Keep Calm and Marry OnSýnishorn

Are You Building a House or a Home?

King David's dream was to build the Lord a house in Jerusalem, going so far as to amass finances and supplies for it. But God told him, "Sorry, David, you're not going to build Me a house; your son will. Instead, I'm going to promise you something with incredible lasting value: I'm going to build you a house" (see 2 Samuel 7:11).

God wasn't speaking of a material house but a spiritual legacy. His plan was to build David something that would outlast a manmade structure: in this case, it would be a dynasty that would rule Israel and eventually produce the greater son of David, Jesus Christ.

In the same way, we can't lose sight of spiritual priorities as we take care of the material and relational concerns in our marriages. Ultimately, we need to trust God to help us succeed in following the good plans He's laid out for us in His Word. As David's son Solomon—who ended up building the temple for the Lord—wrote in Psalm 127, "Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain" (v. 1).

So keep these three principles in mind as you and your spouse build a home together:

1. God's best gifts are people, not property or projects.

2. No amount of human effort can accomplish as much as God's blessing. Unless the Lord builds, it's in vain. Unless the Lord guards, it's in vain. All of your toil can't accomplish what God can do.

3. Godly relationships will turn your house into a home. So take a minute to think about your priorities: Are they things, like projects and property, or are they people?

If you're building your life and your marriage apart from God, it's vanity. If you're adding worry on top of that, it's insanity. But if you're building upward to God and outward to people, that's a valuable commodity. I pray you would choose to build a home on values, not a house on vanity.

Robert Anderson said, "In every marriage more than a week old, there are grounds for divorce. The trick is to find and continue to find, grounds for marriage." Practice the principles in this devotional and rely on the Lord for strength, and you can put your marriage back on solid ground. You can keep calm and marry on.

Tip #10: Hands are for holding and folding. It's been said that the couple that prays together stays together. So take everything to God in prayer, and remember to always thank Him for His goodness. "Whoever offers praise glorifies Me" (Psalm 50:23). Praise keeps the sunshine in your soul and God's smile on your marriage.

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