One: A Marriage Devotional by Jimmy EvansSample

The Difference Faith Makes Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1) Hebrews 11:6 says that it is impossible to please God without faith. Every good thing that God does in our lives is in response to our faith in Him and His Word. It pleases Him when we believe in His presence and His good intentions for us. In other words, faith works when we believe in the unseen presence of God and His unfailing love. Faith withers when we doubt that He is with us in an intimate manner or that He loves us as our Heavenly Father. In marriage, faith must be exercised every day and in every area of life. Faith gets our eyes off of each other and the smaller issues and puts them on a big God. When we pray in faith, not only do we see God answer with miracles, but we also find a place of unity and peace in the midst of the worst storms in life. Karen and I have learned that if we don’t pray, we will worry and probably fight. Worse still, if we don’t pray, we don’t see God work as only He can. We have seen literally hundreds, if not thousands, of answers to prayer over the forty+ years of our marriage. Faith in God is a bond between us that is stronger than any force that can come against us or try to tear us apart. Faith becomes especially crucial when you see an area of weakness in your spouse. I verbally abused and dominated Karen for the first several years of our marriage because I wanted her to change. I thought the force of my words and personality could do it. It didn’t. The only thing it did was to ruin our marriage and almost cause a divorce. Karen didn’t change until I put faith in God, did what the Bible said, and trusted God for the results. I remember when I learned to say something once to Karen in a loving manner and then to pray for God to enforce it. The results were amazing! God cares about every detail of your life, and He is ready to act on your behalf when you put faith in Him. As you pray and believe, God will come through for you. Talk It Out | Ask yourself these two important questions: Do you have faith in God? And do you exercise faith related to your marriage? Talk about the areas of your marriage that you’re ready to stop worrying or fighting about and start trusting in God. Pray together and begin to believe God to see a change. Walk It Out | Pick out a favorite Bible verse this week, write it down and share it with your spouse. Make it a special reminder to both of you that God is working in your marriage and that you can trust Him with any situation, big or small.