I was already working on this post when someone responded to yesterday’s Seeds Of Faith post (Are we Speaking Life OR Death into our Lives and Marriages?) this morning, which told me why God put this on my heart. After reading some posts and responses the past few days, I felt this message forming in my heart. Restoration is a process and we need to continue working at the changes God has made in us. We need to continue to walk in faith everyday, and allow God to continue to mold and make us new. And even after the restoration of our marriages, we cannot go back to the way we were or fail to continue seeking God for everything.

I know that staying involved in FAMM and encouraging others has really helped me. And it is what the Bible tells us to do, because God expects us to help others have the faith to face what we have already gone through and to be a source of support and encouragement to them. 2 Corinthians 1:3 tells us that God is our comfort in all our tribulations that we may be able to comfort others who are in trouble with the same comfort God gave us. So we have been given power through Christ to be an encouragement, comfort and help to others. And I heard a message from Beth Moore about the very same thing today too. She said that God uses us and what we have faced to minister to others facing the same things. Yet far too often, we see people get their marriage restoration and then disappear; they try it on their own only to find out that it is too hard. We need to stay connected in the good times, so that when the hard times come, and they will come, we are stronger because we have seen how God moves in others.

I have had to do my own heart check when I’ve started to focus on myself and realized that the old me was trying to rise up again. (Thanks, Linda, for showing me that.) That’s why we have to walk this out every day. The devil knows my marriage is restored, but he still tries to get me to slip back to the old ways. No way; I am not letting him in.

There is a reason God’s mercy is new every day; He knows that we need it. We are supposed to rejoice with others, so I believe that being involved in FAMM after restoration is very important. I believe that God sent us all here and it was for more than our own marriage restoration. He knew that we would need each other; and He wants us to minister to others and to rejoice with them and understand and proclaim that He is doing something HUGE for us and in marriages everywhere.

We tend to get lazy and relax when things are going good and not continue to rely on GOD for all things and to seek Him as we did. But the devil doesn’t give up, and he continues to come after us with being too busy or looking back and not forward. So we need to ask God to show us anything that is not of Him that has crept into our heart or mind. I know from experience that I need to continue to have a clean heart and to make sure that my attitude is good. When we start to look at our spouse as an idol, God will step in with something and test us. So we need to keep HIM first, make sure to please Him and not man and keep our focus on God. Our restorations are an ongoing process; one that is filled with much joy and even some pain on occasion. So we need to keep praising God and going to Him first. We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. We have victory because of Him, but we are not done yet. So I believe that we are to minister and encourage others, to stand and pray for others and to be watchful. I personally continue to put on Gods armor, to pray a hedge of protection for our family and for all families. And I believe that we are each called to stand for all marriages; God has a plan and a purpose for us and it is NOT JUST for OUR RESTORATION. Lorraine Ezell’s Coffee Break devotional yesterday spoke of God doing something HUGE, and I believe it is in marriages and families. We have given Satan free reign far too long, and I pray that we take back the ground we have given to him in our homes and give God glory. We are all at different steps in our journey, but I believe we are so much more powerful joined through FAMM, and that together we can do so much more for the Kingdom of God.

Posted Friday, June 13th, 2008 at 11:37 pm in Seeds Of Faith.