(1 Peter 3:7a) “In a similar way, you husbands must live with your wives in an understanding manner, as with a most delicate partner…”
(1 Timothy 3:11) “…wives must also be serious. They must not be gossips, but instead be stable and trustworthy in everything.”
(1 Corinthians 7:28) But if you do get married, you have not sinned. And if a virgin gets married, she has not sinned. However, these people will experience trouble in this life, and I want to spare you from that.
Living together is not easy, and no matter who you are, eventually you will have to face some kind of conflict with that person. This is true for all living situations which include roommates in school, siblings sharing a room, living within a Christian community, joint family, and especially between couples. Even though all these conflicts can be easily solved by moving out, this is not so for married couples who have made a covenant before God to live together until “death do them part”. Today we will see some tips on how to get along with a little more ease.
Before we start, consider that the Bible warns us that if we decide to get married, we will experience more trouble in life than if we are single. Therefore, if you are having trouble in your married life, don’t look down upon yourself. God uses marriage to break us and mold us into more loving and sacrificial individuals.
First: “Focus on Your Commitment”. You no longer have a girlfriend/boyfriend now, but a spouse. In other words, you are stuck with that person and you have to make the best of the situation. But what you might ignore is that they are also stuck with you. Therefore focus on changing yourself more than changing your spouse. You will never find the right person, but you can, if you wish, become the right person.
Second: “Make yourself Compatible”. If you don’t work on your friendship, you will never succeed in your marriage. Having a spouse is not only about having a sex partner, a financial provider, help around the house, or a responsible parent. It is first based on having a friend whom you can share your life with, sit in silence without the need to entertain them, adjust your likes and dislikes in order to make them more comfortable, and of course, spend quality time with each other.
Third: “Work things out”. Don’t run away every time there is a conflict. Stay, talk, express your needs, share your fears, fight the devil through prayer, argue, and work it out. Instead of focusing on conquering your spouse, focus on conquering the root of the problem. If separating or a divorce is an option in your mind, you will never ever put the effort to make things work.
Men marry expecting their wives to never change, while women marry expecting to change their husbands. But the opposite is what always happens. Getting along with someone different is not easy, but without it you would be missing the spice needed to enjoy living together.
Prayers
• Heavenly Father, You are a Righteous Judge; Righteous and Upright God; He who increases the harvest of our righteousness; He who loves righteousness and justice. The Lord who speaks righteousness and declares things that are right. He who brings His judgment to light.
• Thank You Father for giving us all the tools in order for us to live in peace with each other.
• Thank You for showing us unconditional love when are being difficult.
• Forgive us for our lack of patience and long-suffering with each other.
• Forgive us if we have ever considered separating from our spouse instead of working things out.
• Teach us, Lord, how to focus on our commitment to marriage and to work on ourselves.
• Give us the ability to be a good friend who will not judge so harshly but will be shoulder to shoulder with our spouse during the tough times in life.
• May we be bold enough to work things out and not let any anger or resentment build up within our hearts.
• We cancel right now any attacks of the enemy against our marriage, our family, or our church regarding getting along in peace.
• We declare that Your Word will conquer every relationship in our lives and that it will bring glory to Your name.
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• We ask in Jesus’ Mighty Name. Amen