As God Is Our Witness - Crosswalk Couples Devotional - September 26
Crosswalk Couples Devotional
Audio By Carbonatix
By Michelle S. Lazurek, Crosswalk.com
As God Is Our Witness
By: Michelle Lazurek
"The Lord is the witness between you and the wife of your youth." Malachi 2:14-16
On June 17, 2000, my husband and I exchanged vows in front of our church congregation. As we walked down the aisle as husband and wife, many people erupted in applause. During that time, we chose traditional wedding vows to love, honor, and cherish each other. At the beginning of our marriage, the world was our oyster. We embarked on our first adventure together as we traveled to Bible school. It was then, just a few months later, that my husband would be called to pastor his first church.
As the years passed and the ministry took its toll, those vows to love, honor, and cherish were no longer at the forefront of our marriage. Soon, my husband stopped listening to me and taking my advice regarding ministry. I often felt ignored and dismissed by him. As an act of rebellion, I stopped doing nice things for him and speaking his love language of words of affirmation.
Many years later, as my husband and I had a heart-to-heart conversation, he confessed that the Lord had convicted him of not seeing the little things I did for him every day. He was often expecting these big, grand gestures of love. But when that didn't happen, he made assumptions about our relationship and my devotion to him. He often assumed I didn't love him or that I didn't appreciate him based on my treatment of him.
As he prayed, the Lord convicted him of all the ways I showed my appreciation for him daily. I often thanked him for the kind things he would do around the home. I encouraged and pushed him to go beyond his ability, assuring him that he could do more than he thought.
I also sometimes sent a text just to let him know I was thinking of him and praying for him. Although these small gestures didn't seem to make a difference in everyday life, God witnessed those little ways. When my husband didn't appreciate them, God appreciated them. That day, he promised to try to be more aware of how I loved him and showed appreciation for him.
On our wedding day, we made vows not only to each other and the congregation, but also to God. God acted as our witness on that day as we vowed to be faithful to each other until the end. The above verse also reminds me that God is a witness to everything we do. He sees that every time I choose to clean the dishes or do chores around the house, even though I didn't make the mess.
He sees when I go to the grocery store and get a special treat for him or his favorite food, because I know he likes it. He sees when I send him a funny video from social media to make him laugh. Although my husband may not appreciate all those little ways, God sees it all. He knows when I have done my best to love and when I haven't. He is also a God of justice, and he wants my husband to be reminded that even though I'm not perfect, I show him more love and appreciation during the week than he gives me credit for.
God is our witness in everyday life. He sees everything we say, do, and think before we get out of bed in the morning. He has already numbered our days and knows precisely what we'll do and when we'll do it. He also sees the many ways we love and honor our spouse, even when it's not appreciated or noticed.
Take an assessment of your marriage. In what ways do you see your spouse showing love and devotion to you? Are there times when your spouse does or says something to show their love for you, but it goes unappreciated? In what way could you show your appreciation to your spouse this week?
When you took a vow to love, honor, and cherish, it meant showing love to your spouse daily, in both big and small ways. Show your appreciation to your spouse for how they have shown you love. Be sure to show love to your spouse often so that they can take notice and appreciate your efforts as well.
Let's Pray:
Father, let us be a couple who loves and honors each other. Let us remember that as you are our witness, we are to love, honor, and cherish our spouse every day, both in big and small ways. Amen.
Michelle S. Lazurek is a multi-genre award-winning author, speaker, pastor's wife, and mother. She is a literary agent for Wordwise Media Services and host of The Spritual Reset Podcast. Her new children’s book Hall of Faith encourages kids to understand God can be trusted. When not working, she enjoys sipping a Starbucks latte, collecting 80s memorabilia, and spending time with her family and her crazy dog. For more info, please visit her website www.michellelazurek.
Related Resource: 3 Simple Ways to Feed Your Spouse More Praise
How often do you intentionally stop to praise your spouse? To recognize and affirm their character or actions? Many of us probably cringe at answering these questions because we know we could do better! If you struggle to feed your spouse praise regularly, this episode is for you. Listen in as we share some practical steps we all can take to criticize less and affirm and build up our spouse more. If this episode helps your marriage, be sure to subscribe to Team Us on Apple or Spotify so you never miss an episode.
