How to Fight Fair and Fearless in Your Marriage by Treal RavenelSample

Pursue God fearlessly!

Understanding must precede transformation! Lack of understanding the why or how will keep you from pursuing anything at all. You may be one or know of that person with a million great ideas, and because they are so full of ideas and skilled in various areas, that’s usually their demise in getting anything done at all. They typically say that they don’t know what to do or where to start, so ultimately, they do nothing at all.

You may feel like that right now! You may feel like you don’t know what to do or how to do it, and doing nothing seems like the obvious choice because you can’t force someone to be somewhere (in the marriage) they don’t want to be anymore. Your church leaders or saved friends and family keep telling you to pray, and everything will work itself out. Well, you’ve done that, and nothing seemed to have changed to date.

Instead of pursuing God fearlessly, you are pursuing fear. The thoughts about what’s going to happen— will he leave, or will he stay, will he change his mind, what will happen with our kids; our hopes, dreams of being together forever, what will others say, what will I do without him...? You get the point. A million thoughts and ideas are going through your mind, and now you have hit the pause button and are doing nothing.

You may have even said, “God, I’m not doing anything until I receive a sign from you.”

Do you know who else said this? Gideon!

In Judges 6:17-18 “Gideon replied, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, give me a sign that it is you talking to me. Please do not go away until I come back and bring my offering and set it before you.” And the Lord said, “I will wait until you return.”

It’s interesting how God already told Gideon who he was and what he was capable of, but Gideon needed proof.

God has already spoken to your heart and told you to pursue him fearlessly. He doesn’t want you to focus on the facts or reality of what you see in front of you to the point that you take your eyes and focus off him.

How do you fearlessly pursue God? Be reminded that God hasn’t given you the spirit of fear but of power, love, and a sound mind. Also, be reminded that God is Jehovah Shammah; he’s always there and will never leave your side.

I know being in the fight is rough. Some days you feel more robust than others, but be encouraged that if God brought you to it, he will get you through the other side of the fight.

Devotional Reflection: In what ways can you fearlessly pursue God while you are still in the fight?