"So it is with our marriage. It is a battle ground of faith"

My friend and Brother Indy's essay on men and marriage:

Marriage:

 

  The union of two people, to the exclusion of all others, voluntarily entered into for life.

http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/marriage

1Co 7:10  And to the married I command (not I, but the Lord), a woman not to be separated from her husband.

1Co 7:11  But if she is indeed separated, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband. And a husband is not to leave his wife.

1Co 7:12  But to the rest I speak, not the Lord, If any brother has a wife who does not believe, and she is pleased to dwell with him, do not let him put her away.

1Co 7:13  And the woman who has a husband who does not believe, if he is pleased to dwell with her, do not let her leave him.

1Co 7:14  For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband; else your children would be unclean, but now they are holy.

1Co 7:15  But if the unbelieving one separates, let him be separated. A brother or a sister is not in bondage in such cases, but God has called us in peace.

1Co 7:16  For what do you know, O wife, whether you shall save your husband? Or what do you know, O man, whether you shall save your wife?

1Co 7:17  But as God has distributed to each one, as the Lord has called each one, so let him walk. And so I ordain in all churches.

 

Men and women forget what marriage is about. This world has turned 'holy matrimony' into lease program. When the lease is over, you get to walk away. It has become too common in today's marriages. If it doesn't work, divorce. That's usually the solution. But we tend to forget why we got married in the first place. Hopefully, the reason anyone gets married is because they are so in love with someone that they find their love so intertwined that it would be impossible to undo. When two become one, it should mean exactly that. One spirit, one life. Not his and hers, not different bank accounts, not different duties or responsibilities. But a union between to people who are in love and want to spent the rest of their lives together. The word 'union', in this case, means together, joined, inseparable, united, one. Does this world have such a strangle hold on us that we just want to cut loose and run? Whatever happened to, for better or for worse, sickness and health, good times and bad. We seem to run from everything except the good times.\

Why is it so hard for us to love our spouse the way God wants us to? Why have we let circumstances break the bond that God has put together? Mind you, some people should never had gotten married in the first place. That is another topic of discussion. But the man and woman who married because they love each other and told each other that they want to spend the rest of their lives together, those are the ones that we need to pray for. I've know too many people who have been married for years start talking about divorce. Situations come up that they can't handle and believe that divorce is the only answer. Infidelity may be an issue or mistrust for some reason may be an issue. There are many things that may cause that discussion but divorce is not the answer. Again, if the marriage should have never taken place in the first place, I believe that divorce is the only answer because that is when infidelity and adultery take place.

My concern is the couples who have been married for years and start to grow apart from each other. Questions arise like, why? What drastic change happened that would cause that? Have they given up on each other? Are outside influences causing problems in their marriage? Is there a non-believer in the house? Are they just getting tired of each other? Is it the economy, finances, job(s) that are causing so much stress that they just want out? I believe that husbands need to pray more, a lot more. I believe wives need to pray more, a lot more. I think husbands and wives need to pray together as well as alone. Husbands are the head of the household. We (speaking as a husband), need to pray for our wife and our family. We need to obey God's will and do what God wants us to do. We are the spiritual leaders of our house. If we don't pray, who will. Our wives are under our covering, our blessings pour down on them. Our obedience to God provides the protection that our family needs. Our wives need to pray for their husbands. They need to pray that God will use their husbands in ways that are pleasing to him. Husbands are warriors, they are the protectors of the riches that God has provided for his family. It is our duty as husbands to fight for our wife, to fight for our children, to fight for what we believe in. God has given us the armor, he has given us the weapons, he has given us the 'WORD'. We must use the word (bible) every day to fight our battles. God will never leave us or forsake us, that is written in the book of life. But we as husbands and men must stand firm in the belief that God will guide us through every battle. That there is nothing that we can't do because God is with us. I will be writing about spiritual warfare at a later time, but that is what we are in. A spiritual battle. The battle is all around us, all we have to do is open our eyes to it and realize that it is right in front of us. Everywhere we go, we are in a battle, a battle to keep our eyes and our ears clean and pure and focused on God. The battle ground is the world that we live in. And every time that we walk out of our house, our fortress, we step into battle. Sometimes there is a clear path and we bypass all the land-mines, and sometimes we are right smack in the middle of it. But God has a way of making a clear path for us. Anyone who has been in any type of battle knows that it is unpredictable. You never know what is around the corner. You never know what to expect. But we must always be prepared. We can't let our guard down and we must NEVER get comfortable. Comfort can hurt us. We get too complacent with the way things are going. When that happens, we let our guard down. And as soon as we do that, the enemy jumps right in and starts to destroy what we have been fighting to protect.

So it is with our marriage. It is a battle ground of faith, love, hope, honesty, compassion, admiration, adoration, excitement, passion and most of all, PRAYER. Why is it a battle ground? Because these are the things that we have to fight for. These are the things that the world wants to take from us. These are the things that we must defend in our marriage. I love my wife with all my heart and all my soul and with everything God has given me. She is my everything. God has placed her in my life to care for and to protect. To love and adore her like I have never done before. God has placed in my life a wonderful creation, a beautiful woman, a wonderful mother and an amazing wife. I am HONORED that God would entrust in me such a wonderful creation as my wife. He created her just for me and I will do everything in my power to make God proud. Husbands have a huge responsibility that they must uphold. Not only for their wives but for their families. And most of all, God. If we as husbands put God first, he will direct us in the path to righteousness. And along that path, I believe, he will show us signs. Signs of things past and present. Where we have been and how far we have come. The path to righteousness is the battle fields trench. It is long and narrow and many things try to block that path. But God removes those objects that get in our way. He removes the things that hinder our walk down this path. There is a light at the end of this tunnel (trench) and his name is Jesus Christ.