Entrustment
Any God-ordained relationship or marriage is an entrustment from God, where He is bringing a man and a woman together with the aim to fulfill a vision of His. Marriage is way more than “I like you, you like me” and it goes deeper than that. God has found two people that He can trust, and I mean trust, to fulfill His divine purpose. This is the reason why God releases a special kind of favor when a man finds a wife, which is considered good in the sight of God.
“He who finds a wife finds a good thing, And obtains favor from the LORD.” (Proverbs 18:22, NKJV).
God only gives good gifts, including the gift of marriage, and when He decides to entrust us with marriage, this is a huge responsibility and it is wisdom to identify what God expects from us. In 2 Timothy 1:12, it lays out God’s expectation on how to handle an entrustment from Him, including marriage.
“And this is why I am suffering as I do. Still I am not ashamed, for I know (perceive, have knowledge of, and am acquainted with) Him Whom I have believed (adhered to and trusted in and relied on), and I am [positively] persuaded that He is able to guard and keep that which has been entrusted to me and which I have committed [to Him] until that day.” (2 Timothy 1:12, AMPC)
Marriage was the first institution established by God and it is wise to commit it back to the one who established it (the manufacturer, God) and seek His guidance in navigating our marriages. However, in order to properly commit and hand over the wheels of our marriages to God, we need to know Him, believe in Him, and trust in His guaranteed ability to keep and guard our marriages. Let’s examine our personal roles in committing our relationships or marriages back to God.
Our Responsibilities
To Know Him
If going on a vacation and something needs to be fixed in your home, you will feel more comfortable giving your best friend access to your house than to a mere acquaintance or a complete stranger. Likewise, having confidence in God is rooted in having a true and personal relationship with God and not just “knowing about” Him. Access to such valuable things as a house is because of the traits or virtues exhibited by that friend that you can vouch for. The same applies to God. Having a personal relationship with God means there is a personal experience you have with God, knowing that you can vouch for Him any day, anything. Let’s take, for example, God is true to His word (His integrity). When you examine the promises God has made to you or those you know personally or you have even read about in the bible, and how God remained true to His word and fulfilled His promises, that builds faith in God.
2. To Believe Him
Faith in God is like a planted seed that needs to be watered in order for it to germinate and produce fruit. In Romans 10:17, we are reminded that faith comes by hearing, hearing by the word of God. Every time we hear the word of God in the form of the written word, anointed sermons/messages, testimonies, our faith in God grows. As we ruminate and meditate on the word of God in the above forms, our faith gets solidified. It becomes real to us that God can do the very thing we are trusting Him for. For example, testimonies are God’s resumes of what He has done in the lives of others and in your life. This encourages us that if He did it before, He can do it again!.
3. To Trust in His Ability to Keep and Guard
Ruth had just lost her husband and not just him alone but also her brother-in-law and father-in-law. She had experienced three different losses within a short span of time. You would have thought that after such a traumatic experience, she should never have trusted in God’s ability to keep and guard any loved ones against death/ harm but that was not her case. She was willing to go ahead with Naomi back to Judah and declared that Naomi’s God will be her God. That truly is trust! This reminds me of the kind of trust Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had in God, that regardless of whatever the outcome, even if their desired outcome didn't surface, they decided to still trust in God. And guess what? God showed up for them, BIG TIME!!! Though thrown into the fire, He ensured they were not burnt, they did not even smell of smoke. Talk about God showing off His guarding skills!!! He said He will be our rear guard, meaning He will always watch our backs (Isaiah 52:12). A person cannot possess such trust without first believing and being rest assured of the past track records of God keeping and guarding His own.
Just like Ruth who faced multiple traumatic experiences, many have been through different traumatic experiences in their past relationships and there is a fear that their existing/future God-ordained relationship or God-ordained marriage may fail. God is too faithful to fail! If He did it before, He will do it again! God does not leave His own behind but He watches over them and all the affairs of their lives, including their marriages or relationships. Look at the Israelites, when Pharaoh decided to come after them, He ensured that the Egyptians they saw, they saw no more (Exodus 14:13). God promises in Psalm 121:5-8 to constantly watch over us and protect us (including our relationships/marriages) from any form of evil.
“5. Yahweh himself will watch over you; he’s always at your side to shelter you safely in his presence.6 He’s protecting you from all danger both day and night. 7 He will keep you from every form of evil or calamity as he continuously watches over you. 8 You will be guarded by God himself. You will be safe when you leave your home, and safely you will return. He will protect you now, and he’ll protect you forevermore!” (Psalm 121:5-8, TPT)
Dare to trust in His ability to keep and guard your relationship/marriage against any harm!
4. To Commit Our Relationships/Marriages Back to God
It would be challenging and possibly lead to an accident if a front passenger in a car decides to take the wheel of the vehicle while the driver drives the vehicle and keeps doing that throughout the journey. Many of us are sometimes like that when it comes to our relationships or marriages. We first dedicate it to God, for Him to take the wheel over our marriages/ relationships but at certain times, we take over the wheel and begin to direct it based on our emotions, experiences, fears. The Holy Spirit is a perfect gentleman and would not fight over gaining governance over your relationship/marriage. Committing to God is a deliberate decision we have to make and stick by it if we want God to completely take over our relationships/marriages. He has the perfect track record that He can be trusted and whatever we commit into His hands, He is able to truly keep and guard it against any form of evil. He promises in Isaiah 52:12 that He will go before us and will be our rear guard. This is one of my favourite verses because it means we do not need to keep watching our back, God has decided to take that burden upon Himself to watch our backs for us. Just like Hannah who decided to dedicate Samuel to God and God raised Samuel Himself; when we dedicate and commit our relationships to God, He is able to ensure it becomes all He has ordained it to be. Align your will and yourselves to God’s plan for your marriage/relationship and as He promised in Proverbs 16:3, He will make it succeed.
“Commit your works to the Lord [submit and trust them to Him], And your plans will succeed [if you respond to His will and guidance].” (Proverbs 16:3, AMP)
God’s Responsibilities
To Entrust Us With Our God-Ordained Relationships/Marriage
When God created Adam, He already placed Eve on the inside of him and that’s why when He saw the need for Adam to have a helpmate, He put him to sleep and brought out Eve from the inside of Adam (Genesis 2:18-25). Adam did not even realize that he needed help but God saw beyond the “now” and divinely planned ahead of time, to ensure that when that time comes, the helper for Adam was already created on the inside of him. It is wise to allow God to determine the timing for our relationships leading to marriage, choose our life partners because God knows exactly what you will need now but also in the future. As a saying goes, “God makes provision for the vision” and this also applies in our relationships and marriages. There is a vision God has ordained for you and your God-ordained partner to fulfill and it is wise to allow Him to guide you on who that person is. This is because He has already placed every provision (every skill, gifting, trait, passion, etc) that is needed in that partner in order to fulfill the vision He has designed you both to fulfill. When you allow God to do the choosing and you follow His direction and allow Him to guide your relationship, it would always fulfill its purpose.
Many people, especially ladies, are sometimes scared of how they would be located by their husbands but you don’t need to worry. The bible reminds us in Psalm 37:23 that the steps of the righteous are ordered by the lord, so trust that God will direct your steps and lead you to your partner (if a man, help you find your wife and if a woman, cause you to be located by your husband). Jacob did not know he will encounter his wife Rachel at the well (Genesis 29); Rebecca did not realize she would be found as an answer to prayer while searching for a wife for Isaac (Genesis 24); and Boaz did not realize the Lord would direct the steps of Ruth, his wife, to work at his field, exactly when he arrived from his trip (Ruth 2).
God truly is a divine matchmaker. Allow Him to lead you to your God-ordained spouse!
2. To Guard and Keep Them Once Committed Back to Him
One of the attributes of God is that He is faithful. He promises to never sleep and never slumber (Psalms 121:4), so trust that when you hand over your relationship/marriage to Him, He obtains full custody of it and as such, he takes full charge in ensuring that relationship/marriage blossoms and is fully protected from any form of evil or harm (spiritually, physically, mentally and emotionally).
“And this is why I am suffering as I do. Still I am not ashamed, for I know (perceive, have knowledge of, and am acquainted with) Him Whom I have believed (adhered to and trusted in and relied on), and I am [positively] persuaded that He is able to guard and keep that which has been entrusted to me and which I have committed [to Him] until that day.” (2 Timothy 1:12, AMPC)
The journey in having a successful relationship or marriage starts by first knowing Him. This is having a personal relationship with the one who entrusted you with a relationship-leading-towards-marriage or your current marriage and going ahead to commit it back to Him. He is more than happy to guide and direct your steps in ensuring you have a hitch-free marriage and you can only do so by first accepting Him as your personal Lord and Savior. If you will like to make that decision today, please say this prayer after me:
“Lord Jesus Christ, I believe you are the Son of God and I believe You died for me on the cross of Calvary. I know I am a sinner and today, I come to You to forgive me for all my sins and to make me a brand-new creation. I accept You as my personal Lord and Saviour. Thank you, Lord, for forgiving me and making me born again, in Jesus’ name, Amen.”
Congratulations!!!! You are now born-again! This means you are part of the family of Jesus Christ. If you made this decision, I would love, love to hear from you today and provide resources for your new journey! Please leave a comment on this post or reach out to me at https://www.cccghq.org/contact-us
By: Pastor Ibukun Adewusi