Seek God Early. Seek God First. - Crosswalk PLUS Marriage Devotional

"'You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,' declares the Lord, 'and will bring you back from captivity.'" Jeremiah 29:13

"O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly; My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You, in a dry and weary land where there is no water." Psalm 63:1

Jeremiah 29:13 pictures God as one who eagerly desires that we seek Him with all of our heart.

In this passage, God spoke to Israel through the prophet Jeremiah. He was telling Israel that when God brought them back into their land, it would be to fulfill the plans He had for them. He had planned for their well-being; He wanted to give them a "future and a hope" (Jeremiah 29:11)

Yes, these promises were made to Israel—He was telling them that He will draw near to those who draw near to Him—but this still rings true for us today. God's desire is that we seek Him. He is the only One who can open our eyes so that we can find Him, but we need to be willing to seek Him first. We need to desire to seek and know the living God.

Have you ever stopped to think about how incredible it is that God desires that we seek Him and that He desires to give you everything you need to live a life that honors Him?

He has everything you need to experience a marriage the way He intended you to! If you want to have a marriage that is centered on God, then you need to seek God with all of your heart. As you seek Him, He will open your eyes to the truths found in His Word and show you how to apply them to your daily life. If you do not immerse yourself in God's Word, then you are left with a message from our culture that is waiting to fill your mind with ideas about marriage that will lead you down a dangerous road.

Psalm 63:1 is a prayer that expresses David's feelings of being dry and weary and his thirst for God. Christian marriage is much bigger than just making vows to each other on your wedding day. It is so much more! It is actually a covenant that we make before God. It is something we are committing to for the long haul.

Inevitably, you will experience difficult moments in marriage and grow weary. Your only hope of keeping the vows you have made to your spouse and the covenant you have made before God is found in seeking God, one day at a time, and submitting yourself to Him.

Marriage is a good thing, but it can also be a hard thing. Seek God with all your heart.

Prayer:

Father, I love my spouse dearly, but I know that love is not enough to keep my marriage healthy and centered on You. I need You. I need Your Word. I need You to reveal Yourself and show me how to live and love my spouse. I need Your grace and strength to be able to keep my commitment to my spouse–a covenant that I made before You. I don't want to be influenced by the messages of our culture that encourage me to be self-centered and that make it easy for me to quit when marriage gets hard. I don't want to be tempted by things of this world that will pull me away from being committed to my spouse and to You. "O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly; My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You, in a dry and weary land where there is no water." (Psalm 63:1)

Challenge Question: 

Do you seek God on a daily basis? Do you desire to seek God? If not, what can you do to change that? What messages are impacting your marriage that are not biblically based? Are you able to recognize the lies that the enemy throws your way? If you have fallen into some lies, do you want to change your direction, seek God, and allow Him to show you His way of nurturing your marriage?

Photo credit: ©GettyImages/RyanJLane

Gina Smith is a writer and author. She has been married for 35 years to Brian, a college professor and athletic trainer. For 25+ years, she and her husband served on a Christian college campus as the on-campus parents, where Brian was a professor and dean of students. They reside right outside of Washington, DC, and are the parents of two grown children, one daughter-in-law, one son-in-law, and one granddaughter. She recently authored her first traditionally published book, Everyday Prayers for Joy, which is available everywhere books are sold. You can find Gina at the following: Website: ginalsmith.com, Instagram, and at Million Praying Moms, where she is a writer.

We hope you and your spouse are challenged and encouraged by today's devotional! For more of this premium marriage devotional, visit here.