Divine Conspiracy

Chris and I recently had the privledge of attending the Love & War marriage conference with John & Stasi Eldridge. It was absolutely well worth it. One of the main things we walked away with is what a Divine conspiracy marriage is. God knows exactly how to lure us into it. You remember, all the flowers, the nice restaurants, the way you look at each other, the fact that you found a girl who likes "guy movies", and you found a guy who seems happy when you tell him all about your new shoes! And then all of a sudden a couple years into it you're married and you realize that the person you fell madly in love with has a whole other side to them....and it's not a flower giving side or a "Sure , I'll watch Terminator Salvation with you, honey" kind of side either.

The truth is God lures you into marriage with emotion all the while He has a plan in place to transform you. He actually uses your spouse to save you from yourself. He uses marriage as a means to flush out your own brokenness. There is usually no one that sees us as fully as our spouses do, largely because they are the ones who tend to bring out the best and worst in us. God knows that and He designed it that way. The problem is that we as a society aren't sticking it out. It gets tough and 50% of us bail out on the amazing plan God has placed in our lives to actually make them more fulfilling and make us more complete. Instead, we need to understand that God provides us with spouses that He can use to change us into who He created us to be. We just have to be willing to face ourselves and the things about us that tend to surface in our marriages. When marriages begin to crumble it's not about changing your spouse, it's about changing yourself through the power of God! God brings that brokenness to surface so you can repent of it and He can heal it. This is not something you want to run from, it doesn't wokr....thus explaining the increased divorce rates among 2nd and 3rd marriages.

Long story short, pray. Ask God to reveal the areas you need transformed. Ask for His help and involvement in your marriage. Stop asking Him to change your spouse and start asking Him to change you. By all means don't get in agreement with the Enemy that your marriage or a situation in it is hopeless. From day one Satan's plan has been to divide and conquer but he will also be just as happy about a sedated marriage as he will a seperated one. So, work on your marriage, pray to protect it and most importantly never ever give up. You marriage is the perfect storm.