But if you do marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. But those who marry will face many troubles in this life, and I want to spare you this. 1 Corinthians 7:28
My husband and I have four kids. Three of them are young adults who are in relationships. Marriage is on the horizon for a couple of those kids who are actively planning their future. As they look towards the wonderful gift of marriage, we try to keep them settled with reality – marriage can be hard work.
How do you like that for a motivational statement? Yikes! Please stick with me as we dive deeper into what this means. The scripture above says, “those who marry will face troubles.”
When I got married, I wasn’t thinking about the hardships we may face. I was naive and just assumed we would live happily ever after. We must understand that we will see some difficulties in our marriage.
There may come a day when you question your relationship because you are in a season of difficulty. I have likened it before to building a brick wall of circumstances. A marriage doesn’t usually fall apart suddenly. It happens slowly as unmet expectations and disappointments add brick after brick to a wall separating spouses.
Some marriages will face minor hardships, and others will face difficulties threatening to destroy a home.
Since we live in South Florida, we have the luxury of having days ahead of a hurricane to prepare for the storm. Not every natural disaster provides prep time. We know that hurricane season lasts from June to November, and we know the supplies we should have on hand and how to be prepared for any impending storms.
We had a terrible thunderstorm late one night. A neighbor’s tree was struck by lightning and fell on top of the power line knocking out power to our entire street. Had we been prepared, we could have pulled out our hurricane box, fired up the battery-operated fans, or used the LED lantern to get ready for work. Instead, we were unprepared. We felt like we had been through enough storms to gather our supplies when and if we needed them. Big mistake!
Don’t wait for the storm to hit your marriage before taking action. Be prepared.
There are going to be difficult days. What preparations can you put in place today to help when the hard times come?
Can you set aside a time to talk daily or weekly about the highs and lows of your relationship that week?
Can you set guardrails in place now to prevent any situations that could lead to physical temptation with another person?
Should you find accountability partners (of the same sex) who could mentor you in your marriage relationship?
Please don’t suffer in silence and isolation. Our churches are filled with couples struggling in their marriage, but they have too much pride to tell someone and ask for help.
Your marriage matters. It is not only important to you and your spouse, but your kids, families, and others.
I don’t know what hardship you will face, but I can guarantee it will come. A marriage is made up of two fallen people, so there is bound to be conflict. The enemy wants your family to fail. The enemy wants to discourage you into thinking your marriage is hopeless.
There is always hope!
Start working on preparations today so you can grow a healthy, God-honoring marriage that is ready to face the storms of life. Do that within your Christian community and by committing your marriage to prayer. God will make something beautiful out of your relationship.
Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him. Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken. Psalm 62:1-2
God Bless,
