soft Wind by Marsha Burns — January 8, 2009:
This is a time of expectancy, but also a time of waiting for the completion of what has been promised. Do not become discouraged in your time of waiting nor turn back when you do not see the fulfillment of your expectations. You will no doubt have to make some adjustments in how you thought things would turn out, but you must also keep the faith that I have begun a good work in you, and I will bring it to completion; keeping in mind that My thoughts are higher than your thoughts, and My ways are higher than your ways. If you could see from My vantage point, you would not worry, says the Lord.
Habakkuk 2:3 For the vision is yet for an appointed time; but at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; because it will surely
come, it will not tarry.
You can read Marsha’s Small Straws messages online and sign up to receive them by email on The Spirit of Prophecy website.