Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.—Genesis 2:24

The objective God has in bringing a man and a woman together can be captured in two very important words: leave and cleave. These come from Genesis 2:24 (KJV), which says, “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.” The word “cleave” means to glue or to cling. So to leave and cleave is to sever and bond, to loosen and secure, or to depart from and attach to.

A successful marriage begins with leaving. In effect, you leave all other relationships. The closest relationship outside of marriage is specified in Genesis 2:24, implying that if it is necessary to leave your father and mother, then certainly all lesser ties must be broken, changed, or left behind.

This doesn’t mean that when you get married, you are no longer a son or a daughter or a sibling. But what it does mean is that you have a new, primary responsibility, and that is to your spouse. You must still honor your mother and father, but leaving has taken place.

Leaving implies giving other relationships a lesser degree of importance. You still can have friends, but your best friend should be your spouse. Having members of the opposite sex as friends can be problematic at best and potentially destructive at worst. Most adultery happens through close contact and relationship, not mere sexual attraction. So be very careful. Your best friend should be your husband or your wife.

In Malachi 2:14, God said of the relationship between a husband and his wife, “Yet she is your companion and your wife by covenant.” The word “companion” used here means someone united with another in thoughts, goals, plans, and efforts.

Are you united with your spouse in this way?

Harvest.org | Greg Laurie

Therefore He says: “Awake, you who sleep, arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.” See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

—Ephesians 5:14–16

In Ephesians 5, Paul tells us to awake from spiritual lethargy. I want to apply these verses specifically to marriage today.

You can’t sleepwalk through marriage. Show me a marriage that is strong and vibrant and thriving, and I will show you a marriage that people are giving attention to.

It’s sort of like making a fire. You begin with some kindling and newspaper and twigs, and then add some logs to it. Once the fire is going, you put another log on it. And another. You continue to feed it over time. In the same way, if a marriage is strong, especially over a period of time, it is because the husband and wife keep putting logs on the fire. They cultivate their romance. They strengthen the marriage.

If you stop feeding the fire, it will start to weaken. You must constantly give it attention. You must be proactive, not merely reactive. When the husband neglects his role and the wife neglects hers, one problem turns into another, and soon it gets worse and worse. Eventually it reaches a state of crisis.

It’s best to engage in “preventative maintenance” and strengthen the marriage every day. Verses 15 and 16 tell us how: by “walking circumspectly” and “redeeming the time.” To “walk circumspectly” conveys the idea of looking, examining, and investigating something with great care. It’s like the attention you would give to the words of a contract before signing it. “Redeeming the time” refers to making the most of every opportunity.

Are you examining your marriage carefully, paying attention to detail? Are you taking advantage of every opportunity to strengthen your marriage? Are you making sure you have done everything you can do?

Don’t sleepwalk through marriage; tend the fires to keep it alive and strong.

Harvest.org | Greg Laurie

History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new. —Ecclesiastes 1:9

Joy Davidman, the wife of C. S. Lewis, made this insightful statement about the pursuit of pleasure: “Living for his own pleasure is the least pleasurable thing a man can do; if his neighbors don’t kill him in disgust, he will die slowly of boredom and lovelessness.” And that is true. It has been said that the only cure for hedonism is to try and practice it.

The pursuit of pleasure is nothing new. As Solomon reminds us a number of times in the Book of Ecclesiastes, when you boil it down, there is nothing new under the sun. Though our technology has changed and we have had certain advancements since Solomon wrote those words, the basic cravings of humanity have not changed, nor have the basic things we look to. The philosophy of eat, drink, and be merry has been with us for a long time.

When Solomon decided he would pursue everything this world had to offer, he was not considering God in all of it. He was living horizontally—he had adapted a worldview that omitted God. Eventually he came to realize there was nothing to profit from under the sun. It was only when Solomon looked above the sun and looked to God that he found the answers he was seeking. When we see God for who He is, we will see the world for what it is.

If you have a close relationship with God and are walking closely with Him, you will recognize philosophies, concepts, and ideologies being propagated that are contradictory to what the Bible teaches. When you are walking closely with God, you will see this world for what it is.

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God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

—Psalm 46:1

When I was a kid, I attended Southern California Military Academy in Long Beach. We would have mandatory chapel every Sunday. Not being raised in a Christian home, I can recall it was the only time, for the most part, that I was ever in a church service. I remember one of the songs we sang in chapel was “You’ll Never Walk Alone.”

At the time, I was experiencing a storm of my own because of the way my mom lived as an alcoholic. I remember singing, “When you walk through a storm, hold your head up high, and don’t be afraid of the dark. At the end of the storm is a golden sky and the sweet silver song of the lark. Walk on through the wind. Walk on through the rain.”

The problem was there was no mention of God in those lyrics. As we sang, “Walk on, with hope in your heart, and you’ll never walk alone,” I thought, Who is with me? The lark that we’re singing about? Who is here?

As Christians, we do walk through storms in life. But we can hold our heads up high—not because of some bird singing but because the Lord is with us. He was with me as a little boy, though I hadn’t yet put my faith in Him completely. God was there as I cried out to Him.

We’re safer with Him in a storm than anywhere else without Him. I would rather be with Jesus in a storm than in the plushest, most luxurious place on earth without Him. The Bible tells us that “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1).

Sometimes God will calm or even stop the storms, but He is always with us through them.

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For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! —2 Corinthians 4:17

There are lessons we learn in the storms of life that we don’t learn anywhere else. When Paul and Barnabas visited the believers in Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch of Pisidia, the Bible tells us they strengthened them and encouraged them “to continue in the faith, reminding them that we must suffer many hardships to enter the Kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22).

This isn’t a verse you would usually see hanging on someone’s wall, is it? It is almost as bad as “everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution” (2 Timothy 3:12). There are some promises we would rather forget, but they are just as true as Romans 8:28, which promises that “God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them” and Jeremiah 29:11, where the Lord says, “For I know the plans I have for you. . . . They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”

No one is exempt from experiencing the storms of life. God is doing a work. And that is what we have to understand: God is at work. He will not waste our pain. He will produce something in our lives that we need. He is looking for a desired result.

As 2 Corinthians 4:17 reminds us, “Our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!”

God will take the things we are going through and use them for His glory in time. God’s endgame, if you will, His primary purpose for us, is to make us more like Jesus. He is getting us ready for Heaven.

Harvest.org | Greg Laurie

The disciples went and woke him up, shouting, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”

—Matthew 8:25

It was a serious storm to frighten these seasoned fishermen. The disciples were afraid for their lives. Matthew tells us, “Then Jesus got into the boat and started across the lake with his disciples. Suddenly, a fierce storm struck the lake, with waves breaking into the boat. But Jesus was sleeping” (8:23–24).

In the original language, the word for storm is also used to describe an earthquake. The storm they were facing was a mega storm. It covered the boat to the extent they couldn’t even see past their hands. As The Amplified Bible puts it, “Suddenly a violent storm arose on the sea, so that the boat was being covered by the waves.” And Mark’s Gospel, describing the same storm, says, “High waves were breaking into the boat, and it began to fill with water” (Mark 4:37).

This gives us an idea of how massive of a storm this was. It reminds me of the TV program Deadliest Catch. I’m glad someone is going out there and doing that job. But looking at what some of those guys face, I would never get on one of their boats. It’s probably like what the disciples went through at sea. Meanwhile, Jesus, who was fully God and fully man, was asleep.

Has it ever seemed to you as though God were sleeping during your times of need? Maybe you were going through some difficulty and called out to the Lord, but you didn’t hear an answer that you knew of. You thought maybe God was just bored, preoccupied, or even asleep. But that isn’t true. The Bible says, “He who watches over Israel never slumbers or sleeps” (Psalm 121:4).

When the disciples cried out to Jesus, He responded to their call. And He will do the same for us.

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The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. —Psalm 23:1

A favorite Scripture passage for many of us is Psalm 23, which begins: “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul” (verses 1–3). We love that. It’s such a beautiful picture of us as sheep being led by our Shepherd.

But it isn’t a compliment when God compares us to sheep. Sheep are some of the dumbest animals on the face of the earth. If God had compared us to dolphins, that would have been great. Dolphins are super smart. If God had compared us to dogs, even that would have been a compliment. But God compared us to sheep.

Sheep are stupid. Sheep tend to run with the pack. Sheep have no defense mechanisms. Sheep can’t even escape from a predator. Sheep are basically leg of lamb in waiting—all that is needed is the mint jelly. It’s a done deal. Sheep need their shepherd. If the shepherd doesn’t come through for them, they are dead. We are like that too.

We love to read that the Lord is our Shepherd and that He makes us to lie down in green pastures and leads us beside the still waters. But Psalm 23 goes on to say, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me” (verse 4).

We love the green pastures and the still waters, but we don’t like valleys—especially if they have the word death attached to them. Yet as David pointed out, the Lord is the Shepherd who was with him. And He is the Shepherd who is with us too.

Harvest.org | Greg Laurie

He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.

—John 3:36

Sometimes people will make a profession of faith, and then seemingly fall away. We ask ourselves, “Did this person lose their salvation?”

My question, in turn, would be, “Were they ever really saved to begin with?”

If somebody commits their life to Christ, then walks away and never comes back, I suggest to you that they were never a Christian at all. If, on the other hand, someone commits their life to the Lord, walks away, and then comes back to Christ, I suggest to you that they were simply a prodigal.

The true test is where they end up.

A true believer will always come home to the Lord, eventually. A person who is not a true believer won’t. In 1 John 2:19 (NIV) we read: “They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.”

Harvest.org | Greg Laurie

But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike.

—Matthew 5:44–45

My mother was married and divorced seven times. I had the privilege of sharing the gospel with several of my mother’s husbands, including Oscar Laurie, the man who adopted me. He came to faith in Christ, and I was very thankful for that. However, there was another husband of hers whom I will call Eddie. He was an alcoholic and almost killed my mother one night when he was drunk.

After I became a Christian, I sensed that God wanted me to share the gospel with Eddie. But I didn’t really want to. I thought, He is a bad man, and I don’t want to talk to him again. I don’t want to see him again. But I went anyway. And I would like to say that it was a glorious experience and that he got down on his knees and accepted Christ. But I can’t say that. He listened to me. He was nice. He was pleasant about it and said, “Well, you know I am glad this has happened for you, Greg.” I invited him to come and hear me preach, but he again said no.

There may be someone like that in your life who has hurt you, someone who has disappointed you. And you think because of that, you don’t ever want to talk to them again, much less share the gospel with them. But as believers, we are to overcome our personal prejudice and hang-ups. And instead of saying, “Never, Lord,” we need to say, “Yes, Lord!” Be willing. See what God will do. They may react like Eddie. Or they may react like Oscar.

Maybe there is even someone right now whom you regard as an enemy. What can you do? You can share the gospel—and leave the results in the hands of God.

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But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? —Romans 10:14

Have you ever led someone to Christ? If not, why not? Maybe you think that God can never use you in this way, that you’re just not gifted in that regard, and it is only for a privileged few to lead others to Christ. But if this were the case, why was the Great Commission given to every Christian? Every believer is called to “go and make disciples of all the nations . . . ” (Matthew 28:19). That means we are all called to evangelism. We all have a part to play.

I must admit that it’s a mystery to me that God has chosen to use people as the primary communicators of His truth. An interviewer once commented to me that I seem to be very natural when I speak, that it must come easily to me. “Nothing could be further from the truth,” I said. “Before I was a Christian, I wasn’t a public speaker.”

I remember being in an English class in school where we were all required to give an impromptu, five-minute speech in front of the class on an assigned statement. Being a poor student, I hadn’t read the assignment, so I stood frozen with fear in front of the class. I was not a public speaker.

But after I came to faith in Jesus Christ, I realized the best way to help people believe was through verbal communication, be it in front of a group or an individual. I realized that it is not about me or what I feel comfortable doing; it is about obeying God. Because the primary way God reaches people who do not yet know Him is through verbal communication. How can people hear about Christ unless someone tells them? That someone is supposed to be you or me.

Harvest.org | Greg Laurie

You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. —2 Timothy 2:3

Without question the greatest life to live is the Christian life, because God takes a life that was empty, aimless, and, worst of all, headed for a certain judgment and then turns it around and transforms it. He forgives all our sin, removes our guilt, and literally takes residence inside of us through the Holy Spirit. Most importantly, He changes our eternal address from a place called hell to a place called heaven. This all comes about as a result of the power of the gospel proclaimed and believed.

Yet some have believed what I would describe as a watered-down version of the gospel, a gospel that promises forgiveness but rarely mentions the need to repent of your sin, a gospel that promises peace but never warns of persecution, a gospel that says God wants you to be healthy and wealthy and never have any problems to speak of, a gospel that says you will so find the favor of God that a parking space always will be available for you. But that is not the gospel of the New Testament.

The Christian life is not a playground, but a battleground. Not only is there a God who loves you and has a plan for your life, but there is also a devil who hates you and opposes God’s plan.

I am not suggesting that once you become a Christian, you will be sick, poor, and miserable. But the essence of the Christian life is knowing and walking with God. It is about sticking with Him when the sky is blue and also when it is filled with clouds. It is about pressing on. Jesus made it clear that storms will enter every life. But as we seek to know and follow Christ, we will find happiness as a fringe benefit.

Harvest.org | Greg Laurie

People are born for trouble as predictably as sparks fly upward from a fire.—Job 5:7

There are times I just don’t know why God does or does not do certain things. I, like you, am mystified by a lot of it.

Listen, being a Christian does not mean you will not suffer. We may ask the question “Why me?” but we could more easily ask “Why not me?” 1 Peter 4:12 warns us, “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you” (ESV). Our trials and sufferings should not be seen as strange, but should be expected.

Jesus Himself assured us that there will be suffering in our lives. “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33 NKJV).

Here is what we need to know: suffering will come. It’s not a matter of if but when and how much. We need to prepare for it.

If, as you are reading this, you are not experiencing any suffering or tragedy, I would say, “Rejoice, and enjoy it!” But know that hardship will come.

Here is the bottom line. You are either coming out of a storm or headed into another. “People are born for trouble as predictably as sparks fly upward from a fire” (Job 5:7 NLT). It’s just a matter of time. In this life, the only way to avoid suffering is to die. So, like the diligent squirrel gathering nuts for winter, store these truths in your heart.

In his book If God Is Good, Why?, Randy Alcorn says, “Most of us don’t give focused thought to evil and suffering until we experience them. This forces us to formulate perspective on the fly, at a time when our thinking is muddled and we’re exhausted and consumed by pressing issues. People who have ‘been there’ will attest that it’s far better to think through suffering in advance.”

Harvest.org | Greg Laurie

But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light.—Ephesians 5:13

When you lose something, you turn on the light. I am always losing things in my car. When my keys or wallet (or maybe a burrito!) drops between the seats, sometimes I have to get a flashlight out and search under the seats until I find it. Light exposes things.

I heard a story of a drunk man who was down on his hands and knees under a streetlight looking for something. A stranger came up to him and asked what he was doing. He said, “I lost my wallet.”

“And you lost your wallet right here?” the stranger asked.

“No,” the drunken man said, “I lost it two blocks over, but there is no light there.”

Looking for something in the wrong place is not a good idea, is it? You need to look in the right place—and the right place to look when your marriage is facing problems is the Scriptures.

Sometimes when a marriage is having troubles, the couple goes for counseling. I am for that—as long as it is biblical counseling. Counsel that originates from human thought and reasoning is not going to help. You must get counsel from the Word of God, for He is the One who created marriage.

Here’s something else to keep in mind. Just because a person says they are a Christian counselor doesn’t necessarily mean they are giving biblical counsel. I have often heard advice from “Christian counselors” that is contradictory to what the Bible says. The true counsel of God comes from His written Word, the Bible.

“But what if you don’t agree with what the Bible says?” you ask. Simple answer: Change your opinion because the Bible is right and, if you don’t agree with it, you are wrong.

If you want a successful marriage, shine the light of God’s Word on it.

Harvest.org | Greg Laurie