The Power of Acceptance Can Transform Your Marriage
Wisdom from God brings peace and assurance to your heart. To hear His voice, you must be willing to submit to Him and surrender to His leading. His voice will be confirmed by the good fruit produced by the Word. When you surrender to wisdom from above that is impartial and sincere, you are able to act with both humility and boldness. His wisdom is so pure and full of mercy that, sometimes, it surprises us. That’s how I felt when God spoke to my heart that day in 1993 when I was face down before God crying out for my marriage. In the quiet aftermath of my tears, I heard the gentleness of God’s whisper deep in my heart.
“Open your eyes. I want to show you how I have made your husband. You expect him to be like you. I fashioned you while you were in your mother’s womb to be a visionary leader. I fashioned Wayne differently…”
As I listened, I remembered how Wayne’s great love for God and his gentleness had drawn me to him. Yet somehow, I had begun to discount this attribute and the way God had made Wayne.
We sometimes forget that “gentleness” is a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:26). When David wrote Psalm 18, He praised God for His gentleness.
Listen to my husband’s Wayne’s heart on how it changed our marriage.
We All Want to Be Accepted for Who We are
Everyone of us knows how it feels to be accepted for who we are and how God has made us to be. That doesn’t mean we accept sin or cover-up bondage. When we accept people for who they are, they stop trying to self-protect and the love of God is able to free them them from sin and bondage.
Listen to this encouragement that I give for acceptance in marriage:
Stir up Your Love and Appreciate Your Spouse
Embrace the counter-balance of your spouse in your life. Take time to think about what first attracted you to your spouse. Stir up your love and appreciation for your spouse. Engage in the life-giving pursuit of God and He will cause new life to flow through you to your spouse.
Week 1 – 9 Traits of a Life-Giving Marriage Study (Acceptance)
Acceptance: “Acknowledging the fact that God made you and your spouse differently empowers you to honor each other’s unique roles and characteristics. Remember, despite your differences, you both bear the Creator’s likeness.” ~ Sue Detweiler
God’s voice differs from our own. However, when we so badly want our own way, it can be dangerously easy to mistake our thoughts and emotions for God’s wisdom. So how do you know the difference? How do you know if God is really speaking to your heart?
The answer: God’s voice is always consistent with His Word.
One guiding Scripture on gaining His wisdom comes from James 3:18:
And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness. (NLT)
We’d love for you to journal along in our study. If you signed up, you will receive a free download today in email that you can use. You will also receive an invite to join us tomorrow night in our private Facebook group to chat LIVE about this week’s study.
Let’s discuss Chapter 1 of #MarriageRocks:
- What are some other verses you can find on gaining God’s wisdom in your marriage?
- Acceptance is a conscious choice to receive your spouse as God made him or her. Have you struggled with accepting your spouse?
- What are some of your spouse’s God-given strengths? How can you honor them?
We hope you will join us tomorrow night at 9:00 p.m. CST for our LIVE Facebook group chat. And we will see you back here next week to discuss Chapter 2 on Monday and Chapter 3 on Wednesday.
Invite Your Friends:
There’s still time to also invite your friends to join you for this Study:
To know and be known is a deep desire that all of us have. The power of acceptance in marriage is that we can be who God has made us to be.