When we see the Lord’s hand at work in the lives of FAM Fellowship members as we have in the past week or so, it’s impossible not to be in total awe of God’s power and faithfulness! But there is no denying one very obvious fact; those who BELIEVE AND EXPECT the Lord to work on their behalf are in fact the same ones who see Him working in their lives. The ones who continually encourage and minister to others are the ones who have already had their marriages restored and are continuing to see the Lord’s miraculous, healing power at work in their marriages and families; or they are the ones now seeing Him move in totally remarkable ways toward the restoration of their marriages. And those who struggle with CONSISTENTLY trusting God or with trusting Him much at all tend to be the same ones who see little move or change in their circumstances, which then causes them to become even more discouraged and depressed. And while we often talk about faith and even that the Holy Spirit has to be at work in us to give us the faith needed to stand for the restoration of our marriages, my naturally inquisitive and analytical mind wants to boil it down to something more tangible. But in the end, there’s only one real observable difference between those who consistently have faith in God’s power and faithfulness to fulfill His Word and those who struggle to believe at all, much less consistently, and that’s the degree of confidence they have in God’s faithfulness to deliver on His promises or to believe that His Word will NEVER return empty as Isaiah 55:10-11 assures us. It says 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. If we don’t honestly and truly believe that, what do we have to stand on? That’s the ONLY true foundation for our stand for the full and complete restoration of our marriages and families, and anything else or anything less just leads us from one disappointment and frustration to the next.

In 2 Corinthians 1:17-22, Paul says When I planned this, did I do it lightly? Or do I make my plans in a worldly manner so that in the same breath I say, “Yes, yes” and “No, no”? But as surely as God is faithful, our message to you is not “Yes” and “No.” For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by me and Silas and Timothy, was not “Yes” and “No,” but in him it has always been “Yes.” For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God. Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. It’s SO important for us to understand the significance of what verse 20 says. It says “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.” So let’s break that down a bit. We have God’s promise (of marriage restoration), and the answer (or fulfillment) of that promise is yes in Christ, so through Christ (the authority and strength we have in Him), WE SAY AMEN (SO BE IT) to the glory of God! But the only way we can truthfully and meaningfully say amen or so be it is IF we believe the promise in the first place. And since “so be it” refers to something that does not yet exist, it again comes back to BELIEVING AND EXPECTING God’s Word to come to pass in our circumstances. WE have to be able to take God at His Word, or there’s just nothing to stand on or with.

Based on the praise reports and testimonies posted on the private sites in the past week or so, along with those filling the pages of the archives, we can surely testify to the truth and power of Hebrews 11:6, which says And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. And Hebrews 10:38 even says But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him.” So in addition to making it very clear that God is not pleased with us when we shrink back from living by faith, this verse is also very significant in light of James 5:16, which says Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous
man is powerful and effective. And we certainly need the power of effective prayers working for us as we stand for our marriages! Even though we know and understand that we can’t be made righteous without faith in Jesus as our Lord and Savior, perhaps we fail to realize that once being saved, we also have to LIVE by faith! And it certainly is only by faith that we can live by the wise counsel the Lord gives us in 1 Samuel 12:14-16, which says If you fear the LORD and serve and obey him and do not rebel against his commands, and if both you and the king who reigns over you follow the LORD your God-good! But if you do not obey the LORD, and if you rebel against his commands, his hand will be against you, as it was against your fathers. “Now then, stand still and see this great thing the LORD is about to do before your eyes!

So we have to put our trust in the power and promise of God’s Word as we stand for the restoration of our marriages and count on Him to honor His awesome promise in Jeremiah 33:2-3, which says “This is what the LORD says, he who made the earth, the LORD who formed it and established it—the LORD is his name: Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you
do not know.’ And when we CAN
NOT see what God is doing in our lives, that’s when we have to trust Him most especially, and rely on the promise in 2 Corinthians 4:17-18, which says For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. So, when there appears to be absolutely NOTHING going on in the restoration of our marriages, that’s when we have to remember that the answer to ALL of God’s promises are ALWAYS YES in Christ, and be blessed and encouraged!

Posted Tuesday, September 4th, 2007 at 11:53 pm in Seeds Of Faith.