I wonder how many of us recognize our stand for the restoration of our marriage as a means of breaking the cycle and generational curse of divorce in our families. That means that we are not just standing for our own marriages; that we are also paving the road for future generations and creating a legacy for them to follow.

My mother’s parents were divorced by the time she reached kindergarten, and my grandmother grew up with both of her parents, but it was a second marriage and her siblings resented her because they never accepted her father in their home. So neither my husband nor I have families that stayed together. In fact, his mother divorced his father while she was pregnant with him and my parents were never married and split up soon after my first birthday.

Even though growing up in families with single parents was “normal” to both me and SNO (spouse name omitted), once we had kids of our own, we both felt strongly that we never wanted our kids to go through what we went through. We never wanted a broken home, but we didn’t know how to prevent it. And we didn’t understand the measures we needed to take to protect our family; nor did we know how to go about our daily lives without chipping away at our marriage.

So among the multitude of things God has taught me through my stand, one thing that really stands out is my new desire to be the best wife and mother I can be. I am sure I always wanted that in the past but it certainly wasn’t something I thought I had to work to accomplish. But fighting this good fight has radically changed me into a totally new woman. So in this time of waiting, God has worked in me in ways that will well equip me for the road and challenges ahead. And during this time of standing, God is establishing His strong foundation (Deuteronomy 28:9 and 1 Samuel 2:35) and putting everything in perfect order so that my husband and I will have the appreciation, wisdom, knowledge and understanding needed to stay together for a lifetime, which is something that will bless and benefit our children beyond what we can imagine (2 Samuel 7:12).

The good news is that our fight is the good fight, and this battle we face will have a huge impact in the legacy we leave behind for future generations. The best news is that it is a fixed fight, and we are already victorious (Romans 8:31 and Romans 8:37); we just have to stay the course.

God is not concerned with our past, because He sees the big picture and knows what is yet to come and He will use everything in our past for our good and His glory (Romans 8:28 and Ephesians 1:4-14)! So even though my parents didn’t provide me with a model of what a strong and healthy marriage looks like, that doesn’t mean God can’t make things right. And by making things right, He is setting the course for our future generations; our very own children!

We don’t have to say a word; we just have to keep fighting the good fight. And we can’t give up, no matter what; we must stay the course and have faith that what God has promised, God will bring about (Numbers 23:19, Isaiah 46:10-11 and Isaiah 55:10-11). So we have to resist being guided by our natural eye, and we have to stop seeing our circumstances as obstacles. We have to cling tight to the very Word of God as if it were our life line, because it is (Psalm 119:105 and Matthew 4:4)! And there comes a time when we just have to say “Whatever it takes, I am on board!”

As we stand for the restoration of our marriages and families, we have way too much at risk to ever give up. So it’s important to remember all of the positive changes this time in our lives has brought about and not lose sight of how much growth we have already experienced in the process. And as we wait for the Lord to redirect the hearts of our spouses, it is very reassuring to consider how our own minds, attitudes and hearts have been overtaken and transformed by the awesome power of God and how our relationship with Him has grown increasingly strong. So we have to persevere on those days when we feel it’s too late and we want to give up, because giving up would be like throwing in the towel when we have already been declared the winner! And we can’t forfeit and hand the enemy something that belongs to God, because it is for His glory that He will come through and rebuild our marriages on the solid rock (Isaiah 55:9-13)!

Thankfully, God has provided a definite plan to halt the devastation of divorce, and if you come from a broken family as I did, I’m sure you would agree that being able to break the generational curse of divorce is an invaluable legacy for our future generations. We are part of God’s army fighting for His Kingdom, so let’s keep fighting the good fight and never lose sight of how important our stands are in God’s eyes, because HE sees the BIG picture and everything to come!

Posted Tuesday, January 27th, 2009 at 8:35 pm in Seeds Of Faith.