Journey from Captivity: a series by Alison Teed
Copy rights 2020 by Alison Teed
Journey from Captivity, a series
What on Earth was God Thinking?
Series 1, Book 1 Introduction
Printed in Canada
ISBN #978-1-7752614-0-7
All rights reserved solely by author. The author guarantees all contents are original and do not infringe upon the legal works of any other person or work. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without the permission of the author.
Unless otherwise indicated, Bible quotations are taken from King James Bible.
All concordance references are taken from Biblesoft’s New Exhaustive Strong’s Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright © 1994, 2003, 2006 Biblesoft, Inc. and International Bible Translators, Inc.
www.thewillowsfreedomhouse.com
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Contents
Preface………………………………………xi
Introduction:
Canada’s Divorce Statistics…….21
God hates divorce……………….….25
The Bride of Christ……………..…..28
Stress…the companion killer……….29
Eccl 9:7-9…………………………………….34
Acknowledgements
I must give so much credit to my faithful prayer partners over the years who lovingly stood in the gap each and every time they sincerely dropped to their knees on our behalf. We are in this life together. Thanks…and same to you!
PREFACE
Then I returned and considered all the oppression that is done under the sun: And look! The tears of the oppressed, But they have no comforter—
Two are better than one, Because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, For he has no one to help him up. Eccl 4:1,9.10 NKJV
—For even if I made you sorry with my letter, I do not regret it; though I did regret it. For I perceive that the same epistle made you sorry, though only for a while. Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing. For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death. For observe this very, thing that you sorrowed in a godly manner: What diligence it produced in you, what clearing of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what vehement desire, what zeal, what vindication! In all things you proved yourselves to be clear in this matter. Therefore, although I wrote to you, I did not do it for the
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sake of him who had done the wrong, nor for the sake of him who suffered wrong, but that our care for you in the sight of God might appear to you. 2 Cor 7:8-12 NKJV
If I do not accomplish 2Cor 7:3-12, I have failed in my assignment….
This is a book directed to men. It is written from the heart of a mother, by appointment of the Father. So I will proceed on the premise that God the Father has something to say to His mighty men of valour and He has appointed this mother to deliver His message. A love letter from the Father; hand delivered by a mother. And as He has instructed me in the past to write with the heart of a mother; I will proceed on that basis. (Prov 31) Such a privilege….
Marriage as I best understand it…why it even exists…why on earth it even exists…what on earth God was thinking when He spoke it into existence, is that marriage is our most important and most impactful training ground and preparation for our life here on earth and ultimately in Heaven. (There is no marriage in Heaven. Just thought I should bring that to your attention as you continue on here. Matt 22:23-32) This marriage arrangement then, here on earth, is our learning center for all
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other relationships—here on earth—and eventually in Heaven. “What God has joined together let no man put asunder” suggests that God has a plan for us in the setting of marriage that cannot be accomplished in any other setting. If we bail out before He is finished His work in us, we come short of the ultimate purpose for our journey with Him. A few rounds on the Potter’s Wheel—if you are willing—will take off the rough edges that would proudly say at the end “I did it my way.”
By continuing as He instructs, we are soon enlightened and are able to see the clutter we harbour in our attitudes and hearts, collected through misunderstood personal ambitions and much of which we learned from various sources (family, media, friends, educators) prior to taking the leap. When allowing His ways for marriage to take precedence over our own ways and the world’s ways, we have opportunity to discover more about Who God is—how He thinks and why He thinks it—as well as deepen our intimacy with Him, than any other means of study. My personal discovery is unfathomable forgiveness and love.
God says He hates divorce and yet it is one aspect of our relationship with God that is so sadly misunderstood and defied. We maybe think “I know God has a plan for me and He has given me a helpmate that will assist in my success. God must
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want me to be sublimely happy in order for me to achieve my best and become all I am destined to be.”
He instructs us, what He has joined together let no man put asunder. Again, on that basis, there must be more to marriage than just finding that “one” that will ultimately assist us in fulfilling our deepest dreams and desires. You might say, “But God gave me a vision and she is just not measuring up to my vision. I can see I can probably do better. She’s not making me happy or helping me fulfill my vision.”
Your ultimate God given vision may just be hindered because you are not honoring your wife. (1 Peter 3:7). God might have done more in your life and through your life if you had obeyed His commandment. You are not her creator, son, your Heavenly Father is. She is made in His image and He has a plan for her as well as for you…a plan for you together.
I promise you that if you see marriage from God’s perspective, your image of your help-mate will alter considerably. I am surely hoping, and praying. that by the time you finish with this set of little pocketbooks your life will change forever and it will be well for you and for your family all your days together.
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You may not be sublimely happy every minute or every year, and the youthful vision of what you believed marriage was about doesn’t come to pass, at the end, you will know that God’s ways are better than your ways. Amen. What you perceived as success and happiness when you were 19 or 25 or 35 will shift considerably as you allow God’s ways to develop and mature you.
My purpose here is to bring hope and redirect many hearts and minds to focus on their commitments to God and within the family unit, especially their marriage—which naturally affects all aspects of the family unit. And to prod you with a little stick to do a little maturing…a little growing up.
2019 a narrow escape….
I think it would be sufficient here to say that 2019 was one of the most critical years that threatened the security of my own marriage. Although we have had a few—this was a doozer, to say the least!
We took the first blow with a sudden financial crisis as my husband’s practice made some critical changes of partners and staff; if that wasn’t enough I fell and broke another ankle. Yes that was 2 ankles in 5 years. As well as a devastating church
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loss for me. This might not have caused the strain that it did, had it not been for the distance we were living apart. We were living in two provinces simultaneously, making communication stressful and demanding. My husband was forced to drop what he was doing in the business and travel out to AB to take care of his wife. Not a happy time all the way around.
While both of us were in serious need of a comforting, loving, close companion, it was not happening. All I wanted was to get back on my feet and get back to work on the restoration and renovations on the farm and all he wanted was to get back to his office and get things in order. Boo hoo for us.
God is so faithful as suddenly our son and daughter-in-law moved out to the farm and took over, relieving my husband of the burden of an injured spouse and farming demands, allowing him to return to his business on the west coast.
It was a rocky and uncertain few months as he left in May and we never saw each other again until after Christmas, communicating only via WhatsApp (Thank God for WhatsApp.) Things came back down and into order—we hoped—when we took the time to spend a special 8 days together at a local hotel after Christmas, quietly recovering and restoring the enjoyment of each other’s company. Amen
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to that. (Two people needing comfort at the same time. Wow! It was 8 months of moment by moment instruction from God our Father. Doing it His way!)
I add this here to show you that even after many years of marriage we are not guaranteed perfection in our lives and at any time our imaginary existence can be shaken and thrown up into the air. It is our responsibility to ensure that it comes back down in good order. With God something truly miraculous emerges—we change. And we grow up and mature together just a little bit more.
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To be continued January 4, 2024
INTRODUCTION:
– (Using) Canada’s divorce statistics;
-God Hates Divorce;
–The Bride of Christ