Vertical Delight
Pastor Ryan and Cathy Story
It would be hard to imagine when two people choose to get married their desire is to have a marriage that is full of tension and strife. Sadly, almost every couple goes through a moment or a season where their marriage is not how God intended it to be. Gentle answers are replaced with snips and quips. Moments of admiring the beauty and uniqueness of our spouse are replaced with criticalness. Communication is replaced with silence. A once warm communion is replaced with a cold cohabitation. No one while walking down the aisle says to themselves, “I think in less than two years, I want to constantly be at odds with the person I am committing to love and to hold.”
There are problems inside every relationship because every person in the world has a problem. Every person, outside of Jesus, was or will be born with a sinful heart. Sin causes us to focus solely on ourselves. The primary lie that Satan used on Eve in the Garden was that by eating from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, she would “be like God” (Genesis 3:5). The sinful desire of our hearts distorts every relationship we have, including the one with our Lord, by drawing us to a place where self rules. Any time there is tension in any relationship, if you search deep enough, the sin of pride is there.
When pride is ruling a person’s heart, it destroys the relationships we have with people, and it destroys the relationships with God. Any tension we may encounter in our marriage with the other person can only first be solved by ensuring the vertical relationship with God is healthy. If there are tensions in your marriage, the only way to solve them is to first ensure there are no tensions in your walk with Jesus.
Also, we cannot properly delight in our spouse if we are not delighting in the Lord. It is impossible to delight in the uniqueness of your spouse if you do not see them as a perfectly created being. You cannot delight in your spouse in times of second-guessing, if you do not believe that God, in His infinite wisdom and His perfect plan, joined you and your spouse together. In order to properly delight in your spouse, you have to delight in the Lord.
Psalm 37:3-5 says, “Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act.”
Pastor Ryan and Cathy Story
It would be hard to imagine when two people choose to get married their desire is to have a marriage that is full of tension and strife. Sadly, almost every couple goes through a moment or a season where their marriage is not how God intended it to be. Gentle answers are replaced with snips and quips. Moments of admiring the beauty and uniqueness of our spouse are replaced with criticalness. Communication is replaced with silence. A once warm communion is replaced with a cold cohabitation. No one while walking down the aisle says to themselves, “I think in less than two years, I want to constantly be at odds with the person I am committing to love and to hold.”
There are problems inside every relationship because every person in the world has a problem. Every person, outside of Jesus, was or will be born with a sinful heart. Sin causes us to focus solely on ourselves. The primary lie that Satan used on Eve in the Garden was that by eating from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, she would “be like God” (Genesis 3:5). The sinful desire of our hearts distorts every relationship we have, including the one with our Lord, by drawing us to a place where self rules. Any time there is tension in any relationship, if you search deep enough, the sin of pride is there.
When pride is ruling a person’s heart, it destroys the relationships we have with people, and it destroys the relationships with God. Any tension we may encounter in our marriage with the other person can only first be solved by ensuring the vertical relationship with God is healthy. If there are tensions in your marriage, the only way to solve them is to first ensure there are no tensions in your walk with Jesus.
Also, we cannot properly delight in our spouse if we are not delighting in the Lord. It is impossible to delight in the uniqueness of your spouse if you do not see them as a perfectly created being. You cannot delight in your spouse in times of second-guessing, if you do not believe that God, in His infinite wisdom and His perfect plan, joined you and your spouse together. In order to properly delight in your spouse, you have to delight in the Lord.
Psalm 37:3-5 says, “Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act.”
Posted in The Talk
Recent
Archive
2023
January
Reach • Devotion 1Reach • Devotion 2Reach • Devotion 3Reach • Devotion 4Reach • Devotion 5Reach • Devotion 6Gather • Devotion 1Gather • Devotion 2Gather • Devotion 3Gather • Devotion 4Gather • Devotion 5Gather • Devotion 6Grow • Devotion 1Grow • Devotion 2Grow • Devotion 3Grow • Devotion 4Grow • Devotion 5Grow • Devotion 6Giving • Devotion 1Giving • Devotion 2Giving • Devotion 3Giving • Devotion 4Giving • Devotion 5Giving • Devotion 6Galatians 1Galatians 2
February
Galatians 3Galatians 4Galatians 5Galatians 6God’s Design in Marriage • Devotion 1God’s Design in Marriage • Devotion 2God’s Design in Marriage • Devotion 3God’s Design in Marriage • Devotion 4God’s Design in Marriage • Devotion 5God’s Design in Marriage • Devotion 6Sex: The Word vs. the World • Devotion 1Sex: The Word vs. the World • Devotion 2Sex: The Word vs. the World • Devotion 3Sex: The Word vs. the World • Devotion 4Sex: The Word vs. the World • Devotion 5Sex: The Word vs. the World • Devotion 6Dangers: Little Foxes • Devotion 1Dangers: Little Foxes • Devotion 2Dangers: Little Foxes • Devotion 3Dangers: Little Foxes • Devotion 4Dangers: Little Foxes • Devotion 5Dangers: Little Foxes • Devotion 6Delights • Devotion 1Delights • Devotion 2
March
Delights • Devotion 3Delights • Devotion 4Delights • Devotion 5Delights • Devotion 6Final Class • Devotion 1Final Class • Devotion 2Final Class • Devotion 3Final Class • Devotion 4Final Class • Devotion 5Final Class • Devotion 6A Place for You • Devotion 1A Place for You • Devotion 2A Place for You • Devotion 3A Place for You • Devotion 4A Place for You • Devotion 5A Place for You • Devotion 6The Helper • Devotion 1The Helper • Devotion 2The Helper • Devotion 3The Helper • Devotion 4The Helper • Devotion 5The Helper • Devotion 6True Vine • Devotion 1True Vine • Devotion 2True Vine • Devotion 3True Vine • Devotion 4True Vine • Devotion 5
April
True Vine • Devotion 6The World • Devotion 1The World • Devotion 2The World • Devotion 3The World • Devotion 4The World • Devotion 5The World • Devotion 6Peace • Devotion 1Peace • Devotion 2Peace • Devotion 3Peace • Devotion 4Peace • Devotion 5Peace • Devotion 6Focus on Jesus • Devotion 1Focus on Jesus • Devotion 2Focus on Jesus • Devotion 3Focus on Jesus • Devotion 4Focus on Jesus • Devotion 5Focus on Jesus • Devotion 6The Church at Ephesus • Devotion 1The Church at Ephesus • Devotion 2The Church at Ephesus • Devotion 3The Church at Ephesus • Devotion 4
Categories
Tags
no tags