KNOW YOUR ENEMIES

In some respects, it feels like my beautiful bride and I have been married 100 years.  We have lived a variable hodgepodge of seasons including our share of hills and valleys.  

We have faced and endured together many of the usual suspects in the obstacles and trials of life.  

At the same time, it feels like not that long ago, we spent our senior year in high school working and saving our money, preparing for a wedding.  We were married a week before our high school graduation.  That meant we had the same last name and sat next to each other at our graduation ceremony.

I still remember our first argument as a married couple.  I will never forget how she came crawling to me on her hands and knees.  She looked me right in the eyes and said, "Get out from under that bed you big chicken!"  Some of my memories are a little fuzzy.  It went something like that.

Married life can be the most wonderful and rewarding of life's experiences.  It can also be a hot mess.  

Marriage comes with the highest highs and the lowest lows.  When two flawed individuals commit to a lifetime together, it is reasonable to expect something less than perfection.  In fact, there is no such thing as a perfect marriage.  Too often in marriage when there is conflict, we identify our spouse as the enemy. Can I just tell you something?  Our spouse is never the enemy. When we recognize the real enemies, we can more effectively fight the battles in our marriages. Our real enemies are the powers of darkness and our own naturally selfish human condition. These enemies often go unnoticed in the heat of battle.

Marriage is difficult and also amazing.  Real success in marriage comes when God is kept at the center and must include humility and a willingness to forgive.

When we are selfishly focused on me, me me and on pleasing our own natural desires and preferences:

1. We cannot please God.
2. We cannot love our spouse according to God's Biblical standard or to the commitment we made in our marriage vows.
3. We are not likely to offer forgiveness for our spouse's failures and weaknesses.

Prayer -
Father, thank You for the gift of relationships and for designing and creating the institution of marriage.  Help me to be the best husband I can be today.  Help me to focus more on You and the needs of others and less on myself.  Amen.

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this darkness, against evil, spiritual forces in the heavens. 
-- Ephesians 6:12 (CSB)

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