Trusting God with Your Marriage in Times of Crisis
Trusting God with your marriage in times of crisis is not always easy. After almost 14 years of marriage, I have learned that the best thing I can do for it is to fully trust and surrender it to the Lord. You need to be willing to surrender yourself, your husband and your marriage fully to God. It’s easier said than done, especially when there is a crisis involved.
When there is a crisis involved our emotions, thoughts and physical well-being are affected. Many times, we can’t make wise decisions because we are dealing with what we are seeing in the natural. We are hurt, angry, lost, overwhelmed and tired. It’s easy for us to be driven by our emotions rather than be driven by the Holy Spirit.
That is why when a crisis strikes and it will…we need to go to the Creator of ALL. Seeking His comfort through His Word, prayer, and worship will bring you the peace that surpasses all understanding. It will give you the strength you need to be able to endure what is happening.
Marriage Crisis Can Look Different for Everyone
A marriage crisis can look different for everyone. You can be going through a job loss, death of a loved one, a miscarriage, a diagnosis, a car accident, infidelity, a betrayal, and so on. A crisis can shake the core of your marriage. The way we handle a crisis depends on your relationship with the Lord, your relationship with your husband and what crisis you’re dealing with at the moment.
Marriage is a very precious relationship one that shouldn’t be taken lightly. It’s a relationship that requires “heart” work. It takes patience, selflessness, love, forgiveness, respect, and nurturing from both spouses in order to overcome a marriage crisis.
In any marriage, you will have your up and downs but if Christ is the core of your marriage, you will be able to come out victorious no matter what. It’s not always easy but if you both are fully commit to the Lord, you will be able to overcome it. Your commitment to the Lord is what will keep your marriage strong.
Trusting God through a Marriage Crisis
Not long ago, we found toxic black mold in our rental home. Concerns about our health, finding a new place, replacing items and our finances were not in front of us. We immediately started to pray to seek guidance, wisdom, and direction from the Lord.
We found peace and believed that we would be out of our rental and in a new home in a couple of months. As the days and weeks passed, I realized that we may not be able to move in our desired timeframe.
My peace started to turn into fear.
I was overwhelmed and exhausted. There were times I tried talking to my husband about it and he would listen. But I wanted him to do more than just listen. I wanted him to take action. However, he was doing exactly what he needed to do. He was actively seeking out the Lord and fully trusting Him with our situation.
In times of marital crisis, it is imperative that instead of attacking one another, that a husband and wife storm the gates of Heaven in unified prayer. #IStillDo #ExperienceHisFreedom #ChristianMarriage Share on XI didn’t make it easier when I would tell him that I didn’t want to be in the rental anymore and we had to get out soon. He told me that he wasn’t going to let the mold situation stress him and that he was going to trust God no matter how things looked like in the natural.
If I’m honest with you, his response didn’t always please me. However, I will say that his unwavering faith and trust in the God encouraged me to do the same. I needed to choose to trust God no matter how I was feeling and how things looked.
When Your Heart Aches
Even though I was trusting God, I felt far away from my husband. As time passed, my communication with my husband got less and less and that didn’t help our situation. We were having more disagreements than usual. My heart was aching from not being able to share my heart with my him or hear from him on how he was holding up.
We knew that we were swimming in dangerous waters in not communicating with each other. I learned very quickly that the enemy will use ANYTHING, even a legitimate concern like our health, to drive a wedge between us. We were vulnerable to the enemy’s attacks.
I had to come to terms that what I think needs to happen and what he thinks may look different and that’s ok. As a wife, I needed to submit to his decision for our family even though I struggled with it. I submitted because I know my husband.
He will not make a decision without praying and seeking the Lord for wisdom and guidance. The Lord gave me the peace that I was seeking in knowing that submitting to my husband’s decision is what I needed to do.
Surrendering my Marriage Crisis to the Lord
I finally stopped wrestling with the Lord and focused on the Scripture.
Phillippians 4:6-7 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
Everything changed. After much prayer, I decided to write a short letter to my husband and shared my heart with him. I was raw and honest with him about how I was feeling. The next day my husband wrote back addressing what I shared with him and sharing his heart.
That night we were able to come together and talk things out and pray for one another and our marriage. Our communication improved tremendously after our heart-to-heart conversation because we allowed the Holy Spirit to lead us.
By surrendering our ourselves over to the Lord and allowing Him to work in us and through us we were able to make our marriage even stronger.
Proverbs 3:5-8 sums it up so beautifully…
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths.
Do not be wise in your own eyes;
Fear the Lord and depart from evil.
It will be health to your flesh,
And strength to your bones.”
The Word of God and prayer can drastically change your marriage, my friends! So shower your marriage and your spouse in prayer and get into the Word of God together and taste the goodness of God. Putting God in the center of your marriage is the best thing you can ever do and one you will never regret doing.
- Trusting God with Your Marriage in Times of Crisis - February 13, 2019
- Glorifying God With Our Marriage - February 26, 2018
Trusting in the Lord is so critical to a thriving Marriage. Thanks for this encouragement!
My husband and I are teaching a 5 week marriage Sunday School class and this is a terrific resource I’ll be sharing!