I received that gift over the summer during my separation. I actually felt the Lord leading me on several occasions. Well, on a daily basis almost. It was powerful & indescribable. This wasn't only when I "wanted" something, it was even when He was telling me something that I didn't want to hear. That was the moment when I truly knew that He was living inside of me. Directing me & guiding me. I knew that I had to trust Him in everything that I did from that point on. It was that feeling & that confidence that allowed me to stay strong & fight for my marriage when all odds were against me.
Some people hear the Lord in their dreams. For me, this is not when I hear Him. That I know for a fact. I have never felt more positive, content, excited, happy, relaxed, & sure of my marriage. We are in a really good place right now & that feels amazing. I can honestly say that I do not have a single worry, which is shocking because I used to worry all of the time that Adam might leave again. Over the last month or two, I have had a dream of negativity EVERY SINGLE NIGHT. The theme is usually that Adam is leaving me, the he moves & changes his number, that he disappears & I never hear from him, that he cheats on me, that I am in jail, that I am running from something, that I am hurting someone or they are hurting me, etc. etc. The list goes on & on. I told Adam that I felt as though the devil was trying to get to me in my dreams because he can't reach me while I am awake. I felt pretty certain about this. Fortunately, I have only been intrigued as to why this was happening & it hasn't gotten in the way of my life. I can feel the Lord working to protect me. Have you ever had a bad dream that felt so real that you were mad at your husband the next morning?
The Lord does/can speak to us in our dreams. (See: Numbers 12:5-6; John 16:12-15; John 14:29; Joel 2:28-29; Genesis 40:8; Daniel 7; Matthew 2:13; Galatians 5:22-23) But, the Lord will only tell us positive things. He will not show us sinful things. That is how I know that the devil IS trying to reach me. When you are doing good in your life, living for Christ, working on your marriage, being a better parent, child, employee, etc., the devil is going to work that much harder on you. He does not want you to get stronger. If he can't reach you by day, he will sneak into your dreams to cause doubt, start your day off on the wrong foot, make you worry, & cause you to sin. We need the Lord's protection & we must turn our lives over to Him. We are not safe anywhere.
Day Twenty Four -
"And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training & admonition of the Lord." (Ephesians 6:4)
Children can be quite a challenge to the marriage relationship. A wise wife will support her husband's leadership in the home as much as possible, & will praise him for his fathering skills. Negativity makes a man feel like a failure, & may make him want to give up.
Does your husband discipline your children wisely? Does he show them love & encourage them? Does he take an interest in their activities & dreams? Does he spend time with them? Does he take part in developing their character? Praise him for these important life skills.
If you don't have children - is your husband positive & encouraging around other people's children? Let him know that you have noticed.
If your husband does not experience positive relationships with children, you will need to figure out why. Perhaps he had negative experiences as a child with his own parents, & needs to learn how to respond. Perhaps you can lovingly & patiently show him how to parent - while still maintaining his authority in the home.
Day Twenty Four Prayer -
Pray that your husband will be courageous in his stand against evil & injustice, & that he will stand for the truth. Pray that he will protect you & your family from Satan's attacks. (Ps. 31:24; Eph. 6:13; Ps. 27:14)
4 comments:
I really enjoyed this post. I have experienced this before. When I am walking closely with God during the day, Satan puts these awful, horrible, and sometimes even terrifying dreams in my mind at night. I've woken up scared and upset and angry, but I find that if I pray myself back to sleep, they go away. I try to pray until the moment that I am asleep every night. I guess by literally going to bed with God, Satan can't get in. Maybe this helps. Hope the dreams stop and good job not letting it get you down.
The only way we can know for sure God has spoken is through Scripture. It is the complete Word of God.
I needed this post. In more ways than probably I even realize. This has been my issue for a while...knowing whether or not I hear Him. I pray everyday that He will make it easy for me to see and learn when He is speaking, and that it is not my own wishful thinking, like you said. I have also struggled with feeling like I need to have enough faith for two, because my husband is not on the same spiritual path that I am. He has no job, and we are drowning. For days now, I have felt like God won't help us because my husband isn't asking. And so I have tried to trust Him for both of us. Today something told me I don't have to do that. I am now praying that the Holy Spirit speaks to my husband. Thank you for your words....and your blog.
Amen! I also believe in "signs" and that God uses other people to get his mesg. across if you're not listening.
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