We often choose a mate for our self; however, if God chose our mate for us, He united us in order to benefit from each other’s strengths in the face of our weaknesses. Some people view a weakness as a defect, rather than as proof of our humanity. We get insecure about them, deny them, and avoid thinking about them at all costs.
Our mate may get on our nerves in some instances, but this human being is also our greatest asset in many other circumstances. Rather than focusing on the irritations, we can accept these idiosyncrasies as part of what makes our mate unique, and change our focus to their strengths, which we cherish because they are so complementary in overcoming our own weaknesses.
Focusing on the negative aspects of life causes us to feel discouraged, hopeless, depressed and disillusioned; however, immediately switching our focus - to what is true, admirable, excellent, praiseworthy, noble, pure, lovely, etc. about our life and those people in it - will change our attitude, thoughts, emotions and health.
Cherishing and accepting each other is the greatest gift we can share together. These attitudes enable our marriage to survive negative circumstances and to endure for a lifetime. Trauma from our past will influence and impact how we feel about our self now, as well as how we respond to people in our life.
As we take our negative attitudes and emotions to the Lord for healing, He will reveal to us their root cause and His positive and affirming perception of us in spite of them. He comforts, supports, and encourages us as we spend time with Him each moment of our day.
- https://www.transformationprayer.org/preparing-journey-introduction/
He also gives us a righteous perspective about our self, our spouse, our children, our parents, our church family and our community. Keeping a journal of the ways we feel loved by God, our mate, our extended family, associates and church family, as well as our neighbors, is a constant encouragement to our soul.
This helps us to focus on the positive aspects in our life and in each other (Philippians 4:8), and to refute satanic lies that attempt to rob us of our love for one another and our effectiveness for the Lord. Christ sets us free, and we are free indeed (John 8:36). No one loves us as much as God does, who came to earth as our Emmanuel (Matthew 1:23).
Prayer:
Father God, help us to see the positive that You supply for us each and every day. Help us to change our attitude about irritations, and to look for the good in everyone and in each situation. Remind us to commend our partner in life whenever they do something that is helpful and positive, so that we and they can both relish the moment and focus on it rather than on the negative that satanic forces attempt to use to tear us apart.
Remind us to place, in a prominent place, a photo of our spouse that inspires love, admiration and positive feelings toward our mate. Teach us that this enables us to remember how much we love them and helps us to focus on the positive qualities they exhibit, all throughout the day. Help us to appreciate the good our husband/wife does for us, and to thank this special person that we married each time they make an effort to help us or to please us in some way. Also help us to change our attitude about our spouse’s weaknesses so that these issues do not bother us so often.
Thought for the Day:
Criticizing faults never has a positive effect on the circumstance or the satisfaction we feel in our marriage; therefore, catching each other doing something good and giving verbal, physical or written praise and affirmation will keep our focus on the positive and encourage more positive words and behavior between us in the future.
