SAFEGUARD #1
TRUSTING GOD’S WORD

As we set off on this journey of setting up safeguards for a healthy and strong marriage, or if you’re working on breathing life back into your relationship, it’s vital that we begin with the ultimate authority on relationships which is God himself. There are many different opinions and voices who want to speak into your relationship; some of them may be family members, well-meaning friends, or colleagues, but if we’re going to last the distance in our relationship, then we must build our lives and marriages on the solid foundation of God’s word.

Anchors and Foundations

When your relationship faces a storm like finances or health, you need something that can stabilize you in the storm. That’s why we need anchors and a solid foundation. An anchor keeps our home steady while the storm is raging, and the foundation is what we build the home on. Jesus tells a story of a wise and foolish builder.

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” Matthew 7:24-27 (NIV)

This is such a powerful illustration Jesus is giving us and is the perfect truth for us in building marriages and families. The marriage is the center of every home; the strength of the marriage will determine the health and strength of the rest of the house. You’ll notice that this parable that Jesus is teaching is focused on his beginning phrase of Hearing and Applying God’s Word. In the same way, if we don’t have the word of God infused as the key ingredient in the foundation of our marriage, we’ll build on the weak and constantly shifting sands of culture and our emotions.

God’s Way vs. The Culture

Many reading this plan have likely grown up in nations where you’re used to not being “controlled” or restricted. So, we can see something or someone telling us what we can or cannot do in relationships as a cosmic killjoy, but all of God’s Biblical boundaries for marriage are for your good. Submission to God’s Word unlocks the health of your personal and married life rather than destroying it. His word is the final truth and holds the best practices for us in our communication, sexuality, work, play, purpose, and many other areas of our life and marriage. The Bible isn’t just a guide for getting to heaven someday; it’s also the guide for bringing heaven to earth today! Some are on their way to heaven, but their marriage and other relationships feel like hell, but you don’t need to settle for that. Maybe you’ve only seen dysfunction in the marriages around you, but let us encourage you that marriage can be heaven on earth! For this to happen, we must follow and apply God’s Word to our lives, not the latest ideas from a sinful world.

At most grocery stores, there’s usually some magazine headline telling you the latest tips and tricks to a better relationship or sex life, but let me strongly encourage you not to pick those up for advice; instead, go to God’s tried and true formula.

"When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there." Deuteronomy 18:9 NIV