Experiencing God as Couples
Memory verse: “Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another. And all the more, as you see the day approaching” (Hebrews 10:24-25)
**Today’s devotion is for couples and tomorrow’s is for parents. This may not be applicable to your circumstances.You may want to study them anyway. But if you prefer, use these two days for review and prayer**
God’s purpose for marriage
Jesus said this of marriage: “ Haven’t you read... that at the beginning the Creator‘ made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? So, they are no longer two, but one. Therefore, what God has joined together, let man not separate” (Matt. 19:4-6). Marriage is God’s joining together a man and a woman to create a union through which He can accomplish His purposes and be glorified. Marriage is not merely a human contract or agreement. It is a divine creation. God has a special purpose for each couple He unites. He is so committed to the sanctity of marriage that He hates divorce (see Mai. 2:16).
What does it mean to be one flesh?
It implies that your life is not your own. You are not two separate individuals trying to work out a coexistence. You are one. When your spouse feels pain, you suffer too. When your spouse experiences spiritual victory, you are victorious as well. When God has a plan for the wife, it means God’s activity will affect the husband.
Pastor Jimmy Evans says, “the act of becoming one flesh involves much more than sex. It involves merging everything owned by and associated with two persons into one mass, jointly owned and managed. If there is something a spouse is unwilling to merge into the marriage, that spouse is not living according to the Bible and is violating the rights of the other spouse”. There are no exceptions.
Blackaby says…
At times someone says to me, “My wife clearly senses that God wants us to be more involved in missions, but I haven’t heard God say anything to me.” My response: “You are one flesh. If God spoke to your spouse, He has just spoken to you!” Because you are one flesh, you need to adjust your life to a word God speaks to your partner. Pray together and trust the Holy Spirit to bring clarity and assurance about the direction of His calling. Then you can walk together with confidence. This is why I always strongly advise couples coming to me for premarital counseling to consider carefully where God is leading their potential partner. After they are married, God’s directives to one will directly affect the other. I have known people who had a clear sense of God’s leading in their lives in one direction, but after they married, they rejected everything God had previously said to them because their spouse was not interested in those things. When I asked Marilynn to marry me, I knew God had been working in her life long before she met me. Marilynn almost died when she was five, and after that she had a strong sense that her life belonged to God. So, I asked her, “Marilynn, what has God told you He intends to do through your life? And what promises have you made to God? If I marry you, I vow to spend the rest of my life helping you keep every promise you ever made to God.”
Being one with your spouse is critical to your ability to hear from God. That is why the apostle Paul warned believers not to marry unbelievers (see 2 Cor. 6:14). Paul said it is like trying to mix light and darkness. They cannot become one spiritually because they are opposite in their fundamental nature. The spiritual intimacy you have with your spouse will affect your walk with God. The apostle Peter said a husband who mistreats his wife will find that his prayers are hindered (see 1 Pet. 3:7). That is also why it is wise never to allow your anger or a damaged relationship to remain unresolved (see Eph. 4:26).