Righteous Actions Speak Loud and Clear by Dan Spitz
I received my Covenant Keepers newsletter yesterday and I want to share some of what Pastor Ken Savage stated in an article he wrote.
First of all, he states, “The world is using smoke and mirrors against the Body of Christ in the hope of compromising and numbing us into worldly conformity. Rather than offering covenant counseling and marriage intervention, the church has bought into the world’s illusion of happiness and narcissism, and offers divorce recovery classes. How can the church be so far from the heart of God? He hates divorce and yet divorce is promoted as a viable model above reconciliation and dying to selfishness.”
He does add that the good news is that in the last days God is going to rend heaven and dispel the illusions of the world. Our perception, as a witness to the Lord’s healing power, will be greatly advanced in the near future.
He goes on to say that waiting for God to restore our marriages is not passive in any way, shape or fashion. It is an aggressive tarrying and seeking the Lord. We should have a rather quiet desperation for His presence. But Pastor Savage explains that waiting for the Lord’s timing and presence is critical. So our goal needs to be seeking God’s presence; waiting on Him to show up in power and glory. And restoration will be the byproduct of His presence.
He continues by saying that as we wait on the Lord, we begin to walk in righteousness; which is the task of the believer. The Lord will meet you, join with you, empower you, and fill you as you seek to walk in righteousness. He tells us that this is the practical living out of the declared righteousness spoken over us when we believe.
The most powerful part of the article for me was when I read the following:
“ As you stand for the healing of your marriage, you will be tempted time and time again to act in an unrighteous manner. It is then that Jesus will meet you and respond in righteousness, rather than the flesh. This is the key factor that brought me back to my wife. I was convinced of my sin not by Lauren’s words, but by the righteous behavior she displayed. Her righteous kindness brought me to repentance. Her Godly actions brought me to desire reconciliation. Her continued righteous living completed our restoration. She met with the Lord and walked out her declared righteousness.”
We must continuously and constantly walk with the Lord, calling out His name in all we do. We have to acknowledge our need and dependence on Him. He is our hope and our future in everything. As we become more and more dependent on God and His Word, our intimacy with Him grows and we are able to hear and listen to what His plans for us are. And when we have that knowledge, we can be obedient and fully reap the benefits God has for us as we dedicate our lives to righteous living according to His Word.
Dan, thanks for sharing this with us; it’s such an important message! And it goes right along with the theme we seem to be getting over and over again this week; ditch our pride and allow the Lord to work and bless us through our brokeness and reliance on Him and Him alone! That’s one of the most important keys to marriage restoration, because selfishness and pride are often the greatest hindrances to obedience and righteousness in all of us!
It is in our pain that we gain the most.