Psalm 121
1 I lift my eyes to the mountains, where does my help come from?
2 My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.
3 He will not let your foot slip-He who watches over you will not slumber;
My husband and I have been married for four years. Four years and I am just now figuring out the purpose of our marriage. My marriage is not about my fulfillment, but instead is about the growth and change of my own heart.
Yesterday, I was hit hard with the reality that my marriage was not about Jamie meeting my needs, making me happy, being my source of joyful fulfillment (although there are joyful moments). A marriage of that kind will always hit a dead-end of unsatisfied desires and unmet expectations.
I am blessed to have a husband who is super capable and usually pulls through, so why not ask him to meet all my needs and wants? But yesterday, as I once again demanded something from him, I realized that the never-ending demands and needs must be suffocating him. Jamie is not there to meet my needs, Christ is! Jamie can’t always be the one to lift me up, but Christ can. It is not Jamie’s job to fulfill all my requests and make my life better. God made this perfect union of the two of us to glorify Himself, and also to sanctify me through the difficulties. If I make Jamie responsible for all my burdens and wants, he will eventually crumble under their weight. But, if I put all my burdens and wants on Christ, He will willingly shoulder the burdens. So, don’t let your expectations, your desires, and your wants weigh down the person you love. Instead, lift your eyes to heaven, to the only One capable of meeting your needs. Let your first cry for help be there, and then learn to patiently trust and rely on HIM to satisfy you. And remind yourself, “My spouse is only human.”
![Has a post on social media ever made you immediately frustrated? Maybe you even started to think ill of the author of the post. You feel your chest tighten and wonder, how could they have said that? You are so mad you want to click the unfollow button.
[save for reference for when you’re offended]
An offense can happen when someone sins against us, or even if someone just rubs us the wrong way! Often, it comes out of a “right versus wrong” mentality. We get offended and harbor bitterness. Wounds and resentment create rifts and divisions and we find ourselves clutching our anger tightly in our fists to prove we are right.
It’s okay to feel upset when you are offended or sad, but we can’t let bitterness take root. Instead, we must be quick to forgive. As believers, holding a grudge inhibits our ability to reconcile. And when we avoid reconciliation, we miss out on what God wants to do in and through us.
Typically for me, offense stems from pride or self-righteousness. I have received some pretty offensive comments over time, and my feelings do get hurt. But as Christians, we need to be able to “overlook an offense” just like it says in Proverbs.
This passage says it is “one’s glory to overlook an offense.” #chasingsacred (read the rest of the article on @hosannarevival)](https://www.chasingsacred.com/wp-content/plugins/instagram-feed/img/placeholder.png)
Thank you Mikella for sharing your heart. You are a wonderful writer.
Aww thanks SO much Brenda! I really appreciate that!!