Marriage is a good thing. But marriage is also a hard thing. Bringing two humans together from different backgrounds and different worlds is not an easy task. Several months ago I was speaking to the ladies at our church's marriage retreat and I told them that even though my husband and I were 17 years into our marriage, we were still trying to figure it out how to be married, how to mesh our lives.
Often we go through difficult times in our marriage and say that we are "working on our marriage." Or we hear others say they are "working on their marriage." People seek counseling or mentoring, which are both wonderful, wonderful things. But I am coming to realize something very important.
It's not our marriage we should be working on. It's our own heart, our own walk with God.
Francis Chan says in his new book, You And Me Forever, co-authored with his wife Lisa:
You and your husband may not agree on how to decorate the house, where to take vacation, which side of the family to visit for the holidays, where to squeeze the toothpaste tube, what kind of music to listen to, or even how to spend money. But one thing you must agree on is God. You must agree that God comes first and that He must be the center of your life, marriage and family. If you agree on that, if you work toward that, God will work everything else out.
Hit your knees more. Pray more. Read the Bible more. Cry out to God more. Sit in His presence more. Serve more. Draw close to God and let Him direct your marriage and make it what He wants.
Whatever struggle you are facing in your marriage, stop looking to "fix" your marriage. Start working on your heart and your walk with God. Get right with the Father. He will change what needs changed in the marriage.
For more from the Chan's book, You And Me Forever, session videos and to purchase, click HERE.
Often we go through difficult times in our marriage and say that we are "working on our marriage." Or we hear others say they are "working on their marriage." People seek counseling or mentoring, which are both wonderful, wonderful things. But I am coming to realize something very important.
It's not our marriage we should be working on. It's our own heart, our own walk with God.
Francis Chan says in his new book, You And Me Forever, co-authored with his wife Lisa:
Draw close to Him and let your marriage be the overflow of that. When things are right with God, your marriage can actually become what it was designed to be. Peace comes when both parties come to an agreement. Agree on God-agree on His holiness and the supremacy He deserves in your lives.
You and your husband may not agree on how to decorate the house, where to take vacation, which side of the family to visit for the holidays, where to squeeze the toothpaste tube, what kind of music to listen to, or even how to spend money. But one thing you must agree on is God. You must agree that God comes first and that He must be the center of your life, marriage and family. If you agree on that, if you work toward that, God will work everything else out.
Hit your knees more. Pray more. Read the Bible more. Cry out to God more. Sit in His presence more. Serve more. Draw close to God and let Him direct your marriage and make it what He wants.
Whatever struggle you are facing in your marriage, stop looking to "fix" your marriage. Start working on your heart and your walk with God. Get right with the Father. He will change what needs changed in the marriage.
For more from the Chan's book, You And Me Forever, session videos and to purchase, click HERE.
I love this post!!! So many great points. Thanks for blogging about marriage!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for stopping by Amber! God bless!
DeleteThese is a great read! Marriage is a commitment that needs to be worked on all the time. We are reading Radical Marriage by David Steele. It has motivated us to look at not just the marriage but the outside forces on the relationship itself. We discussed this very thing, that our walk with God was more important than anything. Get right with one, and the rest will follow! Great post!
ReplyDeleteThese is a great read! Marriage is a commitment that needs to be worked on all the time. We are reading Radical Marriage by David Steele. It has motivated us to look at not just the marriage but the outside forces on the relationship itself. We discussed this very thing, that our walk with God was more important than anything. Get right with one, and the rest will follow! Great post!
ReplyDelete