What a weird time to get married. It's now been three months since me and Abbie were married at Holy Trinity and since then we have had 2 honeymoons cancelled and now a new lockdown - it's a peculiar time we live in. So, where do I want to go with this post? I think I want to touch on one main thing - in all these changes that me and you are facing - God remains the same as yesterday. It is worth noting here too, everything I am going to say, I am holding the world's largest mirror at myself.
I love being married. I love Abbie and I love our dog, Kobe, who's recently had a haircut as you can see (yes, he asked for the William Shakespeare). These past three months have been great, but that doesn't mean there hasn't been hardships. We fall out, usually because I speak before I think quite a lot, which some people know all too well - looking at you Nige. Our communication isn't always the best, "it's your turn to take Kobe out, Abbs." We now literally live with the things that we dislike about the other person, like Abbie doesn't enjoy the fact that I've buzzed my hair off a few times in lockdown without asking. The list goes on, hopefully not for too long but I digress. Marriage has shown me many things, the main thing it has shown me is this - I do not love God enough. Not to give her an ego-boost, but Abbie has a brilliant devotional rhythm with God and that has stayed true through the times we are currently in. I, on the other hand would sooner pick up my Xbox controller, my Kindle and even sometimes my vacuum cleaner more than I want to pick up my devotional life. You see I can be quick to say that God is at the center of my life, but is he really? Do you ever think about this?
Bible College has taught me a lot about God, but that means nothing if you do not know God. The challenges we face in our marriage often come down to me not maintaining a relationship with God - how am I supposed to play a part in leading our household like this? You see, all of these things are worries to me: being a good husband; one day a good dad and a good leader. But it says in Matthew 6:33-34, when Jesus confronts the worries of this world:
"... But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has trouble of its own."
My worries in marriage will not go away; your worries in life will not go away simply by doing the same things.
From the time I am writing this, we are all going into lockdown once again. What this means for us we all know, but it is going to be a challenging time for many. For me personally, I really struggle to engage with services online, which is again another reason why I need to be communing with God regularly outside of this time. For others of you it will hold similar challenges, and more of you, practical challenges. But let me say this to you, in all these changes we face, God is still the same as he was yesterday.
In the Bible, Daniel is taken away from his home and is forced to serve King Nebuchadnezzar for a very long time. He faced an immense amount of change to the point where nearly everyone around him did not know God - almost anecdotal of today in some ways. But he knew his God was the same as he was before he left, and God protected him and brought him through. In fact, God used him to show his glory to the king through the interpretations of his dreams - Daniel was used by God under trial. So with that in mind I leave you with this - How can God use us during the trials we are facing?