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Browse through and read hundreds of articles on the topic of marriage
In the beginning, after God had created Adam and placed him in the garden to cultivate it, He said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him” (Genesis 2:18).
In the Bible, we find two realities to which we are to respond: God’s commands and God’s promises. God calls us to obey His commands and trust His promises. Most of us have sung the song "Trust and Obey,” which captures these two quintessential truths.
There are certain phrases we have been programmed to understand in a specific way whenever we hear them. For example, if someone says to us, “We need to talk,” we know there is bad news to come and we get in defensive mode.
Is your normally happy-go-lucky husband suddenly more sulky and moody? Has your typically fully engaged and intimate husband for some mysterious reason become more distant and even physically absent?
Do you have a specific sports team that you are outright fanatic about? Suppose you are a passionate Yankees fan whose white bedroom walls have navy blue pinstripes on them and your living room coasters have pictures of Mickey Mantle, Babe Ruth, Derek Jeter, and other Yankees greats on them.
Someone who only speaks German cannot communicate with someone who only speaks Spanish. Each needs to learn the other's vocabulary. Communication can only happen when there is mutual understanding. Communication is not the key to marriage. Mutual understanding is the key to a successful marriage.
A wife wrote to me saying, “My husband has disconnected from our marriage. We were on the Crazy Cycle for years, and it got really bad this year. He had an emotional affair and is now convinced that we can never be happy together, can both eventually find happiness elsewhere, and he wants a divorce.“I've been trying the CHAIRS principle for 3 months and have gotten very little response.
Have you been infected with the disease of Love and Respect? Has the message of Ephesians 5:33 so contaminated you that it oozes from your pores? Are you so contagious that when you sneeze you infect others with the same Love and Respect disease? As you share the good things happening to you, does this create an enthusiasm in others to hear more?
Though you are not experiencing as much fulfillment in your marriage as you expect, can you experience fulfillment from doing God’s purpose in your marriage? Have you ever prayed about discovering God’s purpose for you in the marriage apart from your spouse? PRAY: Father, forgive me for thinking in the midst of this marital pain and struggle that my life is lacking purpose.
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