Weariness in the Waiting?

INSPIRED BY THE ARCHIVES: (Deana Bell, Marilyn Conrad, et al)

Recently, I was reading in Mark, Chapter Nine, where Jesus rebuked Peter. The words He spoke to Peter really jumped off the page of my Living Bible!

Jesus had just shared with the disciples about the terrible things He must suffer; that He would be rejected by the elders and the Chief Priests and the other Jewish leaders—and be killed, and that He would rise again three days afterwards. He talked about it quite frankly with them so Peter took Him aside and chided Him. “You shouldn’t say things like that (v. 32),” he told Jesus. That’s when Jesus rebuked him.

As we stand for our marriages we must get God’s perspective, not ours. Why are we doing this? Is it just so we will stop hurting or because we are lonely? If so, we are looking at our circumstances only from a human point of view, like Peter. Marriage is to be a picture of the faithfulness of God. God does not break His covenants. He is a Covenant Keeper and our example by which we live out our lives.

We all go through periods of weariness and need encouragement from time to time; ultimately, we must all go to God and draw our strength from Him. We must guard against accepting and taking on discouragement and weariness.

Joseph, David and other Bible figures wearied at times and were often discouraged; however, they learned to give their emotions to the Lord, to take their eyes off their problems, and to trust God.

We can certainly expect objections from the enemy in two specific areas if we are believing that our marriages will be healed.

First, the enemy will try to make us believe we haven't heard from God or he will use circumstances to wear us down. Knowing that we have heard from God to stand for our marriage is of utmost importance.  If we know this one thing, when discouragement comes, we can always draw back on that word we had from Him. Maybe it was a verse of Scripture He lead you to. Maybe it was someone He put in your path to guide you into covenant keeping. Maybe it was a living word or a "rhema word" that you will remember in your spirit. During discouragement or weariness we can remember this one thing and it can instantly set our eyes back on the Lord.

Remember in Luke, Chapter One, Mary is visited by the angel who tells her she will become the Mother of the Most High? Mary questions the angel (verse 34) because she cannot seem to understand how this can happen to a virgin. After the angel explains (verse 35), Mary responds in verse 38, by saying "I am the Lord's servant. May everything you have said about me come true." (NLT) Wouldn't you say that THIS is a moment to remember? We can assume that Mary drew back on this moment in times of discouragement. Mary, because of her situation, needed to trust God to work out every problem she encountered. We can also assume that Mary knew that submitting herself to God's will would trigger the ultimate protection from the Lord.

Secondly, the enemy will use TIME against us. Timing is probably the most crucial area because most of us don’t necessarily want to wait for our marriage to be restored. And yet, patience is a partner to faith and a Fruit of the Spirit that must be developed in our lives. (Galatians 5:22) We have a choice to grow in patience or be stubborn and rebellious, which produces disobedience. We ultimately need to trust in the timing of God. We need to submit our needs and wants to the Lord and trust that He has the timing down to perfection; even (and especially) if it doesn't agree with what we expect.

Something important to remember is that God doesn’t entrust amateurs with large amounts of money or responsibility. We must first humble ourselves, grow and mature and go through the process of learning patience and being faithful over little bits of time before our visions can become reality. Desmond Tutu once famously said, "There is only one way to eat an elephant: a bite at a time" Give yourself grace in learning how to keep covenant, knowing that the Lord will give you more as He knows you are ready for it. 

This process is certainly true of the vision for our marriages and families. Yes, God has great plans for our families and we will be used mightily of the Lord. In the meantime, enjoy the process, knowing you are being obedient to the call of God on your life.

Looking at the restoration of our marriage from God’s perspective allows us to draw strength from Him, knowing He will renew our strength and encourage us. He is not only the Author, but also the Finisher of our faith. Discouragement and weariness have to go when we look to Him.

“We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God's throne.” Hebrews 12:2 (NLT)

When we patiently wait on Jesus, we can know, for certain, that He is pleased with us and that the rewards stored up in Heaven for us will be great. When we obey we receive His peace. When we stand we receive His reward. When we pray we receive His comfort. When we trust, beyond all doubt, our faith grows. When we grow, more of His Light can shine through us. When His light shines through us, the people around us (our spouses included) want to know more about Him. When the people around us know more about Him, they are one step closer to hearing from Him themselves: then they, themselves, will obey, stand pray, trust and grow. We have done our job.

Don't let the enemy fool you.

Your stand for your marriage is about so much more than your marriage.