Marriage as an institution was ordained by God from the inception of creation. As an institution, marriage comes with pros and cons which often become a subject of interest to a lot of couples and Bachelors. This article is purposed to guide believers in having a successful and lasting marriage. How do we secure our marriage? Read the points below
Protect your marriage through daily times with God. I cannot emphasize strongly enough that your personal, daily time with the Lord builds an enormous wall of protection around your marriage. Time with the Lord each day immediately impacts your relationship with your spouse. When you fail to meet with God, your heart becomes hardened to the Lord and to His truths. And once that snowball of sin begins rolling, your marriage is instantly endangered. But as you cling to Him each day, you will confess sin and continue to grow in Christ’s likeness. As you keep God in His rightful place, not only will your marriage experience dramatic differences, but all of your relationships will be affected
Protect your marriage by spending time together. One of the best guards against infidelity comes from having your emotional needs met within your marriage. That means sticking to the plan of spending time alone together each week! Unless we purposefully protect that time, all of life’s little “urgent” needs will undermine our marital intimacy like termites that slowly eat away the foundation of a house. What can be more urgent than protecting your marriage?
Be Forgiving. This is so important. Marriages aren’t problem-free; however, they are capable of healing. Ephesians 4:32 reminds us to “be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” The more quickly we handle those hurts and practice forgiveness, the faster the restoration takes place. Bitterness and resentment will destroy a marriage. Along this line, aim to not go to bed angry. “Do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil.” (Ephesians 4:26, 27)
Be Expectant. Life will have trials to walk through and they will test our marriage. Just make a note that difficulties are a part of living in a fallen world. Suffering will come in small and big forms, yet how we live through them makes all the difference. Concerning our marriage relationship, we need to draw close to the one we love, not exclude them. “What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” (Mark 10:9) I think this verse could also say let no situation separate what God has joined together. Decide to work through all trials that come your way — together!
Keep the lines of communication open. Talk with your spouse about how you can avoid creating walls of secrecy between you. How will you make sure you do your marriage work with your spouse? How can you avoid creating unhealthy attachment or dependency on someone else? Communicating with your spouse builds a form of trust and accountability which makes a marriage firmly grounded.
The marriage promise is so worth protecting and it takes hard work and commitment. Still, the effort made will pay off as we grow old with the one given to us by God, knowing we held true to our marriage covenant by God’s grace and our desire to do so.
