Shaun K. Hansen Podcast

God has given us the how-to manual on passion. It’s called the Song of Solomon. Passion starts with communication. Solomon and Shulamith are fearless when it comes to bringing up topics for conversation. Through Solomon and Shulamith, God is telling you and your spouse to have the freedom to talk about everything - from the most mundane and trivial to the most intimate and painful.

Jacob, the Old Testament patriarch and a man richly blessed by God, was a wimp. His wives, Leah and Rachel, were witches. Jacob was pathetically passive, and Leah and Rachel were incredibly disrespectful and controlling. Many husbands do what Jacob did. They choose to passively ignore their wives and withhold love from them. Actively loving your wife is an essential element in leadership.

Abraham has been revered by generation of Christians because of his tremendous faith. Despite his great faith, Abraham struggled with selfishness. As a husband, there were times he put his needs above the needs of his wife, Sarah. Your selfishness is deeply wounding your precious wife. After your relationship and fellowship with the Lord, your relationship and fellowship with your wife is to be your number one priority.

Adam and Eve had it all. All they had to do to keep it was obey God’s command not to eat the fruit from one tree in this beautiful Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:16-17). Their marriage, and every other marriage that followed, was forever changed by that decision. The two worst consequences, of the incalculably tragic fallout, were that they were separated from God and from each other.

Solomon was the wisest man who ever lived, and he once saw wisdom so great it astonished even him (Ecc 9:13-18 HCSB). Solomon saw the power of invisible leadership! Wisdom never seeks to wound except to heal. Wisdom never longs for war but for peace

The warrior does not need to be seen. The warrior is most powerful when they are invisible. The warrior does not wield a weapon; they are a weapon. Their strength does not come from the weapons they hold but from the wisdom that has taken hold of them. The warrior is like a river, with fluid and adaptive moves.

When we are at war, we live beneath God’s intention for us. John the Baptist was chosen to prepare the way for the coming of Jesus. His mission was “to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace” - Luke 1:79 NIV It’s amazing how quickly you can go from peacemaker to having a reputation for violence. God is not a God of war; God is a God of peace.

Your heart must not be troubled or fearful” - John 14:27 HCSB The path of peace comes only when we’re willing to walk into our own darkness and face our own shadows. It is God who gives us perfect peace. More specifically, it is Jesus who has come to bring us this peace that our souls long for.

Sometimes the STRONGEST people are those who LOVE beyond all measure, cry when no one can see, and fight BATTLES that only GOD knows about. “The Lord is a warrior; Yahweh is His name.” - Exodus 15:3 HCSB The warrior is not ready for battle until they have come to know peace.