It’s Time to Break the Cycle

There are eleven days’ journey from Horeb by the way of mount Seir unto Kadeshbarnea.
-Deuteronomy 1:2

It should have been a short trip. It was only supposed to take 11 days. Instead it took 40 years. Forty years to obtain the promise that God had given them; forty years of circles and cycles. It is tempting to review the account of the children of Israel’s exodus from Egypt to their entrance into Canaan and shake our heads. We think “poor them”. How could it take them so long? What were they thinking? They could have entered a lot sooner.

Yet, if we look at our own lives we will see that there have been times that we have circled the same mountain a few times as well. I can certainly see circular tracks around the mountain of my marriage. Times where I repeated the same behaviors and expected different results (insanity…I know). There were times that I acted just like the children of Israel. I complained. I questioned why. I had my doubts. Yes, just like the children of Israel, my patterns led to something that should have been remedied quickly taking years of my life.

Years! It took years! It has only been in the last few years that I have accessed some of the promises God made about my marriages at the beginning. John and I have been married for 21 years. I circled for at least 10 – actually more like 15, but I digress.

This is why I am so passionate about marriage and the ministry God has given me. I don’t want other wives, other marriages, to take the long route. I want the trip between God showing you the promise and you receiving the promise to be short, and if my story can help you than I am more than grateful. As passionate as I am, I realize that my wanting you to take a short cut doesn’t mean that you will take one.

You, dear wife/husband, have to decide that you will take the direct route of obedience to God. That you will break cycles and patterns that are delaying your arrival to your promised land. Aren’t you tired of arguing about the same things? Aren’t you tired of fighting the same battles? Aren’t you tired of circling the same mountain?

You can break cycles and stop going in circles! You can fully align with God and destroy bondages and chains that have bound you. You can attain a new level in your marriage and your life.

Our unions have purpose, and we must agree with God to break those cycles that threaten that purpose. How do we break the cycles? I am glad you asked!

• We partner with God to be the spouse (and the person) that God called us to be.

• We pray and cover our spouse and marriage.

• We walk in love – overlooking minor things and choosing to focus on the major things.

• We prioritize our spouse and our marriage.

• We use our words to bless them and not curse them.

• We walk in forgiveness quickly.

God is adept at breaking cycles! He doesn’t want us to circle the same mountain repeatedly. He has given us the ability to conquer and triumph, and I declare that this is the year that we will do just that! Take the short cut, saints! Don’t let your pride make you take the long route. Don’t let waiting on your spouse to do what is right make you take the long route! Don’t let guilt, condemnation, shame, fear, or unbelief make you take the long route! Don’t let it take you years to accomplish what could have been done in weeks! He wants you to get there quickly, but it is up to you!

What cycles in your life or marriage need to be broken? Is there a pattern of arguments or hurt that needs your attention? Take a look this week at the cycles in your life, and spend some time asking God how to break them. What action of obedience will you take?

We’re going deeper on this topic this Tuesday, January 19, 2021 in Believing Wives Bible Study at 7pm EST via Zoom (join here). I encourage you to join to get tools, strategies, an practical steps to break the cycles in your life.