If you are standing for your marriage, you MUST read Numbers 14. This is the story of what happens after the spies come back from viewing the promised land. All the spies agree that it is a land truly “flowing with milk and honey.” Joshua and Caleb then admonish the people to rise up and take possession of the land as God promised He would give it to them. Yet, the other spies convince the congregation that there was no way for them to succeed. There were giants and fortified cities too strong for them to overcome. Then the people wailed and mourned saying they should return to Egypt! They even wanted to stone Joshua and Caleb for trying to encourage them to have the faith necessary to follow God’s plan!

This story hurts my heart, because it’s just like marriage restoration. God PROMISES us restoration in our covenant marriages. We are called to stand in the gap for our prodigal spouses. Yes, it’s full of giants and fortified cities. Standing for your marriage isn’t easy. No one said it would be, but you have the power of the Almighty God on your side. Through Him you can overcome anything! But this story shows us what happens when you don’t believe in what God will do. If you don’t have the faith to move forward with God and trust Him to overcome your circumstances, then He won’t. Those grumbling people were told they would never see God’s promised land. They would never experience the joy of receiving the “land flowing with milk and honey.” They wouldn’t know the highs of overcoming with God as their weapon. They wouldn’t taste the success of being God’s chosen people. And that’s true in your marriage. You must follow God’s leading to taste victory in your marriage. You must obey Him to see your prodigal come back home. You must have the faith that God can fulfill His promises to enjoy the sweetness of marriage restoration. And, oh how sweet it is!!! You can see a land flowing with milk and honey, but to know that land is yours is even better!

I want to encourage you today. Do NOT be one of those 10 spies who come back saying it’s too hard or impossible for us to overcome. That’s why God got so angry, because they weren’t saying THEY couldn’t overcome, they were saying HE couldn’t overcome. That’s the worst thing to believe: that God can’t fulfill His promises!!! Be Joshua and Caleb and say that no matter the circumstances God will do it!!!!