God's Successful Marriage

  Key Verse “Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.” — Galatians 6:2 There are changes in marriage that you see coming. Children grow up. Careers change. Retirement eventually appears on the horizon. You may not know exactly what those seasons will look like, but you know they are probably coming. Health changes can be different. Sometimes there is warning and sometimes there isn't. A diagnosis can arrive during an ordinary week and divide life into before and after . An accident can change what one spouse is physically able to do. Chronic illness, disability, emotional struggles, pain, fatigue, or simply the effects of getting older can begin changing routines that once seemed permanent. And when someone's health changes, the marriage changes with it. That does not necessarily mean the marriage becomes worse. But it does mean that something the couple had learned how to live may suddenly have to be learned again. Roles may shift, the spouse who al...

  The Seasons of Marriage Key Verse: “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.”   — Ecclesiastes 3:1 When my bride and I exchanged our vows, we promised to love one another for the rest of our lives. What we could not have fully understood that day was how many different versions of life those vows would have to carry us through. We knew we would grow older together, but we did not yet know exactly how parenthood would change us. We did not know what responsibilities would eventually rest on our shoulders, what trials would test us, or which prayers would seem to go unanswered. We did not know how success, disappointment, illness, loss, exhaustion, and the passing years would shape the people we were becoming. We promised to love each other for a lifetime without yet knowing everything that lifetime would contain. That is one of the beautiful—and sometimes difficult—truths about marriage: marriage has seasons . Some seasons feel full o...

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.” Colossians 3:16 There is an atmosphere in every home. Sometimes we notice it the moment we walk through the door. We can tell when a home feels peaceful. We can tell when it feels tense. We can tell when laughter has been normal there, and we can usually tell when everyone has been walking on eggshells. There is something about the tone of a home that speaks before anyone says a word. That is true naturally, but it is also true spiritually. Every marriage creates an atmosphere. Every husband and wife, over time, help shape what the home feels like. Not just by what is hanging on the walls, not just by what music is playing in the background, and not just by whether a Bible is sitting on the coffee table, but by how Christ is welcomed into the ordinary places of life. A home can have Christian decorations...

  There is a quiet temptation in marriage to think that if we love each other enough, pray enough, and stay committed enough, we should be able to handle everything on our own. And to be fair, there is a kind of strength that a husband and wife do need to build together. Marriage does require private faithfulness. It requires conversations no one else hears, prayers no one else knows about, forgiveness no one else sees, and daily choices that are made behind closed doors when no one is clapping and no one is watching. That private part of marriage matters deeply. But Christian marriage was never meant to be lived in isolation. God did not design marriage to replace the body of Christ. He did not call a husband and wife to become their own little island, disconnected from fellowship, worship, encouragement, accountability, counsel, and prayer. A strong marriage still needs community. Not because the marriage is failing, but because we are human. Every one of us, no matter how long w...

  Common Man Publications Strengthening Your Marriage One Day at a Time A 7-Day Devotional from God’s Successful Marriage Marriage is strengthened in the daily choices we make to love, forgive, honor, and remain faithful to the covenant God has given us. This devotional was written to encourage couples to return to those steady, God-honoring choices one day at a time. Whether you work through it together as husband and wife, reflect on it personally, or pass it along to another couple in need of encouragement, our prayer is that it will be both a blessing and a practical help. You can read the devotional directly below, or download the PDF to save for later. “Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” Ecclesiastes 4:...

  Early in marriage, encouragement comes naturally. Newly married couples often speak admiration freely. Compliments come easily. Gratitude is expressed often. There is excitement in discovering the good qualities in the person you married. But over time, something subtle happens in many marriages. Life becomes busy. Responsibilities increase. Children arrive. Work schedules tighten. Bills need to be paid. Stress has a way of crowding the margins of daily life. Slowly, encouragement begins to fade from everyday conversation. It usually isn’t replaced with hostility. Instead, it is often replaced with silence. Yet Scripture reminds us that words carry tremendous power , especially within marriage. Proverbs 18:21 “Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.” (KJV) The Bible repeatedly teaches that our words shape the environment around us. Nowhere is that more evident than within the home. Your spouse hears your voice more than ...

  Marriage has a way of becoming busy. Careers grow, children arrive, responsibilities increase, and financial priorities shift. The early days of dating — when couples seemed to naturally carve out time for one another — can slowly be replaced by schedules, obligations, and fatigue. What once felt effortless can begin to feel like another item on a long list of things to manage. Many couples assume the solution is more money, more time, or fewer responsibilities. Yet after thirty years of marriage, we have learned something different: intentional attention matters far more than financial ability . Some of the strongest moments in our marriage did not happen during seasons of abundance. They happened during lean years — young marriage, military life, tight budgets, and long work weeks. Yet we discovered something that has remained true through every stage of life: dating your spouse is not about spending money; it is about choosing pursuit. Scripture repeatedly warns about small ne...

  There is a kind of laughter that fills a room. And there is a kind of laughter that fills a marriage. One entertains. The other heals. The Bible speaks more about joy than we sometimes realize. And not just surface-level happiness — but a deep, settled, soul-rooted joy that comes from God Himself. “A cheerful heart is good medicine…” — Proverbs 17:22 “The joy of the Lord is your strength.” — Nehemiah 8:10 “Rejoice always.” — 1 Thessalonians 5:16 Joy is not optional in the Christian life. It is commanded. And that means it belongs in marriage too. Young Couples Need to Hear This There will be seasons when money is tight. Seasons when pride gets loud. Seasons when exhaustion steals patience. We’ve walked through Marine Corps years. Financial stress. Near-divorce tension. Health battles. In those seasons, you don’t survive because everything is romantic. You survive because you remember you’re on the same team. Sometimes that looks like prayer. Sometimes that looks lik...