Most of us would agree that 2020 has been a year of challenge for families. Studies show that stress is up and Bible reading is down.
Psychologist and author Dr. Magdalena Battles believes there’s a spiritual factor in play as well. “I strongly believe that Satan is attacking families,” she tells host Marti Pieper on this episode of the Family Matters series on Charisma News. “What better way to destroy a nation and to destroy the world than to start by attacking families? Families are what God created us for. … He did that because He wanted to see relationships in action,” she says.
Battles, whose new book is 6 Hidden Behaviors That Destroy Families (Whitaker House) says, “In Matthew 22, the two greatest commands are first, love Him, first and foremost. And then second, to love others as you love yourself. And the people that you put in your life … are your family members.”
Battles adds, “The destruction of the family is the way that Satan destroys us as individuals, and it destroys nations. And restoration in our lives happens when we look back to God, look at His solutions. And then we begin working on it ourselves. We partner with God to work on these family issues ourselves.” She cautions people not to think, “I don’t know how I’m going to fix my family members,” saying bluntly, “You can’t. We can be an example of how to do things. And that’s probably the best way … if we don’t tell our family members, ‘You need to do this, you need to do that.’ That usually doesn’t go so well.
“What always works best is being the person who takes action and is the agent of change within the family,” Battles says. “None of us is a perfect human being, but we can do better, and we can try harder. And trying harder means just applying God’s Word. … We need to dive into His Word and use His solutions to have family relationships and have restoration.”
To hear more of Dr. Magdalena Battles’ biblical, practical wisdom on helping your family survive the pandemic and beyond, click here to listen to the entire podcast. {eoa}
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