10-Day Marriage SeriesSample

Day 8: The Secret to a Long, Successful Marriage

"For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh." (Genesis 2:24)

Have you heard the one about the wedding ceremony of a young contract lawyer and his bride? When the minister got to the vows, he intoned, "Do you take this woman for better? For worse? For richer? For poorer? In sickness? And in health?" He was startled to hear the groom cautiously reply, "Yes. No. Yes. No. No. And yes." Of course, we'd all like to sign up for the better, richer, and healthier parts when we get married and forget all that other stuff. But that's not the way marriage works because that's not the way life works.

In another wedding ceremony, this one real, the bride and groom pledged to stay married as long as they continued to love each other. Let's hope they both know good divorce attorneys, because they're going to need them. Relationships based on feelings are necessarily ephemeral and transitory. The only real stability in marriage is produced by firm commitments that hold two people steady when emotions are fluctuating wildly. Without such determination, even the best relationship is destined to disintegrate.

Questions for Today . . .

• Are you still as committed to your spouse as you were when you got married?
• Are you prepared to "hang in there" when the going gets tough?
• Why do you think so many married couples don't stay together?
• What kind of commitment does the Lord expect of you and your spouse?
• What can you do to make sure your commitment to your spouse stays strong?

Prayer . . .

Dear God, in Your presence, we renew our whole-hearted choice to love. Bless our holy commitment with courage, strength, tenacity—and most of all joy! Amen.

(Excerpted from Dr. James and Shirley Dobson’s book, Night Light for Couples. Used with permission.)

Related Resource . . .

Do you want to experience more joy in your marriage? Brenen and Morgan Beeler explain how to find it in this short video. They encourage us not to grow weary in the cold and dark times because they won't last forever, and better times are coming. Learning how to make the most of the difficulties can make the good times sweeter.