Category Archives: Devotionals for Couples

Trusting the Future of Your Marriage and Family to God

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Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God. – Corrie ten Boom

Sometimes in marriage and family we experience seasons that prompt us to start to wonder what our future will be like. Will we be healthy and still in love? Will the kids be okay? Our parents?

We attempt to control so many things that are simply unknown to us and it causes excessive worry & exhaustion.

But Proverbs 16:3 says to commit to the Lord in whatever you do, and He will establish your plans.

When we trust God with our future & lean on His understanding, we can rest assured that He sees what’s on the other side of what we can’t yet see or comprehend.

God designed marriage & the family. He has a perfect plan.  Release it all to Him and watch patiently as He reveals His perfect plan for your marriage & family. Hw holds your future and He is a good, good Father.

Leaving the Past in the Past

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Whether you are newly married or have been married for years, at some point in your relationship you will face two things- brokenness and the need for forgiveness.   

We have all experienced personal brokenness in our lives prior to getting married. We will also experience brokenness within our marriage. Why? Because we often carry the burdens of our past hurts and mistakes with us and bring them into our marriage. Our pain and discomfort bring us to a place of familiarity and, oddly, this familiarity gets disguised as comfort to us. Yet, we continue to mess up in our brokenness. We get hurt and we become hurtful.  We react instead of responding. We want to be different, but we don’t always know how to be different. Our desire is to move beyond the things that cripple our godly thinking, but sometimes we just get stuck.

Our brokenness, whether from our past or current circumstances, can often trigger us to respond with our usual, unhealthy coping methods. For example, our instinctive response may be to blame our childhood trauma or our upbringing for our own current bad behavior toward our spouse. We claim, excuse, and justify it through a victim’s lens. We give our brokenness a permanent dwelling spot in our heart, closing our minds off to the possibility of authentic change and authentic forgiveness towards our spouse and ourselves. We choose to remain wounded and live with injustice stamped over our heart.

But there is a much better way…

2 Corinthians 10:5 says we are to destroy every proud obstacle that keeps us from knowing God. That we must capture every rebellious thought captive and submit those thoughts to obey Christ. Wow! What a powerful scripture to help us with our need for physical, emotional, and spiritual healing! And Proverbs 23:12 says to commit ourselves to instruction and to listen carefully to wisdom.

 So, when we feel wounded by something our spouse has done to hurt us or we feel like we can’t be forgiven for something we have done to hurt our spouse, we must capture those thoughts and submit them to Christ and His character. His forgiveness towards us gives us the strength to extend forgiveness to our spouse and even to ourselves. His redemptive power is what allows us to pick up our feet and take the next step forward toward positive change.

Isaiah 43:18 says, “Do not remember the past events; pay no attention of things of old.” We must work through each trying circumstance that comes our way today and let the past stay in the past. Walk in His forgiveness and extend forgiveness consistently and continually to your spouse and to yourself. Acknowledge the areas in which you are weak and identify your triggers and submit them into His mighty healing hands.

Don’t quit – Celebrate!

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When we go through hardships in marriage, we may be tempted to give up and quit. The last thing we may want to do is celebrate. Yet, scripture reminds us that we all go through seasons in our lives.

Ecclesiastes 3:4 says there “is a time to cry and a time to laugh. A time to grieve and a time to dance.”

Reflecting upon our two decades of marriage, we can see this truth weaved throughout our own marital hardships.

Plenty of times we have cried and grieved. And plenty of times we have laughed and danced from the triumph of overcoming those same hardships.

How is it that we can look back and celebrate our hardships? Because we see the goodness of God in each of them. Because through each hardship, we are strengthened, and God is glorified by the power of our testimony.

Through our hardships we have learned the freeing power of confession and forgiveness. We have learned the humbling power of submission to God and obedience. We have been a witness to God’s faithfulness to grow us to be more like Him. We have felt His sovereignty over our temporal circumstances.

If your marriage feels like it is in a pit of sinking sand, take time to reflect upon the goodness of God in your prior marriage struggles. Look for the ways in which the hardships grew you closer to Him and to your spouse. Celebrate them!

Write them in a journal or on post-it notes as a reminder. And encourage, support & celebrate the marriages of others. God’s goodness is also displayed when we celebrate others, despite our own circumstances.

Our marriages are a way we get to share the Gospel with others in the world. Let His glory be on display! 

Beauty in Marriage

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Our marriages are designed to be as colorful as the vibrant changes of Fall. The colors that contrast each other come together into one beautiful picture. Just like how two different souls find a way to become one flesh. When that oneness happens, it is such a beautiful picture of love. So men, love your wives fiercely. Women, respect your husbands with the same fierceness. Allow the picture that nature paints to become a reality in your marriage. Take in the beauty and discover how colorfully beautiful your marriage can be.

Trusting God When It’s Difficult

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Scripture tells us that when God calls us to do something hard, we must learn to trust Him. Trust that He is leading & protecting us. Trust that He has a good plan for our life and that He knows best.

Yet often, at the first sign of trouble, we want to give up rather than endure what is necessary to accomplish His will. Or, if we’ve been in a season of waiting for a long time for our circumstances to change, we may finally feel that we’ve finally hit our breaking point.

This is especially true when it comes to difficult seasons in our marriage. Marriage isn’t always easy. It’s plain HARD sometimes! Yet, God calls us to continue to follow His good plan for us.  If we allow ourselves to be ruled by our emotions, we will eventually find ourselves in a place of desolation.

If we want the abundant life that God promises us within our marriage, we must choose to endure through difficult seasons, trusting God through every frustrating & painful step. No matter how long it takes.

Never forget God’s faithfulness! Our hope is found in Christ alone.

Deuteronomy 31:6

So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you.

Hebrews 10:36

Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised.

James 1:12

God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him


Walking by Faith, Not by Sight

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There are times in marriage where so much has happened in a season of struggle that it seems total restoration is impossible. It is true that if we walk only by sight, we can only do what we SEE as possible.

But, if we walk by faith, we have the ability to DO the impossible! Walking by faith means to rely on God’s promises as part of our daily living & trusting His plan for our lives. Trusting that he hears us & sees us and is working in the background for our good.

If today you are asking God to help you restore brokenness within your marriage, put your full trust in Him. You can confidently approach God with your desire for restoration within your marriage. He hears your prayers. He wants to fulfill the desires of your heart that align with His perfect will.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for Your perfect will at work in our lives and in our marriage. Help us to trust You fully to restore the brokenness within our marriage. Restore our unity and strengthen us as a couple to love You first, so that we can love one another better. Amen.

Allowing Grace to Fill the Gaps

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We once heard a marriage mentor tell us to ”let grace fill the gaps in your marriage.” This mindset has been so helpful in our own marriage.

Marriage consists of two imperfect, at times broken, individuals. We get something perfected, or so we think, like forgiveness within 30 minutes or tolerance to ongoing health challenges. Or, we may commit to staying on the same page with disciplining our children or what our shared finances should look like. Honestly, it could be any topic.

But, none of us are perfect. Only Jesus is. Our external circumstances can shake us to our core & even make us feel like we can’t persevere any longer.

But God..

His mercies & grace are new each day! We fall down, but we get right back up!

Often times, we must allow grace to fill the gap. Maybe we aren’t on the same page, maybe we haven’t reached a compromise yet, but if we allow grace to stand in the places where we are lacking understanding or patience, we allow God to do His work in bringing us back together.

I often think about how much God has to put up with me; my disobedience and my lack of faith & trust. Yet, thankfully, he is merciful with me. If Jesus is our example, let’s follow that example!

Lamentations 3:22-23 NLT

22 The faithful love of the Lord never ends!
    His mercies never cease.
23 Great is his faithfulness;
    his mercies begin afresh each morning.

Grace wins every time!

Chemistry or Commitment

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Proverbs 16:3 
Commit your works to the Lord and your plans will be established.

It takes more than chemistry to keep your marriage strong and healthy; it takes commitment to God first and then to each other.

While chemistry may have brought the two of you together, that alone will not sustain a healthy and strong marriage. Like all marriages, there will come a time of adversity and conflict within your marriage. Our attraction to one another will be tested.

We must ensure that our marriage is rooted in our personal commitment to God first. We can do this by forming healthy daily habits, such as spending time in prayer and in quiet conversation with the Lord. I find myself asking Him to show me the areas in which I need strengthening as a spouse. Then, I ask for His strength to help me change my ways, which He is always faithful to do. Without His help, it is impossible for me to have lasting character change that will benefit my marriage. I am convinced that staying unwaveringly committed to my spouse is only possible through my commitment to Christ.

We must also ensure than we have both committed our marriage to God. We can do this by inviting the Lord into every area of our marriage, with Him at the center. This means we can go to Him in times of adversity and seek His wise counsel, as opposed to seeking someone or something outside of the marriage. My spouse and I pray together several times throughout the day to keep God actively in our marriage and we have learned not to make any big decisions without bringing them before the Lord first in prayer.

It is our commitment to God, both personally and in our marriages, that gives us the ability to stay committed to another imperfect human until death. This is how we find the strength to forgive and offer grace to one another. Being committed is also how we endure hard times of trial and testing.

Devoted love

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There are many ways we show devotion to the people we love, such as our family and close friends. We take the time to check in on them, do things together, encourage them and lend a listening ear. Similarly, there are many ways we show our devotion to the things and hobbies we love. We steward them with care, collect them, restore them and even profit off of them, even if just from the joy!

But, have you asked yourself how you show devotion to your spouse and to your marriage? Devoted love comes from the center of our hearts. It isn’t something that can be faked very easily for very long. If I am truly devoted, my love for my spouse won’t change, no matter what comes our way. We may endure seasons of struggling with our feelings of love for one another, but our devoted love will keep us united as one while we endure such seasons. We will often remind ourselves of the deep and loyal love we have had for one another since the beginning of our relationship.

Yet, sometimes being devoted to a person is easier than being devoted to a thing, such as the commitment of marriage!

If I am truly devoted to my marriage, my commitment to the marriage won’t change, no matter what comes our way. We may endure financial struggles, issues with raising teenagers, the loss of a career, serious health issues or issues with trust or infidelity, but our commitment to the marriage will keep us united as one while we endure such seasons. We will often remind ourselves of the deep and loyal love we have for Christ and for the covenant of marriage that He created for us. We do our best to be humble.

How can you start to show devoted love to your spouse and to your marriage? Here are some examples to get you thinking:

  • Prioritize; God first, then spouse/marriage (By placing God first, your heart is open for your spouse)
  • Serve one another
  • Be attentive to each other
  • Show affection in private and in public
  • Be a team and act as team members in ALL things (yes, this includes changing dirty diapers)
  • Affirm your spouse (to them and in front of others)
  • Create boundaries that protect your marriage
  • Be wise in choosing your outside influences; keep your spouse in mind

Don’t you want to be as devoted to your spouse as you are to your dearest friend? This is what the Bible has to say:

Love from the center of who you are; don’t fake it. Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good. Be good friends who love deeply; practice playing second fiddle.

Romans 12: 9-10 MSG

We would love to hear the ways you show devotion to your spouse and to your marriage. Please comment below!

Praying as One

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Do you and your spouse pray together?

One of greatest things we get to do as Christians is pray. Our personal relationship with Jesus Christ allows us to develop an intimate relationship with Him where we can talk to Him with complete openness and vulnerability. As such, prayer becomes an individual routine or practice. When we get married, we maintain many of our personal routines. However, we believe that praying with your spouse, or marital prayer, is an important part of deepening your own personal relationship with Christ and a routine that needs to be developed together. Every married couple should incorporate praying together into their daily marital routine.

Unfortunately, Tim and I did not have the habit of praying together as part of our marital routine for the first decade of our marriage. Sure, we prayed at dinnertime and sometimes before bed with the kids, but it was more of an afterthought and not the kind of intimate prayer I am referring to. We had no idea what we were missing by not having this in our daily life together.

After we started attending church regularly and were experiencing some marital strains, a fellow Christian friend asked us about our prayer life together. Gulp! Were we supposed to be actually praying, like aloud, with one another? We had not been doing that. If prayer is so personal, then why would we need to pray together as a couple?

In the Bible, James describes why we should pray for one another:

16 Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.

James 5:16 NLT

We all are in need of some amount of healing as far as our marriages are concerned. In a union of two people, things will get messy at one point or another. Ugly words and regrettable actions come from each spouse, whether we are prepared for them or not. Praying together petitions healing to occur within our marriage. So, what does it look like to pray together practically?

Let me give a quick example of how we started praying together as a couple. One afternoon, we were in the car having a discussion over something insignificant that led to an argument. As the tension grew, and my heart began racing, I could sense that this argument was leading to nowhere quickly! I knew now was the time to try this “praying together thing” our friend had mentioned. I asked Tim to pull over and stop the car. Reluctantly, he pulled off of the road and stopped the car. I immediately grabbed his hand and said we need to stop talking and pray, right here and right now. Admittedly, it was awkward praying together like this in the midst of an argument in the middle of the day. But, all things are possible with God, including this.

What do you think happened when we stopped to pray in the midst of heated fellowship? Both of our hearts were immediately softened and our focus shifted to the Lord instead of on our issue. Rather than trying to prove the validity of my side of the argument, I began to pray for resolution and most of all, I prayed for my husband’s feelings, in front of him. Not only did this show him love, honor and respect, it helped me to validate his view over my own view. I wasn’t worried about saying the right things in front of him and I wasn’t embarrassed to outwardly express my love for him in the form of a prayer.

Scripture also tells us the importance of inviting the Holy Spirit into your prayer life, especially when we don’t know what to pray for:

26 And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. 27 And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers[a] in harmony with God’s own will.

Romans 8:26-27 NLT

By praying together, we invited the Holy Spirit into our problem and He gave us peace in the midst of it all. Praying together has become a staple in our marriage over the second decade of our marriage. It is the part of the Armor of God that we clothe ourselves in daily (Ephesians 4:6-18).

According to the Bible, when you get married, you are to become one flesh with your spouse. The deep level of intimacy you experience by praying with your spouse helps you achieve oneness.

24 For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.

Genesis 2:24 NLT

Tim and I refer to this as the marital sanctification process. As we become one flesh, we are constantly being stripped of our selfishness and of the “ugly” parts of our personality that don’t mesh well with being fully committed to another human being. The trials we face together as a couple help us in the sanctification process, for ourselves and for each other in unity. Our goal in marriage should never be to fulfill our own desires, but rather, to become more like the spouse Jesus commands us to be. It means to become more like Jesus in our every day walk. The deep level of intimacy that is gained from becoming one flesh is an ultimate expression of the love God has for us, because we are filled with the Spirit. Praying to become one flesh together draws the Lord into your marriage.

The next time you and your spouse aren’t on the same page and you get stuck out of unity with one another, stop everything and pray together. If you can’t pray in person together, pray over the phone together. Submit your differences to God in the form of prayer and invite the Holy Spirit to be the mediator. Also practice praying together when you are in sync with your spouse. The Lord welcomes your praises and rejoices with you!

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