Monday’s Marinade is provided to you as a means of “soaking yourself” in the hope-filled Word of God at the beginning of your week. Start your week by meditating on this Word about how He has gifted you with wisdom. Repeatedly think about it and quietly say it to yourself. Marinate and season your week with hope and a confident expectation of good things happening!
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This past week, a friend dealt with circumstances that were a real struggle in her marriage. It was a time when many choices could have been made that would have caused deep regret for years to come. Fortunately, she is a believer in Jesus and sought God for wisdom FIRST and made difficult choices that were in line with His will for her marriage to heal and prosper.
When I’m faced with a struggle or have friends dealing with a challenge, my tendency is to find and pray a scripture that addresses it with a promise from God. In this case, I prayed Jeremiah 32:39 [NLT], “And I will give them one heart and one purpose: to worship me forever, for their own good and for the good of all their descendants.”
This was a promise we needed as my husband and I dealt with infertility. Having one heart and one way in facing infertility is key if a marriage is to survive the emotional, physical and financial strains. It’s so easy to get so involved and pre-occupied in the struggle that you don’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. Being surrounded by darkness and not seeing where you can go means that you’ll go in any direction in the search for a way out. If a husband and wife can’t agree on what to do, where to go, and how to get there, it’s easier to go in separate ways and therefore experience increasing distance between them. But what if the decision is made FIRST to only go in one direction together, giving each other encouragement and keeping in mind the same goal?
God’s promise in Jeremiah 32:39 was that the result of having one heart and one way would be good not only for the husband and wife but also for their children! Putting God first means that He will give wisdom so that you know what to do and where to go together to get out of the seemingly endless dark situation.
Looking to Jesus and therefore going in one direction together will increase the likelihood of reaching the light at the end of the tunnel much sooner and happier and make the outcome of the struggle much more rewarding.
Circumstances in life can sometimes take us off course. They become distractions that take our eyes off of our desired destination and deceive us to head in a direction that was not planned. But just as you may have a GPS system in your car or on your phone that talks to you and gives new directions, as a believer in Jesus, you have a GPS system in your heart–the Holy Spirit. He will be the One who compassionately corrects your life path with small turns here and there to get you back on course to the destiny that God has planned for you.
So when you’re feeling like you don’t know the next step to take in life (I’ve been there, done that, and bought MANY t-shirts), consult the One who does know. Ask Him for wisdom and He will not fail to give it to you.
As a matter of fact, He will give wisdom liberally to those trust Him to do so.
“If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.” James 1:5 [NIV]