When I was on my honeymoon with my husband, I knew that life could not get any better. We were sipping piña coladas at no additional cost. We were warm under the beautiful Bahamas sun. We woke up at 5:40AM and went to bed at 8:00PM. One day, we went to bed at 6PM and missed our 7:30PM dinner reservations. But guess what? We didn’t care!
Only fourteen months later, while the honeymoon feelings are still there (we are holding onto them as long as we can!) our lives are not as warm and fuzzy as the Bahamas sun.
Life is hard. The money runs out, the work day is stressful, and the demands of life are more than the average person can handle. All of those things can cause us to take out our anger on our spouses if we are not careful.
I want to offer a bit of encouragement to those who are going through a difficult season. Regardless of where you are in life, you may be in a place where you’re tempted to fight against your spouse rather than with your spouse. Your spouse is your life partner and journey sharer, the one who God has chosen to love you and to encourage you on your journey. God has chosen you to do the same for your spouse. You and your spouse are a team, a force that is more powerful together than apart.
The Bible says that two people are better than one. That passage in Ecclesiastes talks about one person falling into a hole and another person pulling him out, and a person who is cold and has someone to keep him warm in bed. Those are both two difficult situations that are made easier when there are two people struggling rather than one.
The same is true for marriage.
Married friends, your spouse is meant to help you through the difficult times. Do not see your spouse as an enemy, but as a partner in crime. Pray together and let God speak through both of you. You will be amazed at the confirmation you receive from God as a result of what He tells you and your spouse.
Yesterday, when I was at work, I had a lot of time to think about the situation we are currently facing. For several months, we have been praying about a specific problem that we have been having. An idea popped into my head and wouldn’t stop nagging me. It seemed like a good idea, but it was completely against what we have been planning all this time. To convince my husband to get on board with my idea, after I spent all this time trying to convince him otherwise, would have been difficult and would have made me look fickle. I prayed that God would give me wisdom.
At home, while we were talking about our situation, I proposed my idea to him. He smirked when I finished talking. “It’s amazing that I was thinking the same exact thing today,” he said. God spoke to both of us about an idea that we were completely against a few days ago.
Through this struggle we’ve been having, I have never seen my husband pray more. I have never seen my husband have more faith in God’s plan and God’s timing. My husband has done such an incredible job of encouraging me in our struggle. And I’ll admit that I haven’t been as positive as I usually am, but I pray that God has grown me through this and that the growth is evident in my life!
Let’s face it: Life is not a beautiful trip to the Bahamas. Instead of asking God to take away your struggle, ask God to use this struggle to bring you closer to Him. When you trust God and trust your spouse in the midst of struggle, God will grow you and your marriage. You will look back on this difficult season and know that God used it to fulfill His plan and purpose in you and your spouse’s lives.
Photo by Zoriana Stakhniv on Unsplash
Elisabeth Warner 