In general, satan hates the concept of marriage. Why? Because in its truest form, marriage is the sincerest human example of Christ’s love and the relationship He has with the church. More specifically, satan hates Christian marriages, because those are built upon the solid foundation of Jesus Christ and will display a more accurate dramatization of the sacrificial love that Christ has for us. Whenever the devil is successful at destroying the relationship between any husband and wife, it brings him joy. But we believe this is particularly the case when he somehow breaks up a Christian covenant, because not only has a marriage been torn apart, but so has a witness of Christ to the world.
This seething abhorrence that the enemy of our souls has against marriage has been evident since the beginning of time, starting with Adam and Eve and his successful ploy get them to disobey God, turn against one another and be banished from the Garden of Eden. But let’s take it out of the Bible for a moment and bring it into modern day. Let’s look at what has happened in society over the years to strip away the sanctity of marriage as God intended and clearly outlined in His Word.
Our Supreme Court has passed dastardly decisions that go directly against Scripture, and sadly, even those who claim the name of Jesus Christ have embraced the wickedness of it all. In today’s culture, adultery and fornication runs rampant. Couples would rather live together than marry. Marriage licenses have been reduced to just “pieces of paper” by many, and apparently, so have the pages of the Bible. The world, at large, has lost sight of the biblical principles surrounding this most holy ordinance set forth by God. Even in many of today’s pulpits are men and women with titles in front of their names and Bibles under their armpits, but God is far from them. They aren’t honoring Christ in their own marriages, so they can’t rightly divide the Scriptures to others regarding theirs.
We recently witnessed the revulsion of satan toward marriages in our own lives. Several weeks ago, we were asked to serve as hosts of a new local (Cox Media) television show called, “The Marriage Circle Connection.” It is an opportunity that came to us; not one that we sought out. As all of the pieces began coming together, the enemy became incensed. You see, the concept of the show is to encourage and empower marriages through the Word of God. Our aim is to bring couples and professionals to the airwaves that will educate and enlighten viewers on how to love and honor like God says and how to break barriers and sever strongholds.
As we got within a few days of our first live taping, satan went on a rampage to try and stop what God had set in motion. Thankfully, we had been starting off every planning session and every gathering of the minds with prayer and had already been beseeching God to destroy any unforeseen ploy of the enemy. The devil is a crafty being. He was strategic in his attack. There are two men involved in the molding of the “The Marriage Circle Connection.” There is one of us—Dr. Michael Holmes—who is one of the show’s hosts, and there is Pastor Alvin Stanley, one of the show’s producers.
Aside from the men, there are three females involved. The enemy focused on the women—the ones who carried the show in their wombs, the ones who represented the show’s birthing. The women are: Dr. Janet Lamar, owner of the studio at which the show will be recorded; Pastor Patricia Stanley, who serves as producer alongside her husband, and then there is the other one of us—Dr. Kendra Holmes—who also serves as show host.
Just how calculated was the enemy? Very! First, he attacked the eyes of the show’s producer. Biblically, the eyes represent VISION and understanding. She struggled with her sight after having eye surgery. He wanted to skew the vision, but God said, “NOT SO!” Then satan attacked the face of the one who would be on camera. Biblically, the face represents God’s GLORY. An aggressive bacterial fungus suddenly appeared and grew rapidly, covering about a third of her face causing inflamed swelling and an unsightly rash. He wanted to mar the glory, but God said, “NOT SO!” The devil’s last attempt was to break the arm of the woman providing the bridge—the platform from which the show was to be aired. Biblically, the arm represents PURPOSE. A hit and run driver slammed into her car, jamming her arm into the car door before he fled the scene. The devil wanted to shatter the purpose, but God said, “NOT SO!”
All these things happened within days of each other. One after the other came under attack. The men were there to cover the women in prayer. Surely satan thought within himself that if he could just kill the seed that was carried in the wombs of the women—if he could annihilate the vision, the glory, and the purpose—he could put a stop to this show that would bless the lives of married couples everywhere. But God said, “NOT SO!”
In Revelation 12:4, we are shown a picture of a dragon (a depiction of satan) standing before a woman who is ready to give birth; his plan was to devour her child as soon as it was born. It’s the same manner in which Herod attempted to kill Jesus at birth. The devil wanted to put a stop to what he knew would provide redemption to a dying world. In the same way, he sought to stop a show that would do the same for dying marriages. He failed at every attempt. The date of the first taping never had to be canceled or rescheduled. The devil is mighty, but God is ALMIGHTY, and He always has the last say!
Often times, when we come under attack, our first thought is to run in fear, but if we take a look at a key Scripture concerning spiritual warfare, Ephesians 6:13-17, we’re told, “Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:”
Notice that in all of our preparedness, the one prominent area of the body that God does not tell us to protect is our back. If He intended for us to run from the devil, He would have told us to guard our back. God for us is more than the whole world against us. We can stand toe to toe with the devil and his demonic devices because God is with us, and satan is no match for God. That’s why that three-strand cord (Ephesians 4:12) is so vital to the success of marriages. While the men and women banned together and prayed during this vicious attack against the women of this project, it was because of God that we prevailed. That third strand—GOD—made the difference.
Because of Christ and the prayers of the righteous, the taping is still securely set for Saturday, August 22, and the first show is set to air on Saturday, September 5. As our spiritual covering—Bishop H.H. Norman—often says, “The devil don’t like it, but he don’t count!”
Drs. Michael & Kendra Holmes are the senior pastors of Deliverance Revival Church in Warner Robins, the founders of Royalty Relationship Coaching, LLC, the authors of the 31-day devotional, “Cross-Fire: Igniting Passionate, Purposeful, and Powerful Relationships,” and guests hosts of the new forthcoming television talk show, “The Marriage Circle Connection.” W.A.R. is an acronym for “We Are Royalty,” the official slogan of Royalty Relationship Coaching, LLC. Visit the website at www.RoyaltyRelationshipCoaching.com.
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