One Foot Out the DoorSample

It’s been a week of evaluating your marriage and how your conversations are directly affecting that relationship. You are probably still in the thick of an incredibly hard season of your marriage. If one foot is out the door, I am praying that you have the courage to step back into your home and keep your feet planted firmly in your marriage.

Let’s think back on communication and the different ways it can affect our marriages. When we fill our minds with negative talk, it will always pour over into our marriage and skew our perspective. In order to keep viewing our marriage through a lens of grace and love, we must protect our marriage from ourselves, and that means meditating only on the truth and power of Christ, rather than the shortcomings and failures of our spouse.

When we have conversations with our spouse, it is important to remember that our words hold the “power of death and life.” What we say and how we say it can begin to rebuild or further destroy the relationship. Choose life-giving and encouraging words, even if you are having a hard time finding anything to be positive about. Pray to see your spouse the way Christ sees them, then remind yourself that the two of you are now one. You are in a tough season. Just because your heart is softening to your marriage doesn’t mean your spouse is on the same page. Be ready to extend grace when your conversations don’t go how you hoped.

Our families can be our biggest support system, and they can also impact our marriage negatively if there aren’t healthy boundaries around what we talk about. Let’s be sure that they are on the same team as your marriage. If they aren’t, they probably shouldn’t be where you run for guidance when things are rocky at home. A Christian counselor might be better suited for that, and it will keep you from feeling trapped in the middle.

Life is so much sweeter with good friends. Be sure that you’re not only being a friend to your spouse but that you are surrounding your marriage with friends who cheer for you both. Friends who are pro-marriage and love you enough to tell you the hard truth. We need people who will remind us that marriage may be hard but that it is worth every bit of the investment, and that things may feel heavy, but they will walk alongside you and spur you on. We must remember that when our marriages are at their worst, God isn’t bringing in a replacement. It’s not the time for a newfound friendship with someone of the opposite sex. That is dangerous territory to navigate. It won’t be helpful.

CHALLENGE:

Pick one area of communication you are struggling in, pray over it daily, and make small steps towards rebuilding your marriage.

Prayer:

God, this week, as I have looked at how my words matter, help me to reflect on and remember the truths of your Word and maintain a soft heart towards my marriage. Show me one way that I can become the Godly spouse you made me to be. Thank you Lord that you fight for my marriage, that you are ever-present, and that you never give up!

NEXT STEP:

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