Today’s Verse

Matthew 19:6

They are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate. (NIV)

When I was in high school, I started a band. We didn’t have a great vision for what we wanted to accomplish, but that wasn’t going to deter us. The first thing we did was brainstorm names. The list included everything from “The Sausage Biscuits” to “3 Car Pileup” to “Technicolor Yawn”. After deciding on a name, we worked on booking gigs. We weren’t good… at all. But we wanted to be in a band. We wanted to stand on stage and play in front of a crowd. Predictably, the band didn’t last long. Looking back, the only reason we started the band was because it felt fun in the moment. We had zero commitment to our band and broke up when it stopped being fun. 

Too often marriages are entered into with a similar short-term mindset. “It seems fun now, but if it gets hard I can bail. There’s always divorce.” Marriage was created, by God, as a lifelong covenant between a man and a woman. Does God outline acceptable reasons for divorce? Yes. Do any of those reasons include “mutual incompatibility” or “irreconcilable differences”? No. Divorce is ugly and messy. It leaves a path of destruction in its wake for everyone.

Maybe you entered into your marriage for the wrong reasons. Maybe you’re in the middle of conversations about divorce. Maybe “the spark” left a long time ago. I challenge you to commit to two things. 

1. First, commit to NEVER using the word divorce. Delete it from your vocabulary and eliminate it from your list of marriage options. Nothing is too broken for God to redeem. 

2. Commit to praying for your marriage and your spouse. Regardless of whether your heart is in it, go through the motions. Allow God to mold and shape your heart. Allow God to work in your marriage. Use the season you’re in to draw closer to the One who created marriage and loves you more than life itself.

No one can promise happy endings. Life is messy. Sin is real. But I can promise that God is faithful. If you seek Him and allow Him to move in your heart and your marriage, He will show up. 

REFLECTION

Are you regularly praying for your marriage or the marriages of those around you? Take time today to pray for your spouse and look for ways to serve them.

If throughout this week you want to talk to someone on staff at church about your marriage, or you would like to seek counseling, give us a call or click here.