The Power Of Our Words
As the FAM Fellowship membership grows and we receive more and more testimonies from new members who are standing for the restoration of their marriages, my heart breaks because they bring back so many unpleasant memories and cause many emotions to flood my heart and mind. First, my heart breaks because I do know and understand the pain their words reflect. But I also know that Jesus died to give us so much more peace and confidence than they’re able to express right now, and with the Lord’s help and grace, I hope and pray that He will use this ministry to help women find that place of unshakeable peace, which is where He longs for all of us to be, and which comes ONLY through resting securely in HIS love, power and grace.
Since there’s so much I want to share with women now in that place of almost unbearable pain (where I used to be), I think the best way to do that is to provide links to some of the previous posts in Seeds Of Faith. I know from personal experience how important it is for us to learn the principles of marriage restoration, because like so many others, I was standing for my marriage for a long time before I really had a clue HOW to do it. How I wish I had learned all of the things the Lord has since shown me MANY, MANY years ago! But even that is part of God’s perfect plan for our lives, and HIS timing is ALWAYS perfect. So for reasons we may or may not ever know, it’s ALWAYS the right time for everyone and their family, just as it was for mine even if it doesn’t look that way right now.
In addition to everything else contained in the following links, there’s one very important principle we MUST learn to apply as we stand for the restoration of our marriages. While it’s important to recognize and acknowledge Satan’s power and authority, it is SO MUCH MORE IMPORTANT to NEVER forget that the power in us is greater than his power and that we DO have the ability to resist him an the legions of wicked and evil spirits and demons he controls. That power comes through speaking the written Word of God. So the word of our testimony does not just refer to the testimony we have when we experience the restoration of our marriages or other praises because the word of our testimony refers to EVERY word that comes out of our mouths! So instead of drawing unnecessary attention to what Satan has done or is trying to do, we need to put all of our focus on the power and authority of God, and that’s what our words need to draw attention to. Unfortunately, I’ve seen too many times when women allow themselves to get so out of balance with the understanding that we’re engaged in spiritual warfare that it keeps them from taking the inventory they need to take of themselves instead of casting stones at their husbands. So one of the biggest challenges faced in this ministry is getting women to understand the importance and power of our spoken (and written) words. We LITERALLY speak and think life and death (Proverbs 18:21), and it’s SO much better for us and those we love when we understand that and start speaking in agreement with God’s written Word by speaking life instead of death into our lives and marriages. The words we speak (or write) are either giving power, honor and glory to the Lord or to Satan. When we speak or write words that draw attention to, glorify or magnify Satan’s power and authority, we give him a place in our lives, circumstances and marriages. On the other hand, when our thoughts and words, the things we speak and write, glorify our Lord and Savior, we release the supernatural power of God to work in our lives, situations and marriages, and Satan has No place and NO power in them or against us and our families. So here are a few Bible verses to remind us of that.
Revelation 12:9-12
The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him. Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death. Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short.”
Psalm 66:3
Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds! So great is your power that your enemies cringe before you.
2 Chronicles 32:7
“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged because of the king of Assyria and the vast army with him, for there is a greater power with us than with him.
1 Chronicles 29:11
Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all.
Psalm 150:2
Praise him for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness.
Proverbs 18:21 (AMP)
Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and they who indulge in it shall eat the fruit of it [for death or life].
Psalm 19:14
May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.
Proverbs 16:23
A wise man’s heart guides his mouth, and his lips promote instruction.
Matthew 15:18
But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man ‘unclean.’
Psalm 49:3
My mouth will speak words of wisdom; the utterance from my heart will give understanding.
Luke 6:45
The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.
Psalm 17:3
Though you probe my heart and examine me at night, though you test me, you will find nothing; I have resolved that my mouth will not sin.
Romans 10:10
For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
There’s ALWAYS work for the Lord to complete in US before restoring our marriages, and as long as we resist what He’s trying to do in OUR hearts and in our relationship with Him, we will delay the restoration of our marriages. So as women standing for marriage restoration, we need to take a long and honest look at our failures and acknowledge our contribution to the destruction of our marriages, or we’re NOT likely to ever make the changes in ourselves that are necessary BEFORE our marriages can be restored. And if we don’t learn to conquer and control our thoughts and words, we are fighting a losing battle. So my goal is to help women focus so much more on who we are in Christ and to realize that that is So much more important than what’s happened in our marriages. And when the Lord REALLY starts doing housecleaning in OUR hearts, we start to see that we contributed a lot to the breakdown of our marriages too, and that makes it a lot more difficult to be so critical or hard on our husbands. Restoration is NOT possible until we realize that. Trust me, I spent way too many years focused on the pain, heartache, disappointment and devastation. I had a very long laundry list of everything my husband did wrong, but since the lord started working in me, I can honestly say that I no longer feel victimized by my husband because my heart is broken by the recognition of the things I did to cause him so much pain and disappointment. My husband loved me dearly and I did not treasure and value that gift, much less guard and protect it, as I should have. And even after things went so wrong, I continued doing everything wrong, simply because I was playing my role as the wounded and abandoned wife to well! As long as we hold onto that role, that’s all we’ll ever be. But when we allow the Lord to speak to us about the things He wants to change in US, and we allow that conviction to lead us into repentance and change, then we’ll be on the right road and begin creating the right environment for restoration. I don’t know why, but some women can’t ever make that transition, so I’ll tell you like I tell all of them, lasting marriage restoration is NOT possible without it. And doing that is NOT possible without making the Lord first in our lives and hearts.
The following links are to previous posts in Seeds Of Faith, and while it’s a LOT of reading, they’re important for those who haven’t read them to read, and it won’t even hurt to read them again, as I just have! They’re not in any particular order and many of the links in them aren’t good now, but they still have a lot of useful information and scripture references.
Satan Is A Liar & The Word Of God Is Truth
Taking Every Thought Captive & Making Them Obedient To Christ
Understanding And Relying On The Awesome Power Of God
Understanding The Sacrifice Of Love
What Does Our Testimony Say To Others About Jesus
Peace Through The Renewing Of Our Minds
Accessing The Power Of Kingdom Thinking
The Fruit Of discipline And Promise Of Reward