Written by the Literature Committee of South Africa (LitcoSA)
Guta RaMwari is not merely a religion, but a sacred refuge, a divine wellspring where the afflicted find healing and the weary soul discovers rest. For those long burdened by spiritual affliction, whose cries have echoed unanswered through the years, Guta RaMwari becomes a sanctuary of true deliverance, where God’s presence is not a distant hope, but a living, restoring force. He who was sought is now in the midst. Through Him, brokenness is met with compassion, and healing flows through the body deep into the soul.
In this sacred reflection, we turn our hearts towards the holy covenant of marriage. The union of husband and wife, blessed and upheld by God, forms the very foundation upon which families are built. And it is these families, joined by the Holy Spirit in love and prayer, that form the lifeblood of Guta RaMwari and of society at large.
This message comes as the religion enters the Harvest Season, a holy time of gathering and praise-giving, where families unite in reverence. It is a season of deep introspection, where voices are lifted in praise and hearts are poured out in earnest supplication to God. It is a time when God gives His children the opportunity to come to Him with praise for guiding them throughout the year, since the previous Harvest Season.
Most of you, as families, husbands, wives, and children, remain whole and at peace, just as you had prayed for. That is what matters most: life. There are many other things you prayed for in the previous Harvest Season that were granted, including the nourishment of your children and the strengthening of your love as husband and wife so that they may grow up in a warm and loving home. You prayed together, and you were answered together. In the same way, be sure to give praise together during this Harvest Period.
As you are called to praise and ask for more, let it also be a time for husband and wife to reflect on their relationship. Let them ask together, be answered together, and praise together. This unity goes beyond merely living together physically; it also includes being united spiritually.
Husbands and wives need to draw closer together at home, to be united spiritually. A good spirit flows freely when there are no unresolved issues in the marriage. The burdens from past years that remain unresolved in your marriage must now be surrendered, acknowledged as beyond your strength, and laid wholly before God, for He calls you to bring all your burdens unto Him.
What is surrendered to God is not to be taken back; trust that the Director of all things will guide you through His wisdom. By doing this, it becomes easier to reconnect physically and spiritually, making the home a place of warmth for you and your children.
Being together physically but disconnected in spirit has a negative impact, especially during the Harvest Season. Just as your forebears were united in spirit when they made offerings to God at Njelele and in other sacred places where He revealed Himself, so too must you be. The offering of the Harvest requires that a husband and wife be united in body and spirit, offering their praise truthfully and presenting their petitions truthfully before God. An offering given without the unity of a married couple is a waste of time and money. Do not deceive yourselves into thinking you are giving when there is no peace and unity in your home. The secret to offering during the Harvest as husband and wife lies in your agreement and unity in praise and supplication. After all, where husband and wife walk in spiritual unity, God pours out His richest blessings.
Whoever is at odds with their spouse must resolve it before the Harvest arrives so that they do not waste time and money. Whoever is weighed down by old wounds in their love must fully surrender those burdens to God, trust in His capacity to resolve them, so they can reconnect with their partner despite their faults. And the partner must draw closer to them despite their faults.
Those who have faced hardships since the last Harvest and are now approaching another season, should seek the root cause of those difficulties so that they may be united in their plea for them to be removed. If you cannot find the cause, accept that it is meant for you for ulterior motives, but through the Power of the Holy Spirit, you will rise above it in love.
Do not allow yourselves to fail in nurturing warmth within your marriage, for such failure may become a curse upon your children and generations to come. It may be a seed that yields a bad harvest in their lives. Everything is within your power while you, the soul, are still in your body.
May all husbands and wives walk in love within your homes, abiding in the Holy Spirit, and may the Holy Spirit find its comfortable dwelling within you. May your unity in marriage be a pleasing offering before God, and may your offerings be received with favour. Let these offerings become sacred seeds, bearing a harvest of grace, joy, and blessing in your lives, for the enrichment of your families, the religion and society, now and into eternity. Forever.