Marriage: A Life Time Covenant [Part 3]
Dear Reader,
I discussed the origin of marriage with you in my first lesson. Last week, I looked at marriage covenant responsibilities. Let me also say today, that marriage is a miracle! It is important for you to know that nothing works on its own, just like no problem solves itself. Miracles answer to certain inputs from the benefactor. Your obedience to what is required of you is how you initiate it.
Take the miracle of the turning of water into wine, for instance. Mary told the men, whatever he tells you to do, do it (John 2:5). The servants initiated their miracle by obeying Jesus’ instructions to fill the water pots with water. Nothing happens by chance in the Kingdom of God. There is always something you must do to get what you want. All you need to do is to accept the required responsibility.
Marriage is a miracle! Daily, we see men and women seeking after soothsayers and seers, to know whom to marry. Some highly placed and educated young men and ladies creep stealthily into the dingy abodes of herbalists, to know the cause of their marriage delays.
Also, it is not a common thing to see couples running after palm readers, fortune-tellers and astrologers, just to find out what the future holds for their marriages, and how they can be guided into glorious homes. But, for us at the other side of Jordan, we have a reason to thank God. He doesn’t leave us to guess and grope through life. That is why He said: Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not (Jeremiah 33:3).
It is the thoughts of man that make a man. What you think of your marriage and family, makes it what it is. You can’t think obstacles in your marriage and have miracles. You can’t think of marriage as a necessary evil, and experience a glorious marriage, because sweet marriages and homes are basically provoked by your thoughts.
Glorious marriages are no chances, they are choices. You can choose what happens to your marriage and family by the way you think. You have the mind of Christ, the miracle mind, and miracle minds don’t think obstacles in marriage or consider obstacles in the home. So, do not carry obstacle thoughts when looking for a life partner. Do not think impossibilities when you are looking up to God for miracle babies. The two don’t go together.
Do you know that most couples cannot build matrimonial homes, because of obstacle thoughts? Many don’t even eat good food, because they don’t know where tomorrow’s meal will come from. Some couples think of nothing good about their families, but obstacles. Hence they wallow in abject failure and frustration, without knowing that a man’s thoughts today make him what he would be tomorrow.
Nobody builds a tower without an adequate preparation and a strong foundation. You must first desire a tower, before you can build one. Do not enter into a marriage covenant without an expectation. If you expect the best, it will be yours (Proverbs 23:18).
Someone once came to me for counselling. She had been having a very tough time in marriage. As she spoke, I discovered that the root cause of her problems was her wrong perspective about marriage. She had expected grief and calamity, so when the storms rose against her marriage, she began to cry, saying, “They told me it will be like this.” Below is a testimony that will further help your perspective in your marriage.
“I used to worship in a place where the pastors believe that ‘misunderstanding brings about understanding’ One day, the lady pastor asked me if I had ever had any serious quarrel with my wife (then my fiancée), and I said, ‘No’. She said we had not started, that until we quarrelled and fought, we would not know if we truly loved each other.
We started having problems in our home after our marriage. But when I came here, I heard the Bishop say, ‘I have not had the first argument with my wife.’ I told my wife that if what the man of God was saying was the truth, then we’ve been in the wrong place, where we had been fed with the wrong food spiritually. So, we decided to start worshipping here.
We told ourselves, ‘What this man of God has seen that is making his marriage sweet, we also must discover it.’ Then I was in WOFBI Full-Time programme. After each lecture, I would go back home and teach my wife the same thing, and today, to the glory of God, we don’t have misunderstandings any more!” –Ibiang, A.I.
God has promised to grant your expectations, whether good or bad. So, let your expectations be based on God’s Word, for it is higher than any evil experience or information you may have had or heard about marriage (Proverbs 10:24).
If you are already married, there is still a chance to change all negative expectations. As a couple, discuss your positive expectations, and I guarantee that things will work out more smoothly in your home.
Unmarried ladies and young men, what do you expect in marriage? Your expectations shall not be cut off (Proverb 23:18). Before we got married, my husband and I made discoveries from God’s Word that made us expect a hitch-free marriage. Our testimony today: Those expectations have not been cut off.
I believe you have been mightily blessed by this teaching. So, as I pray for your family, believe God for a unique touch in your home. You will have a testimony!
In the Name of Jesus, I ask for the hand of God to rest heavily on your home. Because marriage is a miracle, I declare that from today, you begin to enjoy God’s goodness and honour in your marriage!
To have a miracle marriage, you need to first of all receive the Miracle Worker into your life. You can do so by confessing your sins and saying this prayer:
Dear Lord Jesus, I come to You today as a sinner. I believe You died for my sins and rose on the third day. Forgive me of my sins. I accept You as my Lord and Saviour. Make me a child of God today.
Congratulations! You are now born-again! All-round rest and peace are guaranteed you, in Jesus’ Name. Call or write, and share your testimonies with me through contact@faithoyedepo.org, and conselling@faithoyedepo.org; OR 07026385437 and 08141320204.
For more insight, these books authored by me are available at the Dominion Bookstores in all Living Faith Churches and other leading Christian bookstores:
- Marriage Covenant
- Making Marriage Work
- Building A Successful Home and Success in Marriage (Co-Authored).
Click Here To Read Other Messages Written By Pastor Faith Oyedepo
