And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.
--Matthew 7:25
When you build your marriage upon the rock of Christ, the winds and the rains of life will not shake you from your foundation. Make no mistake, whether you are married or single, you will be tested in this world. But if your life is anchored on the Rock, you will weather life’s storms.
But what many couples don’t understand is that a rock-solid marriage is built through a love that grows over time. It is like a beautiful flower that must be nurtured and grown. And love can only grow when fed with time, care, and commitment. That’s why Christ meant marriage to be a lifetime commitment, because He knew that it takes a lifetime to get it just right.
When you spend a lot of time with someone, your reactions and communication become more natural and more meaningful. Friendship and love between two people require cultivation, and sooner or later your lives will be joined together as one.
The good news is that when we follow the instructions for marriage given to us by God in His Word, we can build a love relationship that continues to grow and will last as long as the marriage. If we keep our vows and understand the incredible gift that the Lord has given us in our marriage partner, we can live a great marriage testimony for Him.
So take time each day to nurture the love God has given you for your spouse. As you do, you will build a rock-solid marriage that will stand the test of time.
A love that will stand the storms of life must be fed with time, care, and commitment.
by Dr. Paul Chappell
“And she said, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself. And he wist not that the LORD was departed from him. But the Philistines took him, and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he did grind in the prison house.”
Judges 16:20–21
All of us are guilty from time to time of taking things for granted. We rarely think about the work that goes into making sure that the lights come on when we flip the switch, or the way that the shelves in the stores are refilled so that items are always available for purchase. It is usually only during a crisis or emergency, when things don’t happen as they usually do, that we think about what it takes to make them work. The same is true in our spiritual lives as well.
Often we just assume that the presence of God will be in our church or our home or with us as we go through our day. Yet while the Holy Spirit living within never leaves us, that does not mean that we are experiencing the fullness of His power—the power that we so urgently need to face the challenges and struggles of each day. Even Moses, knew that he was absolutely dependent on the presence of God as he prayed, “If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence” (Exodus 33:15).
We cannot rush from place to place and task to task without stopping to take time for God and expect the sweetness of His presence to be with us throughout the day. If we presume that He is helping us, we are likely to find ourselves facing a challenge for which we are unequipped on our own.
Today’s Growth Principle:
We need to live each day with a conscious awareness of our complete dependence on God’s presence.
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