Sometimes the battle is internal. Your spouse can be used as a weapon against your calling and ministry. We must be honest about this —we cannot always direct our spiritual energy toward external enemies, even when unseen forces may be the instigating factor.

Many people are excited to marry a pastor, but the reality is that being a pastor's spouse is incredibly challenging. You may not have been called to ministry alongside the pastor initially, but once you marry the pastor, you become part of the calling. It becomes your responsibility to support that ministry.

In my counseling sessions, I encountered a painful scenario: a pastor whose spouse refuses to support the ministry. Before marriage, this spouse knew the pastor's calling, attended the pastor's services, completed newcomers' classes, and even earned a certification from the church's theological school.

Yet after the wedding, the spouse chose not to stand with the pastor —refusing to support the ministry or even attend church with the pastor. The excuse was Doctrinal differences.

My question has been this: If doctrinal differences existed, why go through with the marriage in the first place? Why use that as a reason to sabotage the pastor's calling later on?

Scripture addresses bad husbands, but it does not overlook bad wives. As Proverbs 21:19 states: "It is better to dwell in the wilderness, than with a contentious and an angry woman."

A husband's godliness does not automatically make his wife godly; every individual is accountable to God for their own conduct.

In this particular case, extensive counseling was invested to resolve the conflict. However, the spouse ultimately decided that divorce was preferable to submitting to the pastor's leadership in this matter.

What advice would you offer to this pastor and the spouse? Leave your thought in the comments session.