God’s Advice For Husbandsಮಾದರಿ

Let me share with you a revelation that changed the way I view my marriage. I want to help you understand the trap of the halfway point. 

This halfway point is a trap that may prevent long-term faithfulness and full fruition of the oneness God calls us to in marriage. It’s a trap that can breed resentment between you and your wife. 

Our halfway point is our most vulnerable—it’s full of exhaustion and lack of motivation to strive on. Runners feel it when they’re at the halfway point of a marathon. Nehemiah felt it from his workers when they were halfway through building the wall around Jerusalem (Nehemiah 4:10).

It’s this weak moment, this halfway point, that the enemy of our souls attacks relentlessly. Satan adroitly knows how tired our souls are. He knows how vulnerable we are to quit, give up, and chuck our marriages and families in the hope of finding something new.

The halfway point in our marriage is when the familiarity with our wives sets in. The honeymoon stage is long over, our job is most demanding, our bills mount up, and the kids need more time and money from us. It’s here that the enemy seeks to drive a wedge of discontentment between us and our wives, attacking ferociously. Seeking to kill and destroy.

How do we stay strong past that inevitable halfway point? By choosing to continue faithfully loving and pursuing your wife. Mirror the Lord’s steadfast, merciful love for us by continually choosing your wife amidst the struggle. 

You’re told to honor your wife (1 Peter 3:7). Doing this is an active and daily choice, and every time you make it, Satan’s power against you crumbles. Stand strong in this fight to push past the halfway point and the enemy’s hatred of your marriage by pursuing your spouse fully, chasing after oneness and guarding it against spiritual attack with everything you have. Believe in the truth that if God brought you together, nothing can tear you apart. 

It’s not always easy, but it’s always good. As Ephesians 6:12 says, we fight against the spiritual forces of evil and darkness. Our enemy is real, but he’s already been defeated. Live in the victory that was won for you, your wife, and your marriage on the cross by turning from discontentment and seeking to honor your spouse, on the good days and the bad ones, too. 

•  Do you think you’ve reached the “halfway point” in your marriage? If so, in what ways did it       manifest itself?
•  What are tangible ways you can work to fight against the spiritual attack on your marriage   that comes with the exhaustion of the halfway point? 
•  How are you working now to build endurance against fatigue in your marriage? Where are your areas of weakness, and how can you correct them? 
• What keeps you from making the active and daily choice to honor your wife?