XXX Sting

Joel 2:12-27, "That is why the Lord says,'Turn to Me now, while there is time. Give Me your hearts. Come with fasting, weeping, and mourning. Don’t tear your clothing in your grief, but tear your hearts instead.' Return to the Lord your God, for He is merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. He is eager to relent and not punish. Who knows? Perhaps He will give you a reprieve, sending you a blessing instead of this curse. Perhaps you will be able to offer grain and wine to the Lord your God as before....' The Lord says, 'I will give you back what you lost... It was I who sent this great destroying army against you. Once again you will have all the food you want, and you will praise the Lord your God, who does these miracles for you. Never again will My people be disgraced. Then you will know that I am among my people Israel, that I am the Lord your God, and there is no other. Never again will My people be disgraced.'"

How sweet the Lord is. His desire is not for our punishment, but for our love. When we deliberately choose to go against Him, there will be trouble, sorrow, and pain. But, if we choose to return He will give us back what we once lost. I once lost something very valuable. I lost myself, the little girl me, the one that was so sweet, innocent, and pure. I never dreamed I could get her back. How could I, since now I knew so much? How could I go back in time and take away the shameful feelings of being used? That sweet little girl turned into XXX for the satisfying lust of men. Women do not have to travel the road that I did in order to feel this way. They could have lived a very pure life, then because of their husbands sins, they now feel the XXX sting. Right in their own marriages.

Ephesians 5:21ff, "For a husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the head of the church. He is the Savior of his body, the church (his wife). For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word. He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church (wife) without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault." The power of the man is awesome, terrifying, great. The power to destroy, tear down, rape and kill; or the power to heal, make new and clean, holy, washed; Men are given more power than they could ever imagine. One man took me and raped me of life. He took what I was giving him and destroyed my very soul. I was his wife and he sold me to others. (Hosea 4:11) "Alcohol and prostitution (pornography) have robbed my people of their brains." This man destroyed what God had given him and turned something that could have been beautiful into XXX. But then in God's unfailing love He gave me Jason. Through him, I am washed clean, made pure again, whole, beautiful, and without fault. My little girl, I have her back. I can smile with that pure smile. I love with her love.

Here is the really cool part; the same man that tears down can also be the same man that redeems. "That is why the Lord says,'Turn to Me now, while there is time. Give Me your hearts. Come with fasting, weeping, and mourning. Don’t tear your clothing in your grief, but tear your hearts instead.'" Men, do you see the power you have? Look around you. What you see is reflecting your heart. Your wife, is your reflection. Your entertainment, is your reflection. The home you live in, is your reflection. What is your heart saying when you look at its reflection. If you have torn down, you can also rebuild and make new. Don't try and sweep things away with empty words. Let your actions reflect the tearing of your heart. Rebuild what you have raped and make new what you have destroyed.

Women, if you are in this place with this man, do not give up on him. Have the patience and love of our Lord. Be a reflection of God. Give him time to, "Return to the Lord your God, for He is merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. He is eager to relent and not punish..." 1 Cor 7:16, "Don’t you wives realize that your husbands might be saved because of you?" If you hang in there, your little girl could be restored, right where she was taken away. But the key for you is to not give into bitterness and resentment, but to stay with love for your God, with His love toward your husband.

Oswald Chambers, "Are you willing to sacrifice yourself for the work of another believer (your spouse)—to pour out your life sacrificially for the ministry and faith of others? Or do you say, "I am not willing to be poured out right now, and I don’t want God to tell me how to serve Him. I want to choose the place of my own sacrifice. And I want to have certain people watching me and saying, ’Well done.’ "

http://www.rbc.org/devotionals/my-utmost-for-his-highest/02/05/devotion.aspx?year=2010