Lesson Summary, So Far

Leave no [such] room or foothold for the devil [give no opportunity to him]. 

~The Amplified Bible, Ephesians 4:27

THIS ↑  is exactly what happened to the wedding. KatieLyn gave the devil a foothold and he stole her confidence.

Do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord, which has a great reward. 

~ Hebrews 10:35

And THAT ↑  is exactly what KatieLyn did. She dropped her confidence that the Lord had answered her prayer and she threw it away.

What the Lord wanted was this:

Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 

~ James 4:7

Because:

You have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised.

~Hebrews 10:36

The bride's running off in the middle of the night was not of God. It was of the devil. KatieLyn did not submit herself to God. She submitted herself to her mother's misgivings. She did not resist her mother's uncertainty for very long; yes, she had resisted at first, but she did not like the arguments that it caused with her mom. In the end, she put more faith in what her mother was telling her than in what the Lord had told her, and she used the arguments as her "proof" that something was wrong with what God had put in her heart. (I know that some of my readers will think she is mental for trusting her mom's uncertainty more than she trusted the witness of the Lord, but give her some grace for now because in the coming posts more light will be shed on how that deception came about. For now, you must trust me that it was very deeply rooted.)

Basically, KatieLyn failed the test. To be a good wife, it is important to be able to hear and follow the leading of the Lord. I am of the opinion that the Lord allowed this to come upon her because she really does have the grit it takes to stand up for herself. But she has not had much practice doing that and it is very uncomfortable for her.

For the time being, KatieLyn has taken the path of least resistance.

Marriage is a big step, and it is easier for someone who has very little self-confidence to back out and play it safe than it is for her to follow through.

Marriage must have appeared as a wild storm at sea to KatieLyn, especially after her mother went around for months making waves about it. But what did Jesus say when his disciples encountered a storm after He had already made his will plain and told them to go to the other side? Jesus said to them, "Why do you cowards have so little faith?" See Matthew 8:26 or Mark 4:40. Her family and friends, who were never assured of the Lord's will for this marriage, have been telling her that she was brave and courageous to call off the wedding. If this marriage had not been God's will, then they would have been right. But it was clearly His will, and she behaved like a scared bunny.  

KatieLyn may feel calmed and safe to be back on her home shore, and I am pretty sure that her mom told her those feelings of relief are 'proof' that she did the right thing, but it is hard to imagine that KatieLyn will remain satisfied with being out of God's will in the long run. The courageous thing would have been to face the fear, not to hysterically run away.

But my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.
~ Hebrews 10:38