Editor’s Note: The call of this devotion is for couples to remain in their marriages. We want to be clear that this is not condoning someone to remain in an abusive relationship or marriage. That is never God’s heart for his children.
Each of you should continue to live in whatever situation the Lord has placed you, and remain as you were when God first called you. This is my rule for all the churches. - 1 Corinthians 7: 17
God has called you to remain in your marriage.
In the Bible, there is no word for coincidence. Our sovereign God who knows the number of hairs on our heads (Luke 12:7) is fully aware of every aspect of the current situation you are in. Even if we’ve made choices that have brought us to difficult places, He promises to work all things out for our good (Romans 8:28). If it is possible to remain and live in peace, then that is what God desires for your marriage relationship.
Even if you are married to a spouse that does not know the Lord, God hopes to use you as a blessing to your marriage and family. In 1 Corinthians 7, Paul explains that the believing spouse brings holiness to their home. He even urges that your spouse may be saved through God’s work in your life. While it may feel like a heavy burden walking in freedom through Christ while being married to a spouse who has not yet accepted this joy into their life, you undoubtedly are both a blessing and a witness to them.
Don’t underestimate the testimony you can be to your spouse! Your faithful love and devotion is a reflection of the heart of God for your unbelieving spouse. Your relentless prayers bring God’s Spirit front and center into the life of your partner. Seeing them come to the Lord may take patience, prayers, and dedication but God desires to see them come to know the truth! He is faithful to use you as a witness.
God uses our circumstances to shape and grow us. We are tempted, just as the new believers in Corinth, to believe that when we invite God in our circumstances should be remade. While God does wish to transform our hearts, minds, and perspectives; He often uses us in the places we are at for longer than we’d like to stay in them.
He wants to cultivate perseverance in our lives. Longsuffering in a marriage that feels unbalanced is one way God can grow us up in Him. Have you heard that analogy about marriage being between three beings, not two - God being the third entity, of course? When we embrace this idea, then there is always hope for our future together. When we feel overwhelmed with each other we have a perfect God to rely on.
God’s heart is for us to experience a lifetime of commitment in our marriages. While His grace is sufficient for those who experience failed marriages; His heart is for us to remain whenever we are willing. Pray that God would give you the strength that you need to remain.
Amanda Idleman is a writer whose passion is to encourage others to live joyfully. She creates devotions for the Daily Bible Devotions App, she has work published with Her View from Home, is contributing to a couples devotional for Crosswalk, and is a regular contributor for the marriage/family/homeschool/parenting channels on Crosswalk.com. You can find out more about Amanda at rvahouseofjoy.com or follow her on Instagram at rvahouseofjoy.
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