9 Ways to Protect Your Marriage Promise
There are so many temptations in this world of ours that could tear apart a marriage promise. We have to be careful and mindful of those temptations, which could be anything from books we read to friendships we form.
Hebrews 13:4 says, “Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.” That’s God speaking. He holds the marriage promise in high regard. Once made, we should be working to protect our marriage promise and keep it honorable and undefiled. Today we’ll look at 9 ways we can encourage this in our own marriage.
9 Ways to Protect Your Marriage Promise
1. Be Word-Filled.
Read the Bible individually and together. Know what the Lord expects of you and your spouse to keep your marriage strong. Make Him the glue that binds you as “one flesh.” (Genesis 2:24)
2. Be Mindful.
What do we read, watch, and listen to? Does it encourage a godly relationship with our spouse? Or does it fill our mind with wrong and unbiblical expectations and ideas of love? It’s so easy to be convinced to view our marriages through the world’s eyes and not God’s. We must be mindful of those ideas and turn from them.
3. Be Prayerful.
Keep every part of your marriage in prayer. We need to be praying for our spouse and praying together with our spouse. This brings God into the picture and makes us accountable before Him to guard our marriage promise.
4. Be Romantic.
Love on your spouse. We should be intentional in how we show our love to our spouse. Going on dates, preparing favorite foods, writing love notes, giving flowers and chocolate, etc., are great ways to be romantic. Really enjoy one another on purpose.
More Ways Protect Your Marriage Promise
5. Be Present.
It’s not hard for two people to be in the same house and yet not be present. We ought to be more engaged with our spouse daily through conversations and being a good listener. Talk with one another about your day, share feelings, hold hands, hug one another and smile at each other. Let the other know how glad you are that they’re there with you.
6. Be Forgiving.
This is so important. Marriages aren’t problem-free; however, they are capable of healing. Ephesians 4:32 reminds us to “be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” The more quickly we handle those hurts and practice forgiveness, the faster the restoration takes place. Bitterness and resentment will destroy a marriage. Along this line, aim to not go to bed angry. “Do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil.” (Ephesians 4:26, 27)
7. Be Expectant.
Life will have trials to walk through and they will test our marriage. Just make a note that difficulties are a part of living in a fallen world. Suffering will come in small and big forms, yet how we live through them makes all the difference. Concerning our marriage relationship, we need to draw close to the one we love, not exclude them. “What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” (Mark 10:9) I think this verse could also say let no situation separate what God has joined together. Decide to work through all trials that come your way — together!
8. Be Church-Going.
Worship together! Attending church with like-minded Christians who also value the marriage promise will definitely spur us on to do the same. There is much encouragement to be found in the church and in being with other couples who are working to protect their marriage promise unto the glory of God and their good.
9. Be Smart.
Do not take your marriage for granted. Be careful not to assume everything is going well and forgo loving on your spouse intentionally. We can get comfortable and forget to be purposeful in loving our spouse. It is so important that we are striving daily to tend to our union in all the ways we can with tender loving care and that we are protecting our marriage promise. “So guard yourselves in your spirit, and do not be faithless.” (Malachi 2:16)
The marriage promise is so worth protecting and it takes hard work and commitment. Still, the effort made will pay off as we grow old with the one given to us by God, knowing we held true to our marriage covenant by God’s grace and our desire to do so.
Naomi is a daughter of the King of kings. Joyfully married to her best friend. Mother to four lovelies with one sitting at the feet of Jesus. She loves photography, blogging, being active and creative. Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Instagram
