Hey! If you haven’t already noticed, Valentine’s Day is approaching! Are you ready?
Sadly, for many married couples, Valentine’s Day is . . .
- A day to make up for the other 364 days
- A disappointment
- One of unfulfilled expectations
Using the acrostic V-A-L-E-N-T-I-N-E, here’s some ideas to help make this a blessed month of growth and change in biblical love.
V – Value the grace gift of marriage. This was God’s plan all along (Genesis 2:18-25), and it is good. Marriage has never been the problem. The issue is husband and wife aligning their hearts together with God in full surrender to Him (Ephesians 5:20) as He works out His will for marriage in their lives. Remember, God owns marriage, we do not. He created it; it belongs to Him.
Schedule a date, find a secluded spot at a restaurant or coffee shop and read through the Scriptures to be reminded of what God says about marriage. (Genesis 2:18-25; Proverbs 5:15-23; 18:22; Matthew 19:2-9; 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a; Ephesians 5:18-33; Colossians 3:18-19; Hebrews 13:4; 1 Peter 3:1-7)
A – Advance your marriage through prayer. From the moment you say, “I do” and walk down the aisle, it is a basic miracle that any marriage lasts. Think about it. Two total strangers with different DNA, cultures, likes and dislikes, and opinions now become one riding off into the sunset in their beautiful carriage of dreams! And . . . how long did that last?
The greatest thing you can do for each other in this journey of marriage is to pray one for another (James 5:16). You are daily desperate for God’s grace to help you operate in humility and love and to fulfill your roles as husband and wife, whether newlyweds or “old-lyweds.” Jesus said, “Without me, you can do nothing” (John 15:5). Since God owns marriage and has given clear directions how marriage is to operate, then prayer is the declaration of your dependence upon God to make His marriage work through you and your spouse. And, “as for God, His way is perfect” (Psalm 18:30).
Therefore, commit to pray with and for one another throughout your day.
Perhaps, the Lord revealed some areas of needed change in your marriage as you read through the Word on your date (See “V”). Pray and ask the Lord how He would have you implement those changes to strengthen your marriage. Pray together humbly about those changes. Jot them down in a journal and keep track of how you are growing.
Let’s make February, the month of Valentine’s, to be a time of increase in marriage sanctification and biblical love for God’s glory and your good.
“Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice with the wife of your youth” (Proverbs 5:18).
More to come in the next series of posts.
From A Pastor's Heart 