Psalm 127:1 Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.
God needs to be at the center of all of our relationships in order for them to be all they can be. Marriage is a lot of work as it is but if God is not the first priority of both spouses it is even more work. If your children do not see that God is number one to you and a priority in your life why would He ever be a priority in theirs? Children learn what they live and if they see that their parents take their relationship with God half heartedly then nine times out of ten they won’t see a reason to have one.
If you want a truly successful marriage then you must both start with your focus on God, not each other. Marriage is not always going to have that warm, fuzzy, romantic love for each other. Marriage can be messy with hurt feelings and habits that have grown to annoy you greatly that never bothered you when you were dating. Marriage is work so therefore why would you try to go it alone and leave God out of the forefront. The best marriages happen when both of you are willing to be led by God in all that you do. When two people are working toward becoming all they can be for Him the way you treat each other and the way you respond to hurts and frustrations will be totally different.
If you are struggling today in your relationship with your husband maybe it is time to ask him to start having devotions with you if you aren’t already. Start praying together every day. Pray for each other, and I don’t mean that you pray that God will slap a knot on his head for all the things you see your husband needs to change. Don’t pray for God’s wrath on each other, what are you thinking? If God’s wrath comes down on your spouse it is coming down on your household so pray for God’s grace and mercy for each other and pray for God to gently move in each other’s hearts and lives to a degree that will honor and please Him! Pray for your husbands spiritual growth, pray for his love for God to increase. Whatever area you feel your husband is lacking in showing love for you pray that that love will grow in him for God because when it does it will overflow to you but it begins with God.
If you are the only one who is interested in focusing on God this is obviously going to be more difficult but the key in that case is to focus on being all you are supposed to be. Allow God to work in you and to guide you. Often your spouse will be won over by seeing God move in your life but if he isn’t you will at least have the reassurance that you have followed God and you have done all you can in that relationship to make it work and you can leave the results to God.
If you have children and you want them to grow up and love God and serve Him the only way they will truly understand the importance of that is to see it in you! If your walk with God is questionable trust me there are a lot of people who have really strong wrong beliefs out there that will be happy to influence them for you. We live in a very corrupt day and age and there are a lot of people who have been misled about God and the sad thing is they seem more determined to live out those false beliefs than a lot of Christians I know. Don’t allow your children to wonder what you believe or wonder how important God is to you. Take a strong stand and show them in all that you do that God is the first focus of all that you do! Lead them in their walk with God don’t just leave it to chance or even the church! Show them the way they should take by living a godly life in front of them!
I would encourage you today to ask God how you can improve your relationships even if they are not seemingly struggling. Our walk with God can always improve and so can our walk with each other. We can always improve our example to others so keep pushing forward and keep focusing on Him! The best is yet to come!
Quote: “A happy person is not a person in a certain set of circumstances, but rather a person with a certain set of attitudes.” Hugh Downs
“Slap a knot on his head”! I love it! Great word today…..and knot just that one!