Moments Together for Couples 6/18

by Dennis and Barbara Rainey

Psalm 25:12
Who is the man who fears the Lord? He will instruct him in the way he should choose.

In her book, Gift from the Sea, Anne Morrow Lindbergh quotes St. Exuperei: "Love does not consist in gazing at each other, but in looking outward together in the same direction." Many Christian families today lack a sense of unified purpose and, instead of turning outward, are turning inward-not toward one another, but toward self. Instead of having an impact on the world, they blend in. Instead of cutting across the grain of the culture, they go with the flow.

Conformity leads to compromise. Compromise leads to mediocrity. Mediocrity leads to sin and a wasted life. Finally, a wasted life leads to a lost legacy.

Determining your direction is like developing a sixth sense: the sense of faith. Through it you first begin to grasp the unseen. Here are two suggestions for helping you grasp God's direction for your life:

First, look to the past. What causes ideas to continue surfacing in your thinking and conversation? What injustice makes each of you angry? What burdens your heart about your town, your state or your world?

Barbara and I did not arrive at our present field of ministry overnight. Initially, we ministered to high school students. But during those years we often observed that a student's spiritual growth would be negatively affected by a divorced mother or father. This eventually gave us the conviction to help start what is now FamilyLife.

Second, inventory your talents and gifts. What unique skills and training has God provided for you? In what specific ways has God used you to influence other people for Christ?

As you think over these issues, pray that God would develop within you a conviction of how He is leading in your life.

Prayer:

That God will begin to instruct you in "the way you should choose."

Discuss: Spend some time talking about the two issues just described: How has God led you in the past? What are your talents and gifts? Your burdens and passionate causes?

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