Mercy for Marriage
Day 32 of our 40 Days of Mercy Fast
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Mercy for Marriage
‘O Jesus, You do not give a reward for the successful performance of a work, but for the good will and the labor undertaken. Therefore, I am completely at peace, even if all my efforts and undertakings shall be thwarted or even come to naught.’ (952)
In 2000, God called Desert Stream Ministries to fight for marriage in the USA. Reaching for the gold ring of ‘normal’, gay activists were seeking to redefine marriage by excluding the need for one man committed to one woman.
God woke me up to the evil of messing with the fundamental definition of marriage. We as a ministry began to pray and to call others to pray and speak out in their states where the truth of marriage was at stake.
We as a healing ministry have never taken on a less popular cause. Few of our constituents supported us. Many couldn’t see anything ‘healing’ about taking on a political cause that often resulted in toxic showdowns between ‘rustic’ fundamentalists and flamboyant activists. Still others feared offending gay friends and family members by refusing them ‘gay marriage.’
We cannot afford to be silent. Because of our tentativeness, gay rights groups have taken more ground in less time than any other interest group in US history. Last spring, Obama refused to defend the Defense of Marriage Act, a federal law which demands the government upholds its true definition. And now, for the first time, a slight majority of Americans claim to favor ‘gay marriage’, with nearly unanimous approval among twenty-somethings.
A good friend of the ministry confided in me: ‘Frankly, I don’t want to be on the losing team’, referring to what she saw to be our inevitable defeat on the ‘gay marriage’ front. That was a moment of truth for me. I realized that God was not calling us to be successful, but rather obedient. Jesus taught St. Faustina this when she heard Him say: ‘I do not reward for good results but for patience and hardships undergone for My sake.’ (82)
IN 2008, Desert Stream mobilized for the largest fight ever waged for marriage in the USA—CA’s Prop. 8. We prayed and fasted for 40 days prior to the election, rallied churches throughout CA, and I wrote an in-depth prayer guide for any who wanted to join us.
We hoped against hope—the media made us look like stooges in contrast to the articulate and its slick showcasing of our gender-bending opponents. Many who stood for real marriage were fired from jobs or blacklisted as traitors of the gay community. The polls were against us until the end.
During one prayer time, I heard the Lord say that He would give us the victory. I did not believe Him, as I am used to losing. Yet my colleague Dean Greer heard the same thing. God gave him this promise: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours but God’s…Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance that the Lord will give you.’ (2 Chron. 20:15-17)
We won. CA voters refused ‘gay marriage.’ I contend that neither the millions of dollars poured into the campaign, nor any strategy granted us victory; God did. He answered the prayers of people around the world who cried out for what He loves—marriage, and the merciful witness it provides of one man devoted to one woman, a window to Jesus’ love for His beautiful bride, the Church.
The days grow darker and we fight harder for one man committed to one woman. In victory and defeat, we fight for what God loves. We look to Him, from whom we draw both strength and reward for our commitment to marriage.
‘Life is a continuous dying, and at the same time, it is the depth of inconceivable happiness and the strength of the soul; because of this, the soul is capable of great deeds for God.’ (856) ‘’If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’, and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” (Matt. 17:20, 21)
‘Jesus, make us content to be faithful; in obedience, we succeed amid the most painful of losses. Make us resolute in Your promises, and patient in bearing with them until they are realized.’
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Author’s note – Each day’s entry is based a passage from St Faustina’s diary. The passage entry is the number in parentheses at the end of each opening quote or simply a page number in parenthesis. Diary of St Maria Faustina Kowalska – Divine Mercy in My Soul (Association of Marion Helpers, Stockbridge, MA 01263) is available through the publisher or Amazon.com.
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