Living Changed: In MarriageSample

The Fight

When God created Adam, He saw that it was not good for man to be alone, so he created Eve. God gave us the gift of marriage so that we would have companionship. God is for us and He is for our marriages. Unfortunately, as much as God wants our marriages to thrive, we also have an enemy who wants them to fail.

Satan is not a cute cartoon character dressed in red with a mischievous smile. He is a real threat who wants to ruin your marriage. The Bible describes him as a bloodthirsty lion prowling around for someone to devour. He’s a liar and manipulator who has come to steal, kill, and destroy. He knows that if he can turn you and your husband against each other, he can destroy your marriage, your family, and generations to come.

Satan is a trickster who loves to create doubt. In the Garden of Eden, he didn’t force Eve to eat the apple. No, he simply planted doubts in her mind with questions. Satan is not creative like our God. He relies on the same plays over and over. Why wouldn’t he when they continue to work? He will try the same tricks on you to make you doubt your husband and question your identity in Christ.

Don’t be discouraged. Even if his schemes have worked in the past, you don’t have to take it anymore. You can stand up to him and say enough! You can fight back.

The book of James tells us to resist the devil and he will flee. One of the best ways to resist his attacks is to know your value and believe what God says about you. When lies start to creep into your mind, take those thoughts captive and make them obedient to Christ. Don’t allow the train of thought to continue. Stop it in its tracks and instead focus on the truth of God’s Word in the Bible.

For example, if you think your husband is against you, remind yourself that the real fight is against an enemy who wants your marriage to end. If you think negatively about your appearance, remember that you were fearfully and wonderfully made. If you think you’re not worthy of love, remember you are so loved that God sacrificed His only Son to save you. Declare today that if your thoughts don’t align with Scripture, they aren’t welcome.

Sometimes our brokenness is to blame for the issues in our relationships, but we also have to acknowledge we have an enemy working against us. We have to be vigilant to not fall into Satan’s traps of insecurity, doubt, fear, and mistrust. When he comes at us with lies, we have to be armed with truth from God so our enemy can’t knock us down. We have to practice taking our thoughts captive and replacing the lies with truth. Once we’ve mastered this battle plan, we will be stronger and our marriage will be stronger.