Standing Firm in the Lord - Crosswalk Couples Devotional - April 12
Crosswalk Couples Devotional
Audio By Carbonatix
By Vivian Bricker, Crosswalk.com
Standing Firm in the Lord
By Vivian Bricker
“Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings” (1 Peter 5:8-9).
Sometimes, during our marriage, it is easy to be distracted from the Lord. Since we are in love and married to our best friend, it can cause us to not communicate with God. With time, we won't be as active in Bible reading or prayer. Personal time with God is important, regardless of whether we are married or not, and as believers, we need to try to start cultivating our relationship with God, as our relationship with Him is the most important.
God wants us to spend time with our spouses and love them, but we don't need to love our spouses more than God. Sadly, even good things can become idols in our lives, including marriage. We can see if marriage has become an idol by looking at our priorities. Do we set our spouse above God? Or do we make God our top priority?
By answering these questions honestly, we will be able to see if we have made our spouse our idol. If this is true for our lives, know that it is okay and that we can work through it. The first step is turning to God in repentance and starting to make the necessary changes. This doesn't mean we won't care about our spouse anymore; rather, it means that we won't place them above God in our lives.
When we do this, we will notice an improvement in our walk with God. It is possible to love both God and our spouse; however, we shouldn't love our spouse more than God. This can be challenging for many of us, yet it is what we must do. God is our Savior, Redeemer, and Creator. He deserves our utmost respect and love.
Once we have aligned our priorities correctly, we can start working together with our spouse to be strong in the Lord. It is great to spend personal time with God, yet it is also possible to spend time with Him as a couple. It is best to do both at separate times so that we can have personal time with the Lord as well as married time with the Lord.
For the former, you can bring any and all concerns to the Lord and for the latter, you can bring up any concerns in your marriage. Jesus cares about your marriage and He wants to see it grow, blossom, and blood. How can our marriages do this if we are withholding this part of our life from the Lord? Therefore, don't be afraid to involve Jesus in your marriage.
If we neglect to involve the Lord in our marriage, we become open prey for the devil. This is dangerous, as the devil wants to cause us numerous problems in our personal walks with the Lord and our marriage. This is why we need to have a strong relationship with the Lord and stay close to Him. Spending time with the Lord in prayer, Bible reading, and devotion are the best ways to do this and equip ourselves with the Lord’s strength.
The Apostle Peter tells us, “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings” (1 Peter 5:8-9). As Peter says, we need to be alert. The devil will try to devour us, but we don’t have to allow him to destroy us or our marriage.
Peter doesn’t leave us without instructions on the matter. Instead, he tells us to resist the devil by standing firm in the faith. We can stand firm in the faith because we know our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ are going through the same types of suffering. Since we know this is true, we can stand strong. There are other believers across the world going through the same troubles we are; they have overcome them with the help of the Lord.
The Lord will help us as well. All we have to do is stand firm in our faith and resist the devil. No matter what hardships we are facing in our life or in our marriage, Jesus will be there for us. The Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit love us, and they will equip us with the strength we need. Work together with your spouse and grow in your relationship with the Lord together.
Prayer:
“Dear Lord, my spouse and I have been facing many problems, but we are no longer going to ignore them. Please help us to stand firm in our faith and to resist the devil. The devil wants to cause us numerous problems, but I’m finding my strength and trust in You. Please help us to overcome these challenges. In Your Name, I pray, Amen.”
Photo Credit: ©GettyImages/leolintang
Vivian Bricker obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Ministry, followed by a Master of Arts with an emphasis in theology. She loves all things theology, mission work, and helping others learn about Jesus. Find more of her content at Cultivate: https://cultivatechristianity.wordpress.com/.
Related Resource: 3 Simple Ways to Feed Your Spouse More Praise
How often do you intentionally stop to praise your spouse? To recognize and affirm their character or actions? Many of us probably cringe at answering these questions because we know we could do better! If you struggle to feed your spouse praise regularly, this episode is for you. Listen in as we share some practical steps we all can take to criticize less and affirm and build up our spouse more. If this episode helps your marriage, be sure to subscribe to Team Us on Apple or Spotify so you never miss an episode.
