How To Have Lasting Fulfillment In Your Marriage
OPENING PRAYER:
Heavenly Father, help me be filled with more of your presence so I can be a better spouse. Amen.
“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ (Matthew 22:36-39)
You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand. (Psalm 16:11)
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. (Proverbs 3:5-6)
REFLECT:
In life, it’s tempting to look for joy in many different things whether it’s something we own or something we do. In the same way, it’s easy to look to our spouse to find joy in our marriage because we’re with them all the time and they know the most about us. Although marriage is a gift and should make us feel loved and valued, marriage is not where we find our joy and fulfillment in life. We need something that can bear the weight of our worship and that is God. Our spouses are good, but they are not God. Understanding that God is the only source that will fulfill us helps us build and have a lasting marriage. Our spouse cannot be what fills us. If we count on them to be our source of joy in life, we’ll never be completely satisfied and filled. God is the source of our joy; he’s the endless supply of our happiness. The closer we get to him, the better spouse we’ll be.
APPLY:
Our spouse is human just like us, therefore cannot supply lasting joy. We need God for our fulfillment. Have you sought out other things for your joy and fulfillment other than God? How often do you have prayer times with God? To be the best spouse for our significant other we need our personal time with Jesus to be filled with his presence. Having a lasting and fruitful marriage really starts with placing God at the center. We need his presence and we need him to be first and our spouse to be second.
CLOSING PRAYER:
Heavenly Father, help me to seek you for my joy and fulfillment over my spouse. Stir in me a hunger for your word and a desire to spend more time in your presence. Amen.