A couple of days ago the Lord reminded me of the powerful verse, "This is the day which the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it" (Psalm 118:24). I decided to speak this verse out loud the moment I opened my eyes. An amazing thing happened. My heart swelled with joy and I felt a sense of expectancy about the day. The circumstances were not particularly different than the day before. However, my attitude was strikingly different.
I had to remind myself that we have a choice each day to embrace the mercies of God. Lamentations 3:22-23 says, "The faithful love of the LORD never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each morning" (NLT). This morning, I opened up my carton of eggs to make breakfast, and was pleasantly surprised to see Psalm 118:24 printed on the upper lid.
I love how God gives us strategically planted prophetic reminders of His truth. God has new life nestled inside each day for you and your marriage. Perhaps you can only see the outer shell of your spouse's heart. Disappointments, stress, or wounds left untreated can form a hardened exterior around your partner's heart. However, this outer shell is much thinner than you might expect. Determine to crack the shell with relentless unconditional love. Love is inherently patient, so determine to love without time tables. True love does not try to trigger or search for the appropriate response from your partner. This can flow naturally from love, but should not be our goal. Love has no agenda.
The enemy's plan is for you to remain isolated from your spouse. The spirit of offense is architecturally designed to keep an external shell of separation around the new life that God has promised for your marriage. Even when emotions shout otherwise, remember God has strategically placed you by your partner's side to actively shatter those walls. If you allow Him, God will do the same work in you that He wants to do in your spouse. Ezekiel 36:26 says, "And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart." Just as you must choose to rejoice in each day that you are given, you must resolve to choose to love your spouse each day. You cannot do it alone. Ask God to help you to be tender and responsive to your spouse's needs. Beneath the surface, there is a new life filled with greater intimacy.
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