Laying-Up God's Word for a successful marriage...

I recently invited everyone reading this blog to join me in “laying up” Bible verses in our hearts that will help us to become the wife, momma, and lady that God wants us to be. It's been excited deciding which ones to add to the list!  Here are the first few that I've picked:

My parents just celebrated their 42nd Anniversary.  Patrick’s sister and her husband just celebrated their 48th.  It’s sad to say that these are a rarity.  We hear of many couples that have been married for 15-20 years, who give up and quit.  I don’t want my marriage to be a statistic like that.  I’d rather rank with those that say 50+ and even 60+ years of success!  

In compiling my “List for Success” for my marriage, my mind thought of remembering my purpose.  If I remember why God has created me, then I will have the proper perspective as I go through out my day.

Genesis 2:18 says, “ And the LORD God said, it is not good that the man should be alone;  I will make him an help meet for him. “  To make this verse even more personal to me, sometimes I like to put in Patrick’s name in place of man.   Just think, God said it wasn't good for Patrick to be alone.  He made someone that would help him and that would meet his needs.  That someone is me!

The verses I want to “lay up” in my heart are verses that will help me to remember my husband’s needs and how I can meet them.  So, for this week’s study, I thought I would focus on just one of his needs that is my job to fulfill!

My husband’s need for respect:

Man has a natural desire for respect.  We, as women, have a natural desire to be loved.  We see this in Ephesians 5:33.  God is commanding the husband to love their wife, and the wife to respect and reverence her husband.  The two really go hand-in-hand.  Give your man some respect and reverence and he’ll love you for it!  Proverbs 10:19, 13:10 and 21:19 are three verses that will help us in our quest to reverence our husband.  If a wife is not careful, she can tend to want to be the Holy Spirit in her husband’s life.  Our husbands are not perfect and they will have their bad days just like we do.  It’s important for us to remember that it is not our job to be the Holy Spirit.  If we are not careful, we might “nag” our husbands about what they should be doing or point out their faults. In reverencing our husband, we need to look for the good and focus on it.  Brag on him and respect him for those things.   

As a wife, I want to search, find, and focus on my husband’s strengths.  Proverbs  11:27  says “He that diligently seeketh good procureth favour: but he that seeketh mischief, it shall come unto him.”  If I am to reverence my husband, and want favor in return, then I must diligently seek the good in him.

So here’s our list so far:

Genesis 2:18

Ephesians 5:33

Proverbs 10:19

Proverbs 13:10

Proverbs 21:19

Proverbs 11:27