MORNING WINGS DAILY DEVOTIONAL - 30/08/2026

SUNDAY - 30TH AUGUST, 2026

MORNING WINGS DAILY DEVOTIONAL - Olusola & Oreoluwa ADEJUMO

SPOUSES THAT CAUSE GRIEF

Genesis 26:34-35, KJV

"34 And Esau was forty years old when he took to wife Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Bashemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite:  

35 Which were a grief of mind unto Isaac and to Rebekah."

When the Bible says, "wisdom is the principal thing (Prov.4:7)...", it's telling us how important it is that we acquire wisdom. So also, the Bible says, "charm is deceitful but a woman who fears the Lord she shall be praised" (Prov.31:30). Saying this, we then know what to focus on in a man or a woman. Fear of the Lord! If he or she knows and reveres the Lord, then you can be assured. Christ will teach him or her to behave. God's life in them will compel them towards the kind of life they should live. 

The Bible says Esau married two Canaanites who were a grief of mind to his parents. Do you know what it means to be a grief of mind to someone? It means they are instruments of vexation, irritation to their inlaws. Since they are Canaanites, we have every reason to believe they are of another culture and belief. So, they may not be able to walk in consonance with the demands and ways of Yahweh. Simple way of living that their inlaws expected of them may not be fulfilled, creating grief of mind. 

Beware who you marry lest they become grief of mind to you. When something grieves you, it aggravates you. It troubles you. That word, "grief" carries such a great meaning. To paint a good picture, let me take you into a biblical scenario. Do you remember that God gives a ram to Abraham instead of slaughtering his son. Now, the ram had to be pegged down by the thicket. Meanwhile, what I want you to see is that the ram could have struggled to be free from that thicket before Abraham went for it. However, it's just too deeply caught in it. That struggle can't but leave that ram grieved, vexed or aggravated. It wants freedom but is been denied.

You become aggravated or grieved in a relationship when your partner does not live expectedly. It's not that you're judging selfishly or with your own codes of conduct, bias or prejudice. If the Bible says this is how couples should live and it's only one of you that lives that way, the other will be a grief of mind to the other person. The intensity of the aggravation however depends on how disobedient that person lives to the Bible or principles of godly living. 

Before the Bible could say that both Esau's wives were a grief of mind to their inlaws, it means they couldn't live compatibly together. Summarily, their ways didn't please them. Take Isaac and Rebekah for God who expects us to live in obedience to Christ and submission to the Bible. We can become grief of heart to Him also if our living is not faithful, steadfast, fruitful and full of obedience. 

So, let me ask, how have you been living - to cause God/your spouse and the people around you joy or bring him sorrows to them?

PRAYER: Lord, may I be a child of encouragement to all around me. I refuse to be a Benoni.

DAILY BIBLE READING PLAN 

Job 34:1-36:33; II Cor. 4:1-12, Psalm 44:1-8, Prov. 22:10-12

Powered by Morning Wings Ministries. Share with others in English, French, Arabic, Swahili and Chinese. Enquire or counsel through +234 80 77 63 85 50 or +234 8137 04 68 12 II morningwingministry@gmail.com & Blog @ http://morningwingsministry.blogspot.com