As promised, here is the first in a series of devotionals for military wives about the weapons the enemy tries to use against our marriages. These devotionals will also be located under the tab at the top of my page called “WAR Ministry”. Please feel free to check back there often for future devotionals.
You may have expected something a little more threatening for our first weapon to study. You may also be wondering how a wedge could be considered a weapon, yet this is one of the adversary’s greatest tools in destroying marriages. Have you ever seen someone split wood? In the narrowest of cuts on the top of a log, a wedge can be placed and with one drop of a hammer that log will split in two. That is how the enemy attacks our marriages. He observes the tiny cuts we have- cuts of disagreement, cuts of misunderstanding, cuts of jealousy, cuts of dishonesty. While the cuts themselves are almost unnoticeable and seem to cause us no harm, when the wedge is applied, those cuts are ripped wide open. If our marriage is soft or decayed, the enemy does not even need to apply much pressure. The wedge by itself will cut our marriages in half. If our marriage is strong, the enemy will be required to add more pressure to the wedge. Sometimes we see this pressure in the form of loss- loss of a loved one, a job, a position, a home. The more pressure that is applied to the wedge in the split in our marriage, the greater the division between us.
The good news is that God is stronger than any wedge and He gives us His strength and power to defeat the enemy.
Here’s how we do it:
Step 1- No cracks! OK, so no one is perfect and no marriage is perfect, yet God’s Word tells us how to live a life that is pleasing to the LORD. When we sin, we allow cracks in our marriage. So the closer we stay to God, the fewer cracks we’ll have. Praying for your marriage every day also serves as a sealant over your marriage and prevents many cracks from occurring. (John 15:5-7)
Step 2- Seal up those cracks! When we do sin, we need to seek forgiveness. Did you lie about something to your husband? Confess and apologize. Did you say unkind things to him? Tell him you’re sorry and praise him for the things he does that bless you. When we reconcile our differences, we seal up those cracks so that the enemy has no room to create more division. (James 5:16)
But what if it’s too late? What if the crack is already there, the wedge is in place, and you’re feeling the pressure. Then what?
Step 3- Push the wedge out! It’s extremely difficult to do and you cannot do it in your own strength. You have to rely on the strength, authority, and power of our Heavenly Father. This doesn’t mean that when you’re disrespecting your husband, you’re not reading God’s Word, you’re being selfish, and you’re bitter about everything that you can just call on the name of Jesus and expect all of the pressure to go away. It certainly doesn’t work like that. You need to review Steps 1 & 2 to make your heart and your marriage right. But with the LORD’s help, you CAN defeat the enemy and claim your marriage for Him. (Luke 10:19)