Speaker: Ben Sigman
Theme: What Has Got To Happen for a Great Marriage to Work
Weekend Music links on iTunes: Salvation is Here - Hillsong, All to You - Lincoln Brewster, Happy Day - Tim Hughes, You'll Come - Hillsong
Read: Luke 12: 1-3
Think: The Bible talks a lot about living lives that are real, genuine and transparent. It can be so easy to think we need to hide our secret lives and imperfections. Romans 3:23 (NIV) teaches us that “…all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” There is not one of us that doesn’t come with warts and blemishes, not one of us that is perfect. Trying to maintain a false image and cover my imperfection instead of dealing with it can be exhausting. Eventually I will be found out for who I really am.
After hearing Ben’s sermon this week one thing stood out. Not only does God require authentic relationship but a woman also needs openness and honesty in a marriage relationship. There will be those peaks and valleys in your marriage but the best way to grow closer instead of growing apart is to be open and honest with each other. Over the years I have learned, many times the hard way, that transparency in my marriage has probably been the single most important thing in keeping our marriage together.
Some of the darkest times in my marriage for me were when I felt I couldn’t be open and honest with what I was thinking and feeling or the temptations I was wrestling with. I was afraid of how my wife would respond if I exposed the real me. Would she reject me? What I discovered was exactly the opposite. It was like my wife was really interested in having these heartfelt conversations. In sharing we actually grew closer together instead of apart but I had to be willing to be transparent.
Love should always make us tell the truth. Then we will grow in every way and be more like Christ, the head. Ephesians 4:15 (CEV)
Do: God already knows your shortcomings. Why not start today being honest and transparent with Him? Tell Him what you are thinking and feeling and the temptations you are wrestling with. He can even handle your doubts. Then, with God’s help, begin to grow in your openness and honesty when it comes to heartfelt communication with your spouse.
Pray: Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to help me be open and transparent, first with you but also with my spouse. Help us to grow closer together and always keep you at the center of our relationship. In Jesus name I pray, amen.
The eDevotional is written each week by a team of volunteers from Timberlake Church.
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