Aphrodisiacs
Happy New Year’s Eve!!! We thank God for His faithfulness in this year 2022. God has indeed been good to us!! We’re in a season where there are lots of festivities, people seem happier and even nicer to one another. It’s a season where lots of reflection, planning, and excitement for the new year are also taking place in preparation for a glorious new year. Likewise, we can extend that planning toward having a more exciting, joyful, and glorious experience in our marriages in the new year and beyond. A farmer knows that if he/she wants a harvest (certain outcome), good seeds need to be sown in advance in order to generate a harvest. Likewise, to generate a joyful and glorious atmosphere in your home and marriage, there are seeds that need to be planted prior, to acquiring the desired atmosphere outcome. This is where aphrodisiacs come in!
Disclaimer: Even though today’s blog content will be focusing on a marriage setting, the principles in this post can be understood by those single and added to their wisdom arsenals, in preparation for a glorious marriage in the future.
Aphrodisiacs are substances (including certain foods and drinks) that stimulate or increase sexual excitement, desire, attraction, and pleasure. On the other hand, we have non-substance aphrodisiacs outside of just certain foods or drinks, that actually trigger and increase the excitement, pleasure, and attraction in one’s marriage. Let’s explore three spiritual aphrodisiacs that can be utilized in our marriages.
3 Aphrodisiacs in Marriage
1. Joy
Joy is a contagious virtue that transforms the atmosphere of a space and the people it comes in contact with. Have you noticed how getting a smile from someone, which is an outward expression of joy, also triggers you to also smile back at them? It is indeed beautiful to behold! Isaiah 12:3 reminds us that joy is a fetcher of several blessings from the wells of salvation.
‘Therefore with joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation” (NKJV)
Joy is very attractive and one of the outcomes of the attractive nature of joy is Peace.
“For you shall go out with joy, and be led out with peace; the mountains and the hills shall break forth into singing before you, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands” (Isaiah 55:12, NKJV)
It would be very challenging to be mad or angry with someone that is joyful, because of the joy that radiants in their face, attitude, and everything they do. People tend to love a joyful atmosphere and avoid atmospheres that are heavy and depressive. One of the reasons why many people love the Christmas season is because of the joy in the atmosphere. As you activate joy in your marriages as a spiritual aphrodisiac, I pray that peace would be restored in your homes and marriages in Jesus’ name, amen.
2. Honor
Honor is another aphrodisiac that makes your spouse attracted to you. True honor is rooted in admiration and love. When you see the value God has placed on the inside of your spouse and you begin to focus on those amazing qualities, it develops a deep admiration for them (Hint: it’s almost as if you just got married). As this admiration grows, it makes it easy to honor your spouse, whether in your speech, your service to them, the way you gift them, the way you spend time with them, or even in the way you touch them. As we have love languages, we also have honor languages and it varies for each person. Honor works like a charm because your spouse would love being around you and it motivates them to want to do more for you, without any form of manipulation. Flattery is a manipulative way to get the results you desire but with included stress and toil. Honor gives you a much better and lasting result than flattery would have temporarily given, but without stress or toil.
Abigail was one lady that understood the principle of honor, which made both a foolish man (Nabal, her 1st husband) and a wise man (David, her 2nd husband) determine to retain her as their wife. In 1 Samuel 25, when David was ready to kill the whole household of Nabal because of Nabal’s dishonorable speech and attitude towards David and his men after protecting Nabal’s shepherds and their properties, it was Abigail’s display of honor that preserved her entire household. The gifts she brought to David, her honorable posture in stepping down from the donkey to meet David when she saw him, and the honor in her speech to David soothed David’s heart and spared her household from destruction. Guess what? The moment Nabal died, David hurriedly proposed to her. He was so attracted to her, that He did not want to lose her in his life.
“When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, “Praise the Lord, who has avenged the insult I received from Nabal and has kept me from doing it myself. Nabal has received the punishment for his sin.” Then David sent messengers to Abigail to ask her to become his wife.” (1 Samuel 25:39, NLT)
Esther is another woman that understood the principle of honor and utilized it as an aphrodisiac. From the time of Mordecai to the Eunuch in charge of the women in the palace, to her reign as Queen to King Xerxes, Esther treated everyone she encountered with honor. A person that honors carry the scent of favor around them and they attract honor as well. (remember, whatever you sow, you shall reap- Galatians 6:7). Honor opens doors that were once closed. Protocols are broken for a person operating in honor and this was the case with Esther. The normal custom in those days was a person only approached the king if summoned by the king. If they approached without approval, such a person would be killed. Protocols got broken for Esther’s sake when she violated this law and instead favor in the form of the golden scepter was extended to her.
Pastor Emmanuel Adewusi once said, “Honor works like a Charm”. This statement is so profound because we see this in the life of Esther. It got to a point that her level of honor was so pleasing to the king, her husband, that he told her she could request anything, even up to half of his kingdom!! Even her enemy, Haman, was so honored by her, that it led to his grave without him realizing it in time. Esther prepared a banquet for the king and invited Haman and even though Haman was the enemy of the Jews, which Esther was one, the cloak of honor provided by her destabilized his evil plans at the end of the day.
“1. Now it happened on the third day that Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the king’s palace, across from the king’s house, while the king sat on his royal throne in the royal house, facing the entrance of the house. 2 So it was, when the king saw Queen Esther standing in the court, that she found favor in his sight, and the king held out to Esther the golden scepter that was in his hand. Then Esther went near and touched the top of the scepter. 3 And the king said to her, “What do you wish, Queen Esther? What is your request? It shall be given to you—up to half the kingdom!” 4 So Esther answered, “If it pleases the king, let the king and Haman come today to the banquet that I have prepared for him.” 5 Then the king said, “Bring Haman quickly, that he may do as Esther has said.” So the king and Haman went to the banquet that Esther had prepared. 6 At the banquet of wine the king said to Esther, “What is your petition? It shall be granted you. What is your request, up to half the kingdom? It shall be done!” 7 Then Esther answered and said, “My petition and request is this: 8 If I have found favor in the sight of the king, and if it pleases the king to grant my petition and fulfill my request, then let the king and Haman come to the banquet which I will prepare for them, and tomorrow I will do as the king has said.” (Esther 5:1-8, NKJV)
3. Pursuit of Vision
One of the roles of aphrodisiacs is to attract a person to another. We can see this play out in the life of Ruth. Ruth went into the field to glean, in order to fend for herself and her mother-in-law. This was her vision and as she pursued this vision, without allowing herself to get distracted, her excellence in her vision pursuit caught the attention of the servant in charge of the reapers and Boaz, her future husband. Her focus to her vision became so attractive to Boaz, in the midst of so many other people who were gleaning as well.
“Now Naomi had a relative of her husband, a man of great wealth and influence, from the family of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz. 2 And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, “Please let me go to the field and [a]glean among the ears of grain after one [of the reapers] in whose sight I may find favor.” Naomi said to her, “Go, my daughter.” 3 So Ruth went and picked up the leftover grain in a field after the reapers; and she happened to stop at the plot of land belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech. 4 It was then that Boaz came back from Bethlehem and said to the reapers, “The Lord be with you!” And they answered him, “The Lord bless you!” 5 Then Boaz said to his servant who was in charge of the reapers, “Whose young woman is this?” 6 The servant in charge of the reapers answered, “She is the young Moabite woman who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab. 7 And she said, ‘Please let me glean and gather after the reapers among the [b]sheaves.’ So she came and has continued [gathering grain] from early morning until now, except when she sat [resting] for a little while in the [field] house.” (Ruth 2:1-7, AMP)
One reason why pursuing your vision is attractive to one’s spouse is because marriage was created by God to fulfill a vision. The focus and excellence we put towards running with the vision we have been given by God make us more attractive and pleasurable to our spouse. It fosters a deeper bond with one’s spouse. Guess what? At the end of the day, Boaz ended up marrying Ruth (Ruth 4:13). To those that are single, please do not let the “idea of getting married” distract you from running with the vision God has given you now. Marriage is wonderful and sweet but that should not distract you from running with focus, the vision God has placed in your hands. In the midst of running with your vision, your spouse can locate you or you locate your spouse. We are reminded in Matthew 6:33 to “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (NKJV). One of the added things God adds to one’s as we seek after His vision is marriage!
The grace needed to consistently use these spiritual aphrodisiacs and make it a lifestyle comes from the Holy Spirit. He is the helper that teaches us all things and reminds us of everything we have learned today. Access to Him is very simple! It takes surrendering your life to Jesus Christ by saying this prayer with 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 have been engrafted into the family of Jesus Christ. If you made this decision, I would love to hear from you today and provide resources for your new journey! Please kindly visit https://www.cccghq.org/newlife and also leave a comment on this post.