Marriage under Attack

Marriage under Attack

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. - Romans 12:21

Not long ago, my daughter related a story she’d heard. According to the account, a man on an airplane declined the meal offered by the flight attendant. 

The woman sitting beside him said, “You aren’t hungry?”

“No, I’m fasting,” he replied.

“Are you a Christian?” 

“No, I’m a Satanist. We Satanists commit ourselves to fasting and praying for Christian leaders’ marriages to fail.”

With all the stories circulating social media, I’m not certain of this story’s accuracy. But this I do know—according to the Bible, Satan is waging all-out war on believers in the Lord Jesus Christ (Ephesians 6:10-12). His aim: the very heart of God, the gospel message of redemption through His Son.

Marriage between one man and one woman was the first institution designed by God (Genesis 2:24). Since this relationship best illustrates God’s covenant with Israel (Hosea 3:1) and Christ’s love for His Bride, the Church (Ephesians 5:22-33), Satan fights hard to destroy marriage.

We don’t have to look far to see the devil’s destructive force at play: divorce, as rampant in the Church as without; growing opposition against traditional marriage as defined by God;  and the effort to acknowledge and legalize same-sex marriage. 

Makes you want to throw up your hands in despair! Exactly what Satan wants Christians to do. If he can discourage us, he’s defeated us. We must hold fast to the God who is our victory, who lives within us, giving us power to stand strong in our marriages (1 John 2:14; 5:18-20). 

Traditional marriage is the best environment to grow strong families. And strong families grow strong churches. And strong churches grow strong communities, reaching all the way around the world, as others see our love for Christ and for one another. 

With that in mind, would you pause a few minutes and pray for another Christian family?

Ask the Lord to protect their marriage; to help them work through any difficulties in their relationship; to lean hard on the Lord for His grace, then offer that grace to each other. 

Without His aid, we are sunk as marriage partners. As Ecclesiastes 4:12 says, “A cord of three strands is not quickly broken” (NIV). When husband and wife grow closer to the Lord, they grow closer to one another. This bond not only provides security to the couple, but also to the children. 

May we encourage you? Be that godly couple who shows others you love Christ. By loving one another, you show the world that you love Him. 

And pray, fully dependent on the Holy Spirit, as you surrender your marriage and others’ marriages to God.