For Christ’s love compels us,
2 Corinthians 5:14
Four months ago my husband and I were walking through one of the sweetest seasons of our marriage. I hate to brag ladies, but I was on cloud nine! Seriously, I didn’t know if marriage could get any sweeter. It was as if we were reaping the reward of all our hard work over the past 11 years. AHHHHHMAZING! {Can you tell I was really happy in that season?!?!}
Then our church began planning our annual Marriage Getaway. It’s an amazing weekend we do each year where couples just getaway to a fancy resort, hear from different speakers who teach or bless or speak encouragement into marriages. We love it. In all honestly, it was going to the first ever marriage getaway weekend that began the transformation and restoration process of our marriage, so when we were asked to be one of the session speakers my husband and I were taken aback. We thought about it for a few weeks, prayed and finally decided to commit.
Obedience doesn’t always mean the road ahead of you will be paved with simplicity and ease. At times it is, but more often than not when we say yes to Jesus it makes the devil angry. And the devil doesn’t play nice!
Obedience will often cost us our comfort. We can’t be changed when we simmer in the status quo.
It didn’t happen overnight, and we were well aware it may happen… my husband and I began to see the sweet season of our marriage fade away. We didn’t in any way enter any kind of dangerous season of marriage, but we simply lost the “sweetness” we’d been experiencing. The next few months grew tougher and tougher. Outside circumstances pressed in around us on all sides. The time we used to be able to carve away for one another started to disappear and the demands of life increased.
We weren’t doing anything wrong. No moral sins, no pulling apart from each other, but it was clear- the closer and more intently we began to study for the session the harder and harder our marriage began to feel.
One night, as we were discussing the situation we both knew we were just going to have to act on the faith that anchors us. We know the sweet season of marriage exists and we know we will be there again. So we pressed in and pressed on.
We act on the love that compels us, not because we always “feel” it in the moment, but because that’s what love does.
Love compels us to live in the expectation of blessing.
Love compels us to act when we want to quit.
Love compels us to press on when everything is pressing against us.
Love compels us to say, this marriage is a ministry unto Christ, not unto myself.
The session notes are written, we’ve been praying and preparing and working on this event. As I sit here, taking a break from the devotional book I am writing as a part of the event, {Yes, that’s a whole different exciting thing I will share later!} I am drawn to the words of Paul as he teaches the Corinthians…..
Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart.
2 Corinthians 4:1
It’s the mercy of God that enables the ministry of my marriage. For this alone, we press forward and do not lose heart. As we near the actual event, I find that God in His faithfulness is once again revealing pieces of that sweet season to us. Yet this time, it feels all the sweeter cause we know how much work, prayer and grace went into building it.
