Hindrances To Marriage Restoration
As I listened to Joyce Meyer’s TV broadcast message this morning I couldn’t help thinking that it wouldn’t have been a more perfect message for women standing for marriage restoration even if she knew we were her audience and that the title could easily be “The Hindrances to the Blessing of Marriage Restoration.” She certainly covers many of the same issues I talk to women about all the time, but it’s hard to beat Joyce when it comes to effectively making a point, so I VERY STRONGLY urge everyone standing for marriage restoration to listen to The Number One Hindrance to Being Blessed – Part II. And here’s a link to the first part of this awesome message, The Number One Hindrance to Being Blessed – Part I.
And since one of the issues battled the most when standing for marriage restoration is unforgiveness, it might be a good idea to be reminded of what Jesus told us in The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant in Matthew 18:21-35, which says:
Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?”
Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.
As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. “The servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.
“But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded. “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’ “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt.
When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened. “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.
“This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.”
And that “in your heart” part is VERY important, because IF we continue to harbor ANY unforgiveness in our hearts, it WILL rear its ugly head eventually, and more than likely, at the worst possible moment. So if we’re still experiencing strong emotions about the things our husbands have done to hurt or disappoint us, or if those thoughts still come unbidden to our minds, we have NOT truly forgiven them and we need to ask the Lord to help us do that.