We must accept the uniqueness of our spouse and that of our marriage. No two marriages are the same and no two spouses are the same. There are no two people who have gone through the same things, in the same way, the same measure, and come out the same way.
Apply the principle of Jesus and His word to the uniqueness of your marriage.
In counseling, glean the principles and apply it to your situation putting in mind the uniqueness of your spouse.
Did you miss out on yesterday’s devotional, we’ve got you covered kindly go HERE. For KHC video Devotionals kindly go HERE
Every walk with God is a personal journey, so know God for yourself. Also, note that what worked for spouse A may not work for spouse B.
Don’t compare your marriage or spouse to another spouse. Only fools compare rather than accept the uniqueness of their marriage
8. Love
Love is the conclusion of the law. The whole subject of marriage is about love. If you don’t love your spouse, then why get married to them?
1 Cor 13 sums up what love is. Check your life and daily see how much you are walking in love with your spouse.
Marriage is about those who can love as Christ loves the church, giving Himself for it.
You cannot love and cheat on your spouse. You cannot love your spouse and not take care of Him/her.
May God grant us more understanding.
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY My marriage will be glorious.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Lord, help me to forgive my spouse, no matter how difficult it may appear.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY 1 Corinthians 13:13 (KJV) And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.
We have been looking at the topic “Tips To Having A Graceful Marriage” for two days now and we will continue today.
God wants our marriages to be graceful. He wants us as husband and wife to glide on the wings of Grace.
There is an unforced rhythm of grace that belongs to every couple if we learn to watch Jesus, learn how he behaves and follow after Him.
The marital life is lived just by following the outline in His word.
The principle is ‘whatever He tells you to do, do it’ John 2:5
Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” – Matt 11:29-30 (MSG)
God wants us to walk with Him and work with Him. He wants us to keep company with Him and not be distracted in any way. As we do this, our marriages begin to enjoy the unforced rhythms of Grace.
We begin to glide and we find our relationship sweeter than ever.
Did you miss out on yesterday’s devotional, we’ve got you covered kindly go HERE. For KHC video Devotionals kindly go HERE
It is in marriage that we get hurt the most. We don’t get as hurt with our colleagues at work, and our friends don’t hurt us as deeply as our spouse.
Because we live together and are committed to each other, our spouse hurt us so deeply. The issue is while we are trying to understand each other and minimize the hurt, we must forgive.
It is a must in marriage. We must come to a point where we practice advance forgiveness.
Settle it in your heart that there is nothing my spouse can ever do that will be difficult for me to forgive.
Most of us hold on to the error of our spouse. We must learn to forgive quickly and move on.
When we refuse to forgive, it is like a breach in the spirit. With unforgiveness in our marriage, we open the door for the devil to afflict us.
May the devil not have access to our homes in Jesus’ name.
To be continued tomorrow.
God bless our marriage.
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY My marriage will be glorious.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Lord, help me to forgive my spouse, no matter how difficult it may appear.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Matthew 11:29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
Yesterday, we looked at two of these tips, which are 1.Giving 2.Respect.
We will continue on this topic this morning.
3. ACCEPT
There is a great need for accepting your spouse. There is a difference between not accepting your spouse and loving them as they are.
Every character issue or difference our spouse’s show now have always been with them when we were courting. The difference between now and then is that we accepted those character flaws because we were in love.
Love truly is blind but in marriage, our eyes are opened, hallelujah.
Accept your spouse for who they are. We are not giving to change our spouses. Only God’s word and His Spirit can change them. So pray.
You mean I don’t have to talk? Well, yes. At least you minimize your talking and ranting.
But if I don’t talk, how will he/she change? You can talk but not angrily. Because you trust God is the enforcer and the one to change your spouse.
So you give your spouse the gift of ‘accepting’ them. That love you demonstrate can even make them want to change.
4. COMPROMISE
In marriage, we must learn to compromise. We live a successful married life when we learn to live a little to the left, a little to the right.
In marriage, you stop living for yourself and start to live for your spouse. Don’t you ever insist on your own if you want your marriage to be graceful.
Did you miss out on yesterday’s devotional, we’ve got you covered kindly go HERE. For KHC video Devotionals kindly go HERE
My husband, when we were courting, loved beans. He could eat beans three times a day and still eat it the next day. But I was a rice person. On campus then, we always ate together. So he will be like beans and I will be like rice. But we both compromised. Today, we don’t have any issues of whether to eat rice or beans.
Beans provide a high source of protein, so I even opt for beans atimes. My Husband also prefers rice now and hardly does he eat beans. He complains it makes him bloat.
That is a simple one, but we solved that issue by learning to compromise. We were both willing to compromise.
5. EMPATHY
In marriage, we are to show empathy towards our spouse. Where there is no empathy, love is absent. You love your spouse when you are able to empathize with whatever they are feeling.
Empathy simply put is to put yourself in your spouse’s position and feel what they feel. When you are in your spouse’s shoe, you become like they are and feel for them.
Don’t just stay in your position as a male and make decisions. Sometimes, feel what it means to a female and just understand, and vice versa.
Wives, try to be husband for a while with the burden of leading the home and see that it is not easy. So learn to empathize with one another.
There is still more to talk about in this topic. Join me on the concluding part tomorrow by God’s Grace.
God bless your marriage.
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY My marriage will be glorious.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Lord, help me to respect my spouse at all times.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
ACTION PLAN FOR THE DAY Reach a compromise with your spouse on certain issues.
It is God’s presence that makes all of the difference and His guidance by His word. Joseph was in the prison, but bible declares that he prospered because he was a carrier of God’s presence.
Carry God along in your marriage and let God carry you on your marital journey.
Marriage is very hard and difficult when you go through marriage in your strength and wisdom.
Here are some tips I learnt from one of my mentors sometimes ago.
1. Giving
Every couple must be willing and ready to give and even sacrifice in their marriage. You must both give your spirit, soul and body. Let nothing be too big or too small to give to your spouse. Let your giving also be constant.
Give your time, attention, affection, your body unhindered to your spouse, money, energy, intellect. Don’t withhold whatsoever you have from your spouse. After God, your marriage comes next.
Your must prioritize your home and spouse above everyone on this earth. Not even your family members. Don’t give to any friend at the expense of your spouse.
Did you miss out on yesterday’s devotional, we’ve got you covered kindly go HERE. For KHC video Devotionals kindly go HERE
2. Respect
Marriage is about respecting each other. The husband is not to demand respect as the head of the marriage. He earns it by being a servant leader.
The husband should also respect his wife. Respect your wife’s opinions, husbands. The way you show respect to your wife is peculiar to who she is. Respect her as a joint heir together of the promises of God. Respect is reciprocal and respect begat respect. So respect each other.
We will continue tomorrow by God’s grace.
God bless your marriage.
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY My marriage will be glorious.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Lord, help me to respect my spouse at all times.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
ACTION PLAN FOR THE DAY Give your spouse a wonderful gift
How To Be Thankful As A Couple. There is so much we can be thankful about especially for those who are married.
We all are to be full of gratitude.
I remember in the early years of our marriage, I just decided to give God thanks and before I know what’s happening, two hours have passed.
We need to be creative with our thanksgiving and be grateful for things we normally overlook and take for granted. God moves in our midst when we are truly grateful and offer Him thanks for those things we see Him doing in our lives.
It is easy to judge those ten lepers in Luke 17:11-19. They were obviously being so ungrateful. This minute they were lepers and the next they were cleansed. If they were thinking, they should have first of all been grateful they were cleansed.
And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off: And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed.
Luke 17:12-14 (KJV)
I guess they became overwhelmed with many other things that needed to be done, the years wasted, the relationships lost, all other things they have lost, etc. They allowed themselves to be overwhelmed in their thoughts and that stole their ability to give thanks to God.
Did you miss out on yesterday’s devotional, we’ve got you covered kindly go HERE. For KHC video Devotionals kindly go HERE
God is excited when we put Him in remembrance and remember where we are coming from, what we were delivered from and how God saw us through whatever challenges we had.
As couples, let us be grateful for each other. Thanksgiving precedes God’s interventions. If you want to see God’s hands over your home and marriage, thank Him for His fingers. When you are grateful, you bring God on the scene.
You have things you should be grateful for. Don’t take any of the goodness of God for granted. Be thankful and praise His Name.
God bless our marriage.
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I am grateful and I praise God for my life and marriage
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Lord, I consciously set my heart to remember you for your goodness.
THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY Psa 6:5 For in death there is no remembrance of thee: in the grave who shall give thee thanks?
ACTION PLAN FOR THE DAY Set out to be creatively grateful for those ‘little things’ God has done.
