In a time as this when creativity is forced into action by this evil, invisible enemy, causing global pandemic, couples are getting a true taste of the reality of having faith while drawing closer together. Faith is from God while fear is from the devil and satan wants to use fear to destroy marriages. God, the great equalizer is transforming marriages even through this season of uncertain future. Michelle and I have been prepared for this season as much as we can, while trusting God for what’s to come. Many are seeking different outlets, and avenues trying to find ways to live normally while we await a cure. As Michelle and I prepared for our radio program a word came to me……”PERSPECTIVE.” Then God led me to Zechariah 4:6, “NOT BY MIGHT, NOR BY POWER BUT BY MY SPIRIT.” As I pondered this verse I realized that amidst the practical, the spiritual must take center stage. God has a different perspective on this pandemic than the world does. While God pours out His spirit on all in this season, he is including married couples all over the world. What do I mean by this? In the midst of the fear and paranoia, God is bringing a wave of FAITH in marriages and families.
We are being led into small groups less than ten people and told to stay inside our homes and away from crowds as much as possible. Michelle and I recently drove to the Florida Keys for a one day fishing trip after having to cancel our one week vacation stay due to this evil virus. Stuck inside our home with our only son, Tyler, we had to become creative. Fear will cripple your thinking. Paranoia will stop you in your tracks, preventing you from living a full life even as a married couple. Fear (FALSE EVIDENCE APPEARING REAL) can cause chaos in your home, tension in your marriage and drive you to isolation from your spouse and family. Thank God Michelle and I have grown in our marriage to a level of being able to exercise FAITH. Since this virus surfaced in our world we have decided together that we will NOT FEAR. We anointed our home and each other with olive oil and have moved on with our lives with Godly wisdom. Walking together for exercise has become a powerful opportunity for quality time while we are unable to play our favorite sport, basketball, in this season. I have realized that without FAITH we are stopped in our marital tracks in a pandemic season as this. While coronavirus, the invisible enemy threatens, God the invisible equalizer allows every couple who chooses to trust him, to reap Heavenly rewards. Here are four of them.
PEACE IN THE MIDST OF THE STORM
Dark clouds and heavy winds are clear indications of a storm or hurricane approaching. The media is the means by which we are informed of the strength of the storm as it approaches. As the storm closes in the tension builds sometimes to the point of fear and worry. There is a storm present in our world at present called COVID-19 forcing families to hunker down at home with an uncertainty of the future. Uncertainty is a robber of peace. Doubt is the beginning of fear when fear is allowed to take residence in the mind. When one or both spouses allow fear and doubt to enter the mind and reside there, peace and joy both leave the mind because they feel unwelcomed. The truth is, fear and worry cannot live in the same house with peace and joy. Fear and doubt are like twins living in your mind, creating havoc, if you allow them. Peace and joy are also like twins living in your mind creating harmony in your marriage and family, if you invite them to stay. Choosing to trust God in this season of doubt and fear from the Coronavirus is the key to having peace in your marriage and family. The Holy Spirit resides wherever there is freedom….freedom comes from having peace. As a married couple you can experience the peace that passeth all understanding even in the midst of this invisible enemy, COVID-19……but you need to decide as a couple, through earnest prayer, that you will choose to trust God all the way.
CLOSER BONDING IN A TIME OF UNCERTAINTY
Disaster can cause negative effects in a marriage and family if not careful. Some people tend to isolate themselves when things seem to take a wrong turn. In this season of uncertainty, the wise choice is to draw closer to each other as married couples. “A family that prays together stays together” is a great phrase to apply at this time. Prayer is powerful when coming from a true heart for God’s intervention. When a couple spends time together praying and agreeing on the same thing there is a bond that builds which is hard to break. Harmony remains in any home experiencing constant prayer. The reality is that God sees the future. Your spouse cannot see the future and neither can you. Seeking God’s guidance for your marriage and family in a time of an uncertain future not only gives peace, but also creates a bond in any marriage as you agree in prayer as husband and wife.
JOY IN A PANDEMIC WORLD
A supernatural mind will experience the joy of the Lord even when the world is in panic and worry. A joyful spouse is like a magnet drawing the other spouse closer. Everyone wants to be around a joyful person. Sorrow steals joy from the marriage relationship. The world is filled with sorrow due to this pandemic but the marriage and family can experience joy in the midst of this sorrowful time. This is the time when one of my favorite bible verses spells truth, “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth” Colossians 3:2. When one or both spouses set their minds on God and His goodness, there is no space left in the mind for discouraging thoughts that cause fear and worry to steal the joy from your marriage and family. Make a conscious effort to encourage each other as couples to focus on the positive and not be consumed by the negative reports from media. Covid-19 is real but fear of Covid-19 is just what it is….FALSE EVIDENCE APPEARING REAL that only cripples the joy you desire for your marriage.
HEAVENLY COVERAGE AMIDST EARTHLY PERIL
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places…Ephesians 6:12. We are surely in present darkness in the world. We are wrestling with an evil virus like no other, ruled by the devil himself. However, a Godly married couple and family can rest in the fact that there is protective coverage to stand on. The origin of the coronavirus has become such a guessing game, sending expert minds in a twist. It appears there is no real answer or cure. The truth is NOBODY REALLY KNOWS THE TRUTH of its origin…..but God knows all things and has the answer for all things. Resting in God’s truth will bring coverage in the middle of this earthly peril. Michelle and I have been seeking God and trusting Him to bring the answer while standing on His truth that we are covered. This act of faith has allowed such peace, joy and coverage in our marriage and family in the midst of this perilous time we are living in. You and yours can also experience the same peace, joy and coverage that we are enjoying just like many other marriages and families entrusted in the care of God.
My prayer is that every married couple reading this article will come into alignment with God’s truth from His word, the Bible, especially in this time of a sure sign of the end of times. Michelle and I are seeking God everyday through nightly devotion time as we spend time with God and experience His peace that truly flows into our marriage relationship. We have the luxury of teaching our son Tyler the truth of experience that peace also. Be intentional to spend time together in prayer as a family, especially through this season. COVID-19 will pass and you become stronger in your marriage relationship.
About The Author
Carim Hyatt was born and raised partially in Jamaica, West Indies. He is one of seven children from the Hyatt family and has grown into a great man of God. Carim had the luxury of seeing his grandparents model a Christian family life while portraying a marriage in God’s image. Carim had his mother in his life also and learned a great deal about values and wisdom.
Carim’s passion is marriage and family. He and his wife of twenty years, Michelle, are hosts of MARRIAGE IN A MINUTE AIRS ON Omega Radio Broadcasting Network every Saturday at 3:30 pm ET….101.9FM, 102.3FM or 103.9FM covering as far South as Miami Dade County and as far North as New York. Listen from ANYWHERE by free mobile app….W.O.I.B. as Carim and his wife MARRIAGE.
He has authored two books, The importance of Salvation and Staying Married Becoming One Flesh. Carim is now on his third book, PURITY IN PREPARATION FOR MARRIAGE. His journey has taken him from Insurance adjuster to minister through writing and public speaking. Carim leads men’s ministries, married couples lifegroups, praise and worship along with many other areas of ministry as God has lead him. Carim and his beautiful wife Michelle have appeared on Television programs , namely TBN, speaking about marriage and family. He has been on various radio and TV stations in different parts of the country speaking and interviewing on the topic of marriage and family. He is a great motivator, mentor and loves the Lord with all his heart. His passion is to see every marriage go the long haul while being molded into God’s image.
Join Carim on this great journey as He reaches the unsaved for Christ while continuing to encourage marriages and families. Visit his website, Facebook page and the MARRIAGE IN A MINUTE Facebook page for updates.
Photo by Phillip Goldsberry on Unsplash
