THE HOLY SPIRIT- YOUR PARTNER IN BUILDING A GREAT MARRIAGE 7

I was in a dilemma regarding our Secondary School vision. I went to the Lord in prayer about it. I received insight from the Lord but did not know how to convince Irewamiri. It was going to be a tall order. I drove to her business place and said to her, “Darling, I need your help. You may have to collapse the vision of your Fashion outfit into the school vision. It will serve a dual purpose of running your business and at the same time becoming a Vocational Training place for the students. You will then be able to oversee the affairs of the college. I would love you to pray about it”.

I was not going to force her in any way. After about forty-eight hours, Irewamiri returned with a nod of agreement. She mentioned what the Lord said to her about the transition. We moved into a new season as a family. That decision was a major lifesaver and a vision stabilizer.

I must admit that the decision that we took in fourth eight hours without arguments or manipulations can take another married couple years to come to an agreement. Why? There are flashes of insecurity. The man is struggling to see his wife rise. The wife is trying all she can to have her own thing at all costs because “men are unreliable”. The matter can go on for years without any agreement in view.

Marriage is like a threefold cord. Without the Holy Spirit, the two parties are easily pulled apart because of personal interests and disagreements.

There is a very powerful lesson that Derek Prince shared about this:

The Lesson From a Rope Maker as shared by Derek Prince: 

“Some time ago, I was speaking in New Zealand on this picture of Christian marriage as a cord of three strands. At the end of my talk, a man came up and introduced himself. “I am a professional rope maker,” he said. ‘My business is making ropes. I want to tell you that what you have said is absolutely true in the practical realm. The strongest rope is a threefold rope.’”

Then he went on to give me the following explanation: The largest number of strands that can all touch one another is three. If you take away one and leave only two, obviously you weaken the rope. But if you add an extra strand and make four, you do not add to the strength of the rope because all the strands no longer touch one another. If you have a rope of three strands, one—or even two—of the strands may be under pressure and start to fray. But as long as the third strand holds, the rope will not break.

If you do not have the presence of the Holy Spirit in your marriage, you will be a very weak home. Little things will pull you apart. If you take any counsel that dilutes the counsel and wisdom that the Lord supplies, your marriage will not be stronger for it. You will lose the strength and the bond of intimacy you are meant to have.

Hear the word of the Lord:

“Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, one will lift his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no one to help him up. Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; But how can one be warm alone? Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.”

Ecclesiastes 4:9–12 NKJV

Is your cord strong or is insecurity pulling you apart?

temilOluwa Ola, Eruwa