Uncuffed: Bulletproofing the Police Marriageಮಾದರಿ

# Godly Loving God has blessed you with the one person you were meant to spend the rest of your life with. That doesn’t mean a magical soulmate, but it does mean a spiritual gift of having the capacity to show Godly love to your spouse. Marriage is our treasure, so why wouldn’t we take care of and nurture the gift God has given us? If the relationship with our spouse is healthy, we will be happy. It takes effort to love someone. Especially if they’re not acting particularly lovable. And by consciously doing these things, we’re setting ourselves up for a happy marriage. #### Love God When we love God, everything else falls into place. Our spouse will notice. Our children will notice. Loving God changes you, and it subsequently changes the people around you. > “Charm is deceptive, and beauty does not last; but a woman who fears the Lord will be greatly praised. Reward her for all she has done. Let her deeds publicly declare her praise.” > Proverbs 31:30-31 #### Respect Your Spouse The number one thing men want is respect. And they really want it from their wives. If you want to see a change in your marriage or your husband, show him respect, even if you think he doesn’t deserve it. The most important thing to women is security. Your wife needs to know that she is in a love-filled, caring relationship. Security not only comes from physically protecting her, it also comes from showing her that you’re willing to be vulnerable and understanding. > “So again I say, each man must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.” > Ephesians 5:33 #### Pray For Your Spouse Have you ever heard the saying, “The couple that prays together, stays together?” I pray for Leah every single day, even days where I’m irritated with her or if we’ve had a fight. I do it for two specific reasons: 1. Praying for her daily reminds me that my marriage is a priority because it’s easy to forget when life gets busy. 2. I want to be intentional in my prayers for her. > “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed.” > James 5:16 #### Seek To Please Your Spouse in Intimacy This is an important one. Physical intimacy in marriage is crucial. Becoming one brings us closer together and binds us like nothing else can. Sex is especially important to us men. > “The husband should fulfill his wife’s sexual needs, and the wife should fulfill her husband’s needs.” > 1 Corinthians 7:3 #### Learn To Apologize Quickly The keyword there is quickly. You’re going to have some fights that are real doozies. Sometimes you’re going to be mad. Sometimes she’s going to be mad. But at the end of the day, you love each other. Don’t waste your time holding grudges or giving the silent treatment. I can’t imagine there are a lot of widows or widowers in this world who would say if asked, “I wish we’d spent more hours fighting.” > “God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble” > James 4:6 #### CALL TO ACTION: Pray over this list and honestly identify which activities you are and are not doing. Ask yourself why it is that you are not doing some and are doing others. Is it because there’s unforgiven sin or anger between the two of you that is stopping you from opening yourself up completely?