Do You Want Your Marriage to be Healed?

I guess how you answer that question depends on a few things. Does it need to be healed? Maybe it doesn’t and that is wonderful. Maybe it does but you are not certain what all it might take for it to be healed? Several times in scripture we are told that Jesus would ask someone before He healed them, “Do you want to be healed?  John 5:9 (ESV) In Mark 9:23-24 (NKJV) Jesus tells a father, “All things are possible for he who believes”. Those are powerful, but interesting questions?  Jesus is not physically present on earth now, but He may be asking that question.  Do you want your marriage healed? Do you believe that I can heal it? What is your honest answer?  I want to say that I would always answer both of those in the affirmative, but if I am brutally honest, maybe I would hesitate because I am afraid of how it might happen or what it might cost me. 

          Through the years, several times when Johnny and I were in hard places we went to see a counselor. Every time I was totally convinced that if I explained the situation they would see that Johnny was at fault. He was not meeting my needs, he was difficult, he did not do what I wanted him to do.  They would “help” Johnny to see the error of his ways and things would be better. 

*******************************************************************************************

“All things are possible for he who believes.” 

*******************************************************************************************

          To my great shock and dismay, every single time what happened was that God showed me something about myself, that was not pretty. God used those counseling times to open my eyes and heart to see my part of the situation. I saw things about myself that I did not want to. Those things were ugly. I was prideful, and I thought I was right, and Johnny was wrong. I had a critical spirit, and I used my tongue as a weapon. It was really hard to see the real truth about myself. 

          If that had been the end of the story, it would be a bad story indeed.  But thank the Lord that is not how it leaves things. When God gives us eyes to see the ugly, sinful stuff, He also gives forgiveness, grace, and He begins to make the changes. We don’t stay where we were; He moves us to new freedom, new delights and the glory of leaving behind that which was in reality bondage. 

          So, there may be times (many of them), where God desires to do the work of healing to bring us into a new and delightful place; but we must be willing to be healed. We must be willing to hear what sounds hard, surrender what we may be holding on to, so we can receive what is far beyond what we could imagine. 

~Carla