Taking an Inventory of Your Marital Healthby authors Jewell Powell & Lewis Powell
"No one can go back and change how it started but a new future for any marriage can begin the moment one person begins to invest in it." - Fawn Weaver
No matter where you and your spouse have been on this marriage journey, today is a new day and you can take steps today to create a better future for your relationship. A great place to give your marriage a kick-start or to redirect it on the right path is to pause to take inventory of your marital health. Think of it like your yearly doctor's exam. It may not be your favorite appointment of the year, but it is essential to your health and future.
Let's start with a simple question: Is your marriage healthy?
People often aren't sure how to answer this question. The key is to avoid comparisons to other marriages, because everyone else seems to have it together on the outside, but you really have no idea what is happening behind closed doors. Instead, as you consider this question, compare your marriage to God's plan, guidelines and expectation for it. Go to the Bible. There are numerous scriptures describing God's plan for marriage, but here are a few powerful ones:
Colossians 3:18-19: Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them.
Hebrews 13:4-7: Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral. Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." So we say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?" Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.
Mark 10:6-9: "But at the beginning of creation God 'made them male and female.' 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.' So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate."
With each of these scriptures, as yourself if you are fulfilling the calling God has placed on your life as it pertains to your marriage. If you are striving to meet these objectives, then it is safe to say you are on the road to good marital health. If you are far from these objectives, then your relationship may need some redirection and spiritual healing to get back on the track to good marital health.
Keep in mind, not one of us is perfect, so even if your marital relationship seems to be in a healthy state, it is important to continue doing the hard work to ensure it remains healthy and pure. Stay focused on the word God has given us in His Holy Bible about how to walk out a Godly marriage. Pray together. Love your spouse as God has loved you-unconditionally and unselfishly (John 15:12).
This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you- John 15:12
Your Marriage Challenge
This monthly marriage challenge requires a little Bible research, but is a great way to test the health of your marriage against the one and only perfect measurement-God's Word! Use the scriptures listed above and then you and your spouse spend a little time finding some additional scriptures in the Bible addressing marriage. Write those down on paper, and sit down together to review them. Discuss where your marriage relationship is in relation to the ideal God has given you in those verses. Discuss what you are doing right in your marriage and identify those areas that need some work. Finish your study session by praying for each other and for your marriage, asking God to show you the areas in your marriage that need strengthening.
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