originally posted on August 20, 2009

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At Metro Life Church our pastors are taking us through a very familiar part of Scripture – Hebrews 11-12.  It is often called The Hall of Faith.   This past Sunday Benny Phillips talked about “faith being the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen”.  It made us ask the question, how does faith, or the lack of it, effect our ability to romance our spouse? We believe the answer for a biblically informed and Gospel-centered marriage is – it affects it in every way!

Living so close with someone we have the privilege of knowing them better than anyone else.  This is good for the good parts, but it can be challenging when we experience the bad parts.  This is where faith is essential.  I have no control over the choices or lack of choices my husband makes; I cannot change him to be more godly or romantic.  The same is true for my husband; he has no control over my response or lack of response to him.  But God – with whom we are intimately acquainted – does!  He is the author and perfecter of our faith!

It takes faith to believe our marriages will continue to grow intimately, both spiritually and romantically.  We treat our spouses the way we want to be treated.  We love them, pursue them, pray for them and think about them often.  If the only thoughts that come to mind when we consider our spouses are critical and filled with doubt, then we must repent!  This isn’t embracing a life of faith, but of unbelief!  And without faith it is impossible to please God.

As you read our blog, we pray it will spark faith to believe your marriage can grow and change.  We pray it will be a springboard for practical ideas.  Tom and I have had our challenging years – times when romance was not a priority, but we never lost faith that God was at work changing us for His glory.  This is why we are certain He is at work in your marriage as well!  Our ideas, if not mixed with faith for the future can breed discouragement and discontent.   Faith is our shield against the world that would love nothing more than to destroy our marriages and our families.  Let’s make it our goal to build up our faith for God is at work in our marriage each and every day!

“In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one;”  Ephesians 6:16