Building Our Marriage on the Rock
“We don’t have enough money for food this week,” Mike admitted to me.
We were young and struggling. Mike was in seminary. I was staying home with our new baby and toddler. I made hair bows to sell in a local country store to bring in extra money. They were all the rage in the 1980s. Mike worked at UPS part time and went to school full time. All of our savings were running out. Things were rough.
We decided to stand on the Word of God. According to Philippians 4:19, God will supply all our needs according to His riches in Christ Jesus. Wow! That’s a great promise. But would God keep it?
I am happy to report that we have a string of testimonies of how God kept this promise according to His Word through those lean financial years.
One time I had a can of corn and two cans of baked beans. I prayed and asked the Lord for dinner. Half an hour later, there was a knock at the door and I was given a bag of chicken, vegetables, and noodles. Thank you for dinner, Lord.
Another time my niece was visiting and it was her birthday. We prayed that the Lord would supply our needs and beyond. I asked for Him to bless her on her birthday. The Lord provided a cake and a garbage bag full of soft-shell crabs—her favorite food!
I could go on and on with testimonies of how God provided for us. Often we read the promises of God, but don’t stand on them because we have no real needs. When trouble comes, we run to others.
When trials and troubles come into our lives, I believe that God wants to show off in our circumstances. He wants to show a world that is needy and broken that there is a God who loves, who listens, who intervenes!
When trials and troubles come into our lives, I believe that God wants to show off in our circumstances. He wants to show a world that is needy and broken that there is a God who loves, who listens, who intervenes. Click To TweetGod Reveals His Blueprint Through His Word
It is not just in keeping His promises that God intervenes in our lives. We know how to pray because as we read His Word we learn what He likes and hates.
Malachi tells us that God hates divorce so we can pray in confidence for our husband and other people’s marriages. God can turn anything around and heal any broken relationship.
In addition, God gives us the blueprint for a godly marriage.
We see in Scripture that the husband is the provider, protector, and leader.
A wise woman gave me advice right before I got married. She said, “Let your husband fail. Don’t rescue him. Let him learn to walk with God and be a strong leader in the early years and you will reap the benefits in the later ones.”
We got married and moved across the country. Neither of us had ever lived on our own and life hit us in the face. Mike wanted to manage the finances and I let him make mistakes without “rescuing”. It was hard for me, but he learned valuable lessons. And today, my husband is the most responsible person I know.
God Intervenes In Our Hearts Through His Word
I wanted so much to be a submissive, loving, gentle wife, but marriage was such a wake-up call to the sin in my heart. Oh, but if only I had a perfect husband. You are smiling because you realize that the problem was with me, not my husband.
The Lord prompted me to write I Peter 3:1-6 down on an index card and carry it around with me. I read it several times a day and it took a couple of weeks for me to memorize the verse. That was it. I didn’t even try to apply it.
Soon, my husband was saying things like, “What has happened to you?” “You are so submissive!”
I hadn’t even tried to change. I just memorized a passage of Scripture.
The Word of God is alive! It changes and cleanses us. While I was memorizing the Scripture passage, God was changing my heart. I was blown away!
It made me realize something. I can work hard on obeying God’s Word in my own strength, but God just wants me to surrender to Him and fill me to overflowing with His Spirit and His Word! He has all the power I need to be a good wife. He will even write His Word in my heart!
God’s Will is Revealed In His Word
We often wonder, what is God’s will for my life? For our marriage? For raising children?
Should we buy this house? Should we join this church? Should we buy in now on the credit card or wait until next year?
I love God’s Word because it answers our questions.
It tells us that debt is foolish, so we automatically save instead of putting it on the credit card. It’s a no-brainer.
When we look for a church, we search the Scriptures to see the qualifications of a pastor in Titus 1 and I Timothy 3. We look for leaders that are the parents of believing children, given to hospitality, self-controlled, and able to teach the Word of God. We look for churches that live out all the “one anothers” like love one another, pray for one another, and rejoice/mourn with one another. It makes our decision easy.
When we are faced with big decisions like taking a job or buying a home, we are told in the Bible to seek counsel, to honor parents, to seek the Kingdom first. These principles so often make the answer clear.
We know that we are to teach our children about Jesus without exasperating them, to love them so much that we share the Gospel of God, but our lives as well.
What a blessing to have God’s clear wisdom in so many areas found in the Word.
A Marriage Built On The Rock Will Stand
When our marriage is built on the rock of God’s Word, it will not keep trials and tragedies from coming. In fact, Jesus promises us trials in John 16, but reminds us that He has overcome the world!
The bottom line is this, if we honor Christ and His Word, we will be safe. We will make it! His ways are good and they work. His purposes are perfect and when we align ourselves with Him and His purposes, we will not fall. God is good and His love endures forever. He rewards those who obey Him and keeps His promises. God honors those who honor Him!
“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).
Build your life, your marriage, your home, your family on the ROCK! You will not regret it!
God bless you in every way!
Believing that all of life is a grand adventure with so much to learn and discover, she loves teaching her own children and other children in her homeschool co-op. She is the author of Joyful and Successful Homeschooling, Economics, Finances & Business Course, Unlocking the Mysteries of Homeschooling High School, Quick & EZ Unit Study Fun, God’s Girls Beauty Secrets, American Literature & Research, Let’s Have Our Own Medieval Banquet, Maggie King Mystery series, and MORE!
Visit Meredith at powerlineprod.com/, jshomeschooling.com/, meredithcurtis.com/, and finishwellcon.com/.
- Building Our Marriage on the Rock - February 18, 2019
- A Brand New World - May 26, 2018
- Forgiveness in a Godly Marriage - February 15, 2018
I love this Meredith! “A Marriage Built On The Rock Will Stand” is my favorite quote and I love the book Marriage on the Rock. It makes all the difference where our foundation is!
It’s SO easy to forget that God’s Word is applicable to every thing in our lives. I love how you broke it down to show each area that God speaks to in His Word. He is an awesome God and cares about every area of our lives.
I’m definitely going to start making it a priority to memorize scripture now!
Thank you for your insight, Meredith!
I enjoyed reading your story 😀
God is our great provider.
You’re most welcome to drop by for a cuppa,
Blessings,
Jennifer