As we strive to strengthen ourselves and our marriages, it is important to remember that Satan is always watching and waiting for an opportunity to strike.
In 1 Peter 5:8, it says,
“Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”
We must not be naive to think that Satan is not paying attention to our efforts to create safety and security in our relationships.
In Matthew 4:1-11, we see how Satan used similar tactics on Christ as he does on us during difficult times in our marriages. Christ went into the wilderness for 40 days and 40 nights to focus on his relationship with his father, just as we must focus on our relationship with God during challenging seasons in our marriages.
As a professional working to help repair marriages, I have observed that Satan’s methods during these times are very similar to those he used on Christ.
In this experience, we can see how Satan uses the truth to increase our pain and compromise our psychological functioning. He wants us to turn to impatient and inaccurate solutions to fulfill our needs, just as he tempted Christ to turn stones into bread in Matthew 4:3.
We have a right to have our needs met, but it is crucial that we do not turn to the wrong solutions to fulfill them. In Matthew 4:4, Jesus says,
“Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”
We must turn to God and His resources to satisfy our hunger, whether it be for companionship, comfort, security, or something else.
Satan also likes to mess with power and powerlessness, pride, shame, humiliation, and being a doormat. But in Philippians 4:13, it says,
“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
We have the power to take control of our circumstances and set healthy boundaries in our relationships. But we must do so with love and respect for our spouse, as in Ephesians 5:33,
“Each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.”
In conclusion, we must be aware of Satan’s tactics during difficult times in our marriages and turn to God and His resources to fulfill our needs.
We must also remember to love and respect our spouses as we set healthy boundaries and take control of our circumstances.
As in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7,
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”
To learn more of these skills and strengthen your marriage, REGISTER FOR THE MARRIAGE REPAIR WORKSHOP.
