Weekly Devotional
WEEKLY DEVOTIONAL: Prepare Your Faith For Amazing Things As You Stand For Marriage Restoration
“Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.” - Joshua 3:5 (NIV) Have you ever noticed that God often asks His people to get ready before He moves? Right before Israel crossed the Jordan River and stepped into the land God had promised them, Joshua gathered the people and gave them one simple instruction. Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.” (Joshua 3:5). I love the order of that verse. The preparing came first. The amazing things came next. Think about where Israel was standing that day. A whole generation had waited for this moment. The promise had been spoken long before, but the river in front of them was overflowing its banks. Nothing about the natural situation looked like a miracle was coming. And yet God did not tell them to build boats or study the current. He told them to prepare their hearts, because He was about to do something only He could do. My dear friend, I believe the Lord is saying something very similar to you this week. As I have been praying, I hear the Lord saying, “Get about using this season to prepare yourself to increase your faith and see the miracles in your life.” This is not a season to simply survive. This is a season to get ready. To consecrate yourself simply means to set yourself apart for God. It is choosing to give Him your attention, your thoughts, your words, and your expectation. Please hear my heart on this. Your preparation does not earn the miracle. Every promise you are standing on is already yours in Christ. Preparation positions you. It clears out the clutter of fear and doubt so that when God moves, your heart is ready to recognize it and receive it. So how do you prepare your faith this week? Let me give you three simple ways. First, feed your faith. Romans 10:17 says, “Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.” Faith grows by what you hear, and doubt grows the same way. If you are constantly listening to the voice of your circumstances, the hurtful words of your spouse, or the well-meaning friends telling you to move on, your doubt will grow. But if you saturate your heart with the Word of God, your faith will grow. During my stand, I quoted 3 John 2 every single day. I did not just read it. I spoke it out loud over my life. This week, turn down the noise and turn up the Word. Read the daily scripture in the app, speak it out loud, and let it take root in you. Second, build yourself up. Jude 1:20 encourages us to keep “building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit.” Notice that you get to participate in strengthening your own faith. Faith is like a muscle that grows stronger every time you use it. Every prayer you pray, every declaration you speak, and every blessing you release over your spouse is building something inside of you. Don’t wait until you feel strong to start building. Start building, and the strength will come. Third, set your expectation. Hebrews 11:6 tells us that God “rewards those who earnestly seek him.” And Jesus said in Mark 9:23, “Everything is possible for one who believes.” Expectation is faith leaning forward. Israel was told to consecrate themselves today because God had already set the day for the amazing things. Tomorrow was coming. I want you to live this week like your tomorrow is coming too, because it is. I know what it feels like when everything in the natural says it is over. When Christine left on Mother’s Day, it was a shock. Our divorce was eventually finalized, and by every earthly standard my marriage was dead. But God was not finished. He brought Christine home, and we were remarried in Las Vegas with her father officiating our wedding. I can tell you from experience that every hour I spent feeding my faith and standing on His Word was preparing me for the day God would do amazing things in my home. That is exactly why I want you to treat this week as your week of preparation. Next week, Monday, November 9 through Friday, November 13, each evening at 6:30 PM Central, we are hosting the Standing for Marriage Restoration 5-Day Challenge. I believe God is going to meet standers in a powerful way during those days. Don’t just show up. Show up prepared. Use this week to get your heart ready, your faith stirred, and your expectation set. If you have not registered yet, go to www.StandingForMarriage.com/5DayChallenge and save your spot today. So today, take Joshua’s words personally. Consecrate yourself, because tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you. Your marriage is not too far gone, and your miracle is not too late. Get ready. God is about to move. Let’s pray together: Father, I set myself apart for You this week. You said that tomorrow You will do amazing things, and I believe You. Increase my faith as I hear Your Word. Help me build myself up in my most holy faith and pray in Your Spirit. Remove every fear and every doubt that has tried to settle in my heart. I set my expectation on You, because You reward those who earnestly seek You. Prepare me for the miracles You are bringing into my life and into my marriage. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
