Fight the Real Enemy in Your Marriage
From the best scene in the movie “The War Room” with a few of my additions in parenthesis.
“My question to you is this, in light of all these wrongs, does God still love Tony?” – Miss Clara
“We both know that he does.” – Elizabeth
“Do you?”
“Now, Miss Clara, you’re meddling. There’s love in my heart for Tony but it’s just buried under a lot of frustration.”
“So he needs grace.”
“Grace? I don’t know if he deserves grace.”
“Do you deserve grace?”
“Miss Clara, you have a habit of backing me up in a corner and making me squirm.”
“I felt the same way but the question remains, do you deserve grace? The Bible says that no one is righteous, no, not even one. (Once we believe in Jesus Christ as our Savior, we become the righteousness of God – 2 Corinthians 5:21). For we have all sinned, so really none of us deserves grace but we all still want God’s forgiveness. Elizabeth, it comes down to this, Jesus shed His blood on the cross. He died for you even when you didn’t deserve it and He rose from the grave and offers forgiveness and salvation for anyone who turns to Him. But the Bible also says we can’t ask Him to forgive us while refusing to forgive others. (Although once we are true believers in Jesus Christ, we are forgiven for every single sin we have and will commit.)”
“I know, Miss Clara, but that’s just so hard to do.”
“Yes, it is but that’s where grace comes in. He gives us grace and He helps us to give it to others even when they don’t deserve it. We all deserve judgment. That is what a Holy God gives us when we don’t repent and believe in His Son. I had to forgive Lee over some things and it wasn’t easy but it freed me, Elizabeth. There’s not room for you and God on the throne of your heart. It’s either Him or you. You need to step down and if you want victory, you are going to have to first surrender.”
“But, Miss Clara, do I just back off and choose to forgive and let him walk all over me?”
“God is a good defense attorney. Trust it to Him and then you can turn your focus to the real enemy.”
“The real enemy?”
“The one who wants to remain hidden. The one who wants to distract you and deceive you and divide you from the Lord and your husband. You see, that’s how he works. Satan comes to steal, kill, and destroy and he is stealing your joy. He is killing your faith and trying to destroy your family. If I were you, I would get my heart right with God and you need to do your fighting in prayer and you need to kick the real enemy out of your home with the Word of God. (I don’t believe in rebuking the devil as Elizabeth did in the movie.) It’s time for you to fight, Elizabeth. It’s time for you to fight for your marriage. It’s time for you to fight the real enemy. It’s time for you to take off the gloves and do it!”
The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
John 10:10
4 thoughts on “Fight the Real Enemy in Your Marriage”
I needed this reminder to give grace to others!
It’s truly spiritual warfare. Satan doesn’t care about anyone or anything except to seek and destroy all that’s godly and holy. What I enjoyed about that movie is that it encouraged us to get into the habit of daily taking everything to God in prayer, as a first resort, not a last. Prayer and reading the Word and putting on our armor. (Ephesians 6) Thankyou for this reminder, Lori!
“There’s not room for you and God on the throne of your heart. It’s either Him or you. You need to step down and if you want victory, you are going to have to first surrender.”
Wow. What a powerful statement.
Thanks again for sharing, Lori, and praise God for putting it on your heart to share. Amen!
One of my favorite lines from the movie is the part where it says “Sometimes submission is like learning to duck so that God can hit your husband!” ?
TRUTH! I’m glad this movie taught submission without implying that the husband is always right or that a woman should put up with abuse. I like that the movie still makes it clear that the husband WILL answer to God for his actions and the wife was justified in her anger, she just needed to bring it to God instead of letting it fester inside her.
Also I like how it shows that a woman can be submissive, but strong and independent at the same time. When Tony lost his job, it was Elizabeth’s career that kept their family from going bankrupt until he could find work elsewhere! Her work did not compete with their relationship. She found a way to use her employment to be a BETTER “help meet” for her husband. ?