‘Live happily with the woman you love through all the meaningless days of life that God has given you under the sun. The wife God gives you is your reward for all your earthly toil. ‘ Ecclesiastes 9:9(NLT)
‘So I concluded there is nothing better than to be happy and enjoy ourselves as long as we can. And people should eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of their labor, for these are gifts from God.’ Ecclesiastes 3:12-13(NLT)
Devotional Content:
After finding out from people what things in their marriages made them sad, I countered with this question: “What things in your marriage make you happy?” Here were some of their answers: “my husband’s cooking,” “when we are being considerate of each other,” “knowing that my husband is a godly man,” “holding hands,” “finding ways to please my wife,” “I love how we communicate, even if we do not agree,” “I love our commitment to our marriage,” and “snuggling up to each other.”
As I look at these answers, I am hit by an incredible reality about marriage: The things that make people the happiest in their marriages are the simple things. Contentment in marriage is not about money or power. It is not about possessions or elaborate vacations. It is about those things that connect a husband and wife.
I have said for a long time that marriage is not rocket science. We don’t need to understand something as complicated as the science that goes into propelling a rocket into space when we try to explain what sends a marriage soaring. What fuels a marriage are the daily, simple, purposeful things that we do for and with our spouses. That is awesome!
Today’s Challenge: The simple things are what keep a marriage moving forward. Have you hugged your spouse today?
Going Deeper:
1. What things in your marriage make you happy?
2. How do you define ‘contentment’ in your marriage?
3. Name two things in your marriage that really connect you.
4. What are some of the things that you would like to do for and with your spouse?
5. Will you commit to begin doing some of those today?
from Growing Your Marriage – Part 1