Enjoying Family Life (3)
It is possible to enjoy family life. If you want to enjoy family life, God must be at the centre of your heart and home. You have to be open to His Word and follow His instructions. So far, I have discussed the foundation and God's purpose for enjoying family life.
This week, I want you to know that enjoying family life is your birthright. It is an easy thing to do. God made man with a desire to please and follow the will of God (Scripture). The Lord Jesus came to make it easier for man to follow and obey the Word of God. God's Word says: Come, all that labour ... for my burden is light and my yoke is easy (Matthew 11:28). Instead of seeking to do things your way, doing them God's way will give you cheaply, the results you desire.
Because family life originated from the Lord, He must be the centre of your family life to keep it alive. Countless people are having a near death experience in their family life. Some had had many wives and still are dissatisfied. Others are separated, while some live a cat and dog life, wishing that someone would deliver them from it. Despite all these, there are some who are enjoying family life and making a success of it. This is not just by luck. Success is not by luck; you programme yourself for success.
As a born-again child of God, enjoying family life is your birthright. It is God's will and desire for you to enjoy an exciting marriage, an exciting home life and family. Apart from making God the centre of your family, the next thing you must understand is that Family life is meant for better living. It is meant for help, not hurt. The Bible says: I will make him an help meet (Genesis 2:18) and Two are better than one (Ecclesiastes. 4:9).
Family life was created to help man and not hinder him; it is not meant to make life worse. If that is what you have been seeing in the lives and homes of others and may be even yours, I declare to you that this is not what God desires for you. Whether you are the father, mother, husband, wife, child or relation, can you boldly say with sincerity from your heart that you are a help to others in the home? Or have you been a hindrance to the success of others in the home? Is it your policy at home to help family members? Or do you maintain a survival-of-the-fittest attitude?
In case someone has told you, "That's how life is", or "Just bear it", or "Maybe that's your lot in life." That's not what God has designed for you. Don't accept less than what God has for you. Don't allow the devil to cheat you into believing that a living family is not for you to enjoy. Your family can still stand out; your situation can still change. The breath of life can still find its way into your family, if you will co-operate.
As a wife/mother, God put you beside that man, those children, so you can help them. As a husband/father, God put you beside that woman, children, so you can help them, be an example to them and bring them up the right way. It is not your teachers' responsibility to train your children. Children, God put you in that family to be a blessing (Psalm 127:3). Are you a pleasure to your family or a pain? If you are about getting married, are you ready to be a help to your mate? Or are you just looking for someone to service your needs? If you are not ready to be a help, watch it and retrace your steps.
To be a help transcends all areas of life. If one party is faltering, the other needs to lift him or her up. If they fall, the one will lift up his fellow (Ecclesiastes 4:10).
No matter how much your success, your connection or family members will also need to succeed too. If you ignore their progress, you may eventually be faced with mending their failures. No matter who that member of the family is, the grace of God is sufficient for you. It will enable you to be a helper.
Financially, you are also meant to be a helper in your family. Money seeks worshippers; refuse to be its convert. Some Christians go to church, sing together, lift up hands to God, but when it comes to money, that is their God which must not be touched. God's Word says:Riches certainly make themselves wings they fly away as an eagle towards heaven(Proverbs 23:4-5).
Read this testimony: "I am newly married and I was touched on what you narrated about homes in your article on Family Matters. Since then, through my application of knowledge gained, things have changed positively for me..." --Chidube, N.A. (Aba).
Money has brought division into many families. Don't let it bring division into yours. Ensure that you are a helper in this area. Hiding your money from one another is not the way to financial success. Be a financial help to one another. The humorous thing about money is that if you don't know how to send it on errand, it will send you and most likely, on an evil one. If you have been defaulting, you can repent by saying this prayer: Dear Lord Jesus, I believe that You are the Son of God. You died for my sins and on the third day You rose again from the dead that I might be liberated from the power of sin and death. I come to You today by faith upon your Word and repent of every sin in my life. Henceforth, I choose to follow after you Lord and uphold your righteousness. Thank you, Lord, for saving me.
If you prayed this simple prayer, you are now a child of God. He loves you and will never leave you. Read your Bible daily, obey God's Word and seek Christian fellowship (John 14:21).
Call or write, and share your testimonies with me through:
E-mail: faithdavid@yahoo.com Tel. No: 234-1-7747546-8;
For more insight, these books authored by Pastor Faith Oyedepo are available at the Dominion Bookstores in all the Living Faith Churches, and other leading Christian bookstores:
- Single With A Difference
- Marriage Covenant
- Making Marriage Work
- Building a Successful Family
- The Effective Minister's Wife
- Success in Marriage (Co-Authored with Bishop David Oyedepo).