Spiritual growth in your marriage starts with you….
Achieving spiritual intimacy with your spouse is a fantastic goal. It’s a gift many long for but never seem to find. You can meet this lofty summit, but it doesn’t start with two. It begins with one. You. While it’s great to get to a point where you and your spouse are seeking God’s will for your lives together, it’s not happening if you’re not on it. You must make it a priority to find greater spiritual growth together.
Build Your Own Identity in Christ
Finding out who you are spiritually and walking in the will God has for your life can seem like a daunting task. It will become much more challenging if you rely on your spouse to make sure it’s happening. If you’re not in control of this part of your life, you’ll minimize all it can be.
Likewise, don’t punish your spouse if they’re not in the same place as you spiritually. If they are not ready yet to pray together with you out loud, don’t force it. Instead, gently encourage them and find ways to affirm the positive steps you notice them taking.
Bring Your Spiritual Lives Together for Something Amazing
When each of you has a thriving, unique spiritual identity, imagine what it will be like when you bring it together. Like carbon and iron come together to make steel, you’ll experience something strong and powerful. Or, like Oreos and milk, you’ll have something sweet in your marriage that you’ll always cherish.
Two simple, yet critical, ingredients have to come together for you to achieve new spiritual heights with your spouse. You might be pursuing spiritual growth independently, but without these things, you’ll fall flat together.
First, you both have to be willing to share. If you’re too afraid to speak up with what God has been showing you, your spouse is missing out on something great. If you are confident the Lord is teaching you, there’s no doubt that what you have to say can have a significant impact on your spouse.
Secondly, you both need to be willing to learn. If you’re too prideful to sit back and consider something new from your spouse that you hadn’t thought of before, that’s a point to address in your life. God uses his Word and other people—often your spouse or children—to sharpen our spirits.
Model a Deeply Spiritual Life for Your Spouse, Children, and Others
Of course, you should never “show off” how spiritual you are to impress anyone, but certain things leave a lasting impression on valued people in your life. Consider writing out a verse for your spouse or kids and putting it in their lunch box. Leave your Bible open on the table to the passage you were reading that morning. Make it a point to do a family devotional one or more nights during the week. Be active together with your church and community.
Day after day, your diligence in pursuing a life of godliness will make a difference to your family. And experiencing spiritual growth with your spouse will deepen and enrich your marriage in a way that other kinds of intimacy cannot do. In short, if the two of you are on the same path as you pursue God, you’re headed to a great destination.
If you’d like more tips for growing closer in your marriage, click HERE to download our free guide, 7 Steps to Emotional Intimacy.
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