Imagine yourself lying helpless in a hospital bed. You’re nearing the end of your life. There are tubes, wires, and oxygen tanks all around you. Doctors and nurses scurry in and out of the room. Your family is gathered around you. Everyone has that sad, pitiful look on their faces that says, “He’s just wasting away.”
At that moment, what will matter most to you?
My guess, after pastoring for over 20 years and counseling many, many couples, is that your answer will have something to do with RELATIONSHIPS
I’ve yet to meet a person on their death bed who wishes they’d made more money, or that they’d spent more time at the office, or learned how to do some long-desired skill. Without exception, in every bedside vigil I’ve been a part of, the dying person wanted to talk to family members, to make things right, to apologize for past hurts and regrets.
Why do we have to wait until we are on our deathbeds to make the relationships in our lives count. Honestly, it’s too late, then.
My challenge to you is this: make sure that your primary relationships (marriage and children) are the best they can be now, while you have the opportunity.
Your relationships need you now.
The couples who come to me with major issues in their marriage didn’t get to that place of frustration and pain overnight. They got there through a slow but consistent slide, from average, to below average, to abysmal. It snuck up on them, a little bit at a time, one unresolved conflict after another, until the pain was so great, somebody snapped.
One of the key components to that kind of downhill slide is a lack of spiritual unity and connection. Couples who are not connected with each other on a spiritual level have much less that is stable and solid to base their relationship on. A spiritual foundation that is built upon the truth of God’s word is essential.
But how do you go about building spiritual unity and connection?
It’s not an easy thing to do. Naturally, it takes time in conversation, but what do you talk about? It needs to somehow incorporate the word of God, but how do you know what biblical or life topics are essential for spiritual growth together?
That’s where marriage devotionals come in.
There are plenty of great devotionals out there, all designed with the hope of helping you come together around the word of God to establish common beliefs and attitudes of faith upon which your marriage can grow and flourish. Most have great inspirational thoughts that come from a passage of scripture or daily reading. It’s all good stuff.
BUT… if all you’re doing is reading something together, and don’t know how to discuss the issues your reading is bringing up… you won’t get very far. You need something more.
Marriage devotionals that push you deeper…
You need more than “warm fuzzy” thoughts and inspirational stories. You need a resource that can teach you what the Bible says about your relationship, and how to talk about those important things in a way that draws you together. You need a couple’s devotional that teaches you, both by example and through daily assignments, how to dig into the important matters you need to consider.
I recommend you get more than a “typical” marriage devotional. I recommend a study that you can complete together, something that has built in accountability and actionable steps. Find a resource that asks real-life, gut-level questions and forces you to work through the issues they raise. Find a resource that sparks your thinking about yourself, your spouse, your relationship with God, and how all of that fits together.
That’s why I did what I did…
Because I’ve seen that need again and again, I created the Marriage Improvement Project as one resource couples can use to connect spiritually and grow deeper in their relationship with God.
It’s not like your typical devotionals for couples. If you decide to take on this daily devotional, you’ll have to do some serious, but richly rewarding work. Here’s what to expect:
- 5 studies per week
- 40 to 50 minutes required in the study, daily
- husband and wife will complete their study independent of one another
- you’ll be guided to come together and talk about what you’ve studied
- topics include unity, communications, anger, husband and wife roles in marriage, sex, and more
- all of it will be rooted in biblical instruction
The Marriage Improvement Project is not for the faint of heart. It’s an in-your-face, Christ-centered attempt at helping you understand marriage from God’s point of view, and learn how to implement His truths into your own marriage.
The MIP comes in two formats – Kindle Ebook and Paperback. I recommend a copy for each spouse, since you do the daily work independently.
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