Confessions of a Married Woman

Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God (Romans 15:7).

Marriage is one of God’s greatest gifts.  Yet sometimes marriage can not feel like much of a gift.

Marriage has been around since the beginning of time when God created Adam and Eve.  God  designed marriage to fulfill our need for companionship and demonstrate what it means to be in a covenant relationship with God—to be in union with one another (1 Cor. 6:17).  Our marriages are an earthly model of our spiritual relationship between Christ and His bridegroom (the church) [1].  (Ephesians 5:25-27, Isa. 61:10, 62:5)​

It amazes me how God thinks of everything.  He designed us to be in relationship with another so we wouldn’t be lonely, but also fulfill a greater purpose to be in a relationship with Him.

We were challenged by our pastor this past week, to ask ourselves the question—Does your marriage possess a biblical love like God loves us?

As a married couple of of over 15 years, we strive to love each other the way God loves us.  However, we are not perfect and have flaws.  There are times we don’t always get it right. We sometimes treat each other not so nicely and take things out on one another.  This question made me think of those married in the Bible.  What did they do in their not-so- lovely moments and what do these moments teach us?

I wonder…..

Did Adam and Eve’s argument continue on for days on end?

Did Abraham and Sarah ever argue about infertility?

Did Jacob and Rachel ever have unlovely moments?

Unlovely moments make me think of Gomer (Hosea’s wife) and the Israelites when they strayed away from God.  Gomer had become an adulteress and Israel was worshipping other gods besides God.  I love how God teaches us about the power of His love in these unlikely moments.  

The Lord said to me, “Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another man and is an adulteress. Love her as the Lord loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes”  (Hosea 3:1). 

Hosea’s love saved his wife from a dead empty life of adultery and pagan worship. God’s love gave Israel a second chance for redemption and restoration.  Just as God’s love was the key to redeem and restore the covenant relationship with Israel, Hosea’s love (a biblical love) was the key to redeem and restore the covenant of his marriage to Gomer (Hosea 3). Unimaginable!

We all have unlovely moments.  Oh how I have been unlovely before.  I want to be loved even in my unloveliness.

God used Hosea (which means salvation) to show us what happens when we love and accept others in the face of unloveliness.  By Homer choosing to love and forgive his adulterous wife Gomer, he wasn’t condoning or accepting her sin—he was obeying God allowing an opportunity for His redemption. Even in Gomer’s not-so-lovely choices, God called Hosea to love her.

God uses these unlovely moments to teach us so much.  

Loving and accepting each other in ugly moments allows grace to fill the unloveliness with God's redemption and restoration (Click to Tweet)Click To Tweet.  

God shows me that when I seek him, He is able to turn my unlovely moments into something so much better than I ever can. 

“Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart”  Jeremiah 29:12-13

There will always be an unlovely moment.  How will we respond?

With Love. God’s love makes our marriages perfect and complete in Him.  In God’s love we lack nothing (Colossians 2:10).  

The enemy would like nothing more than to divide our marriages by magnifying our unloveliness to each other.  Choosing God’s love in the face of unloveliness, invites God to build long lasting marriages rooted in His biblical love for us. 

Prayer-
Thank you Jesus for the wonderful gift of marriage.  Thank you for loving me in my unloveliness.  Thank you for teaching us so much about ourselves and our marriages in these moments.  Thank you for showing me it may take forever before we get it right, but that’s okay.  Help us to seek you God in our not so lovely moments and stay rooted in your biblical love for us.  Your love never fails.  I praise you God, in Jesus name, Amen.

How will you choose love in the face of unloveliness?

What have unlovely moments taught you?

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In case you missed it here is the 4 part series of Confessions:  Confessions of a Stay at Home Mom,  Confessions of a Skinny Girl, Confessions of a Working Mom.

I would love to hear from you!  Leave your comments below. Have a Blessed Week!

A Marriage Prayer-  Pray this verse together this week.
1 Corinthians 13:4-8, 13

Dear Lord,
I pray our love is patient, it will always be kind.  I pray it will never envy nor boast that it will be ridden of any pride.  I pray our love for each other will never be rude or self-seeking.  I pray our love will not be easily angered or keep a record of wrongs.  I pray our love will never delight in evil but rejoice in the truth.  I pray your love will be the center of our marriage and always protect, always trust, always hope and always perseveres.  Your love never fails, Lord.  Thank you for your faithfulness Lord.  We know there is nothing greater than your love.  I pray this in Jesus name, Amen.

6 replies
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