WE NOW LOOK at the next passage: “A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives. If the husband dies, she is free to be married to whom she wishes, only in the Lord” (1 Cor. 7:39). This is interesting: “free to be married to whom she wishes, only in the Lord”—free as she wishes, only in the Lord. The wishes are subordinate to in the Lord. If the marriage is in the Lord, she is free to do as she wishes. The “in the Lord” provision saves her from undesirable wishes which may get her into trouble, a life trouble.
Everything in the Lord, including marriage, is safe and secure. Everything outside the Lord is unsafe and insecure. “In the Lord” is a hedge put up along the road of life to keep us from falling over the precipice. God’s prohibitions are God’s protections. The right thing is the right thing to do.
I know a man who prayed about his possible marriage and heard God say, “Go on, I will bless you.” God didn’t say, “I will make you happy,” but “I will bless you.” He hasn’t been happy in his marriage, but he has been blessed. He has done a work in spite of an unsatisfactory marriage. He has worked with a pain in his heart, but he has turned that pain into a paean of victory. He hasn’t borne the unsatisfactory marriage; he has used it. His wife too has been very useful. Both have carried out their callings in spite of an unhappy marriage. The “in the Lord” provision saved them both from living primarily on wishes. If you carry out your wishes, apart from being or not being in the Lord, then when your wishes change the marriage goes to pieces, whereas if it is in the Lord it will hold together—in spite of!
O Divine Wisdom, we thank Thee that Thou hast provided for our good. That good may come to us through our circumstances or in spite of them. We thank Thee for this unshakable security. In Thee all things cohere. Amen.
AFFIRMATION FOR THE DAY: Not my wishes but His will must be the central determining element in my life.
