Seeking Gods guidance and Gods will in marriage

Seeking Gods guidance and Gods will in marriage

Posted on July 17, 2014

 

Memorise: “Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered” (1 Pet 3:7)

Read: Matthew 1:18-25

In Matthew 1:18-20, Joseph who was betrothed to Mary and knew that he had never had carnal knowledge of her, paid her a visit and found her manifesting signs of pregnancy. He was shocked. How could Mary – his heart throb go and sleep with another man while they were in courtship? It was a big blow.According to the provisions of the Law of Moses recorded in Deuteronomy 22:23-24, she was supposed to be publicly disgraced and face the death penalty. But as hurt as he was, he was still protective. He did not want to take her through all that. He wanted to disengage quietly so that nobody would know he was not responsible for the pregnancy. One lesson here is that we should prayerfully think through crucial decisions. He did not rush. He took time to think out the best way of handling the situation. When your spouse has caused you shame, how do you respond? Would you disgrace her publicly so that she can learn the hard way?

Joseph was very protective of Mary even after he thought she was unfaithful to him. How protective are you over your wife? Do you absorb her weaknesses or you amplify them? In what ways have you tried to assist her in her weak areas? Or have you been using threats, complaints, beatings or intimidations on her?

Another lesson we can learn from Mary and Joseph in Matthew 1:18-25 is how God guides. Mary and Joseph both encountered angels. Mary was told of an unprecedented virgin conception and birth of the Saviour of the world. Joseph was given the name of the product of that conception. Who said God cannot guide a man and a woman on an issue such as marriage?

Are you single? If you seek God’s face in marriage, He will lead you to His choice. And vice versa. God can only guide you if you completely surrender to His leading. As long as you wish to have your way, He will hold back His choice. Even as a married couple, you can be led by God on the same issue. To what extent do you and your spouse yield to God’s guidance? Joseph was very pliable in God’s hands. He planned to leave Mary after he found her pregnant but immediately the angel gave him the true picture, he dropped his negative plan. How easy is it for God to correct you?

Being hurt is no excuse for meanness, but enough reason to return to God for healing. Ask God to heal your hurts.

Memorise: “For a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a fool’s voice is known by multitude of words” (Ecc 5:3)Read: Deuteronomy 13:1-5

“And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more” (Genesis 37:5). I have had quite a number of dreams – some small, some big. Since I was young, I have always dreamt of riding in a Rolls Royce someday. In 1980, I had a dream of a city whose inhabitants will be completely Christians. By His grace, that is already in the pipeline. Just as you have small and big dreams, so also you have medium-sized dreams. By the way, what is a dream?According to Job 33:14-15, it is a medium by which God communicates with man.It is sometimes called night vision. A dream usually comes when you are deep in sleep at night. There are different categories of dreams. Isaiah 29:8 says if a man is hungry or thirsty and falls asleep, he would dream that he is eating or drinking. I have repeatedly asked some people who come to me to say they were eating in their dreams, whether they had enough to eat during the day. This is because those in need could have need-based dreams. 

Another way a dream could come is in response to your thoughts. These are thought-based dreams. When you think or worry too much about something during the day, you are likely to dream about it at night. If you are always thinking of getting married, you will find yourself going to the altar in your dreams.

“For a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a fool’s voice is known by multitude of words” (Ecclesiastes 5:3). You can dream about your day’s activities. Not all dreams emanate from God. Some are from the devil. Deuteronomy 13:1-5 says that any dream that might lead you away from God is not from God.

For instance, if you dream that you divorced your wife, that does not mean it is the right thing to do. It is simply from Satan and you must resist it with all you can muster. No dream from God will violate the written Word of God. Satan manipulates a lot in dreams. Many have been deceived into wrong decisions and actions through their dreams.

This is why you must be conversant with the Bible. Any dream that tells you to take a second wife or to divorce your legally married wife and go for the ‘right’ sister, is from the pit of hell. Reject it with your life or it will rock your foundation and what’s on it. Ask for God-given dreams.

Scrutinize every dream and determine the source, information and purpose so that you will know how to handle it. 

                                           By Pastor Enoch Adeboye

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