Topic: Handling Family Challenges (4)
Dear Reader,
You are welcome to the concluding part of this series for the month. It is my prayer that by subscribing to the remedies prescribed to these common challenges in families, you will experience the sweetness ordained for your family!
However, in concluding this series, I will be teaching on the Challenge of Keeping Wrong Company. The Bible says: He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed (Proverbs 13:20). A man doesn’t have to be foolish himself to be destroyed; all he needs to do is walk with the foolish and soon, the folly of his friend would rub off on him. Walking with a foolish man is as bad as being foolish. It is clear from the above scripture that the company you keep either makes or mars you; it doesn’t leave you the same. A wise man once said, “You will remain what you are today in five years’ time, except for the books you read and the company you keep”.
The major cause of problems in some families today is wrong association. Family members keep wrong companies, receiving counsel from people that stir up trouble perpetually in their homes. I believe strongly in an adage that says, “Show me your friend, and I will show you who you are”. It has a scriptural antecedent. The Bible says: Can two walk together, except they be agreed? (Amos 3:3). Your friend is a reflection of you. A wrong association will affect you negatively. It will make you do things that you may ordinarily never do on your own. You must detach yourself from any child of Belial. Anyone that constantly provokes your spirit and gives you wrong counsel against your wife, husband or family’s wellbeing, will destroy your family. The Bible says: Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners (1 Corinthians 15:33). Evil association corrupts good manners! The story of Amnon and his evil friend Jonadab is a good example (2 Samuel 13:1-34). My husband believes that every wrong friend you keep is your enemy. Amnon paid for it with his life. After his death, Jonadab, the same “friend” who gave him wrong counsel was the one who announced his death.
How Then, Can You Disassociate from Wrong Company?
Agreement should be the basis for any association (Amos 3:3). Only agreeable people can relate profitably with one another. Also, separate yourself from wrong friends. Who is your wife’s friend? Who is your husband’s friend? Who are your children’s friends? You have no business associating with anyone that brings tension to your family. Stop that association before it stops you! Receive grace to dissociate yourself from evil company, in Jesus’ name!
Remember Abraham had to separate from Lot before he could enter into the great things God had prepared for him. The Bible says: Is not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left (Genesis13:9).
There is a need to be selective in your association. Select your friends in wisdom, as friendship is not by force but by choice. Even Jesus warns us to beware of our association (Matthew 10:17). No matter how long you have been married and how rough the journey has been, you can still lay hold on God’s treasure in your family and give God a chance to use it to show forth His glory this end-time. Every achievement in life is worked for. Nothing works by itself, just as no problem solves itself. For instance, a student who wants to pass his examinations but spends all night praying, instead of doing his assignments and studying, will definitely fail. Prayer does not actually take the place of studying; it only complements it. Similarly, your obedience to what is required of you is how you initiate your desired success in marriage.
To be too smart to follow God’s Word is to opt for a life of misery. Your home can be harmonious, peaceful, joyful, etc., if you do whatever God tells you to do from His Word. God has not changed, and He will not compromise His standard. If you don’t want crises and challenges in your family, do what He tells you to do. When God’s Word is not given its place of priority in the family, there are bound to be challenges. When a man disregards God’s Word, a time will come when he cries out for God’s intervention, God will simply fold His arms, unperturbed (Proverbs 1:28-30).
A family founded on the Word of God enjoys challenge-free home. Satan is rendered powerless, when a couple stands firmly on the Word of God and operates by its principles. Marriage is very exciting if Biblical injunctions are adhered to, because the knowledge of the truth is what puts a man on top.
Marriage was designed for pleasure. From the beginning, the Bible says: And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed (Genesis 2:8). A garden stands for pleasure, abundance and fulfilment. Marriage is a type of garden, planted by God Himself for your pleasure, abundance and fulfilment. However, this garden is not ordinary; the Word of God makes us understand that it is full of treasures, which are valued objects. These valued objects have one way or the other been lost to improper handling of challenges in the family. But these treasures of peace, joy, fulfilment and satisfaction can be restored back to your family, if only you can assume the responsibility of locating and handling the root cause of what destroyed them.
To adhere to all that have been discussed in this series, particularly as it relates to your family, you need grace. This grace is only available to you if you embrace God by accepting Jesus as your Lord and personal Saviour. Say this prayer to be saved: Dear Lord Jesus Christ, I come to You today. I am a sinner. Forgive me my sins and cleanse me with Your Blood. I accept You as my Lord and Saviour. Make me a child of God today. Thank You for delivering me from sin and satan to serve the living God and thank You for accepting me into Your Kingdom.
Congratulations! If you prayed this simple prayer of faith with me, you are now born again and a child of God. He loves you and will never leave you. Read your Bible daily, obey God’s Word and seek Christian fellowship (John 14:21).
With this, you are guaranteed all-round rest and peace in Jesus’ Name! Call or write to share your testimonies with me through contact@faithoyedepo.org, 07026385437 OR 08141320204.
For more insight, these books authored by me are available at the Dominion Bookstores in all Living Faith Churches and other leading Christian bookstores: Marriage Covenant, Making Marriage Work, Building A Successful Home and Success in Marriage (Co-Authored).
Pastor Faith Oyedepo is the wife of Bishop David Oyedepo, the founder of the Living Faith Church Worldwide a.k.a. Winners’ Chapel, and Senior Pastor of Faith Tabernacle, Canaanland, Ota, Nigeria.