Can a Submissive Wife Be Financially Independent? What Ephesians 5 and Proverbs 31 Reveal

We often mistake submission for a wife burying her identity in the husband she has married. The assumption is that a submissive wife is not allowed to build a purpose outside of her husband’s purpose. And for some marriages, when a wife desires to seek financial improvement for herself, she is seen as defying the ethics of a good marriage.

In a handful of my marriage posts, I have described a wife as a suitable helper to her husband. A God-given help to a man to help fulfill his destiny and be all that God has ordained him to be. Even though that is very true, as we find in Genesis 2:18-25.

But understanding this scripture to mean that a wife’s duty is only to do the will of her husband would not just be a great disservice to the wife but, more importantly, to the husband. It simply means you are incapacitating the vessel that God has assigned to help you.

Submission Should Not Silence a Wife’s God-Given Potential

When God instructed the wife to submit to her husband, I don’t believe it was on the premise of losing her capacity to think for herself or take initiatives that will help her develop her own capacity and skills.

When a husband deliberately suppresses his wife’s God-given abilities because he fears her independence, success, or financial strength, what appears outwardly as leadership may actually be insecurity or control.

Unfortunately, what that would mean is that you have incapacitated your God-ordained help and support such that she is unable to effectively help you when you need her to.

Let us examine what Ephesians 5:22-24 says about God’s expectation from a wife. Ephesians 5:22 says, “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord.” So, we understand that when a wife submits to her husband, she is doing so in the same strength as submitting to the Lord.

But when submitting to the Lord, we don’t feel caged in. Submitting to God is freedom; it’s liberty; it’s strength-building. A wife who submits to God yields herself to the authority of God. But what the authority of God does in her life is lead her to discover her strength and purpose.

When we yield to God’s authority, it leads to growth in potential and advancement. When you are under God’s authority, your discernment is sharpened; strategies for growth are received. And you are all around the best version of yourself.

A husband who is being submitted unto as unto the Lord holds it as his duty to imitate God’s reaction to the privilege of that submission. When a wife honors her husband with her submission, it’s not because she has not been endowed with talent and value from God; it’s that when she combines what she has with what God has given her husband, they both have a good reward for their labor.

Can a Submissive Wife Work and Build Financial Independence?

One of the benefits of submitting to God is what we see in Deuteronomy 8:18, where Moses tells us that it is God who gives us the power to make wealth.

A husband may not have the power to make wealth that he can give to his wife, but he has the power not to hinder her from freely expressing God’s gift in her life and giving her the room to harness the power to make wealth that God has given to her.

There are instances where a husband would forbid his wife from working or earning a living. And such a man demands submission to that instruction. For some, they use the excuse of not wanting their wives stressed, but rather to stay home and take care of the children.

For others, they don’t want their wives exposed to the possibility of meeting other men in the name of working. While a godly wife is supposed to submit to her husband as unto the Lord, this instruction, no matter what excuse we may have for it, is not healthy for the husband and the wife alike.

Why Financial Empowerment Can Strengthen a Marriage

Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 says, “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no one to help him up.”

The scripture above speaks to the heart of why it is dangerous for a man to prevent his wife from financially empowering herself when the opportunity and power to do so is available to her. When the husband experiences downtime, which is almost a constant in a man’s life journey, then he would have no one to help him up.

This would not be that God did not provide the support he needed ahead of time, but that he suffocated life out of the support. Having a wife whom you have prevented from earning a living when she possibly can is like being alone with no one to help.

I understand that there will be instances where circumstances are the things preventing the wife from earning income, which is different from the husband insisting she should not work. And I will not rule out cases where she is still waiting on God for her own breakthrough.

But when a wife is sitting at home not earning a living simply because her husband instructs her to do so, not because of any meaningful reason but just because of his own selfishness, such an instruction can be very limiting; not just for the wife, but also for the husband.

Insecurity, competitiveness rather than a complementary outlook, and excessive ego force some men to struggle alone when they have abundant help made readily available for them that they have refused to exploit.

God’s Rules of Engagement in Marriage — discover biblical principles for building a marriage where submission does not erase purpose, leadership does not become control, and both husband and wife can grow, contribute, and thrive together in God’s design.

The Proverbs 31 Woman Was Productive, Capable, and Trusted

Proverbs 31:10-31 is the part of the scripture that speaks of a wife of noble character. She is a strong, successful merchant whose husband has allowed her to harness all of God’s gifts for her life, and from which her husband benefits, because she takes care of her household from her earnings.

Her husband is so secure that he sits at the city gate with elders. Her productivity does not diminish her husband. On the contrary, the household prospers, and her husband is respected among the elders at the city gate.

When a Wife Wants to Help but Cannot Contribute Financially

I am very passionate about this discussion because this is my lived experience. For the better part of my marital life, I have lived as a stay-at-home mum without earning any income. This wasn’t because my husband stopped me from working; it’s because I couldn't get a job.

I graduated from the university some 25 years ago, but by God’s design, I find myself raising four lovely children as my full-time job. But while I am not complaining, and God has been gracious to my family in that He has provided for us adequately from just a single source of income from my husband, I still understand what it feels like not to be able to support financially.

I have known the pain that my husband feels when the account spreadsheet isn’t looking good, and there is no support. I know firsthand what it means to really want something but cannot even dare to dream of it because some other things should take priority.  

While I know that my situation is not because my husband is limiting me, and my breakthrough is coming, I still feel the pain of being helpless when I know I should be a source of help. And when I listen to my husband plan the income for the family in a way that we are just getting by, it cuts deep.

To now imagine that a man would deliberately put his wife in a financial confinement simply to preserve control over her is not an expression of the sacrificial love Scripture requires from a husband.

What Abigail Teaches Us About Wisdom, Initiative, and Courage  

As I round up this article, a story in the Bible comes to mind. The story is found in 1 Samuel 25:2-end. The scripture is a long one, so I will summarize. It’s about a very wealthy man named Nabal, whom the Bible describes as harsh and evil. He had a wife named Abigail, whom the Bible describes as a woman of good understanding and beauty.

Nabal offended King David, and David promised to kill him. Words got to Abigail, his wife, that David was on his way to kill her husband, and she sprang to action and went to appease David on behalf of her husband without his knowledge.

The lesson that I got from this story is that Abigail possessed enough wisdom, competence, courage, and practical authority to intervene when her husband's foolishness placed the household in danger. That singular action saved her husband from David, even though it didn’t save him from the wrath of God.

The Ephesians 5 Wife and Proverbs 31 Woman Are Not Opposites

So, I will finish with this: A submissive wife is still an intelligent woman; she is full of talents and value that are designed to position her for greatness. There is no conflict between the Ephesians 5 wife and the Proverbs 31 wife. Scripture does not present one woman who submits and another woman who succeeds.

The Proverbs 31 woman is industrious, financially productive, discerning, entrepreneurial, trusted by her husband, and deeply committed to her household. Biblical submission and female capability are not enemies.

The Ephesians 5 wife does not disappear when the Proverbs 31 wife appears. They are not two different women. A wife can honor her husband's leadership and still think, build, create, earn, invest, lead, contribute, and become everything God has equipped her to become. Submission was never God's instruction for a woman to become less.

Restricting a wife from being all that God has called her to be in the name of submission would only mean that the husband will be laboring all alone when he is supposed to labor with the suitable help that God has given him. He would hardly find room for rest. 

My book, God’s Rules of Engagement in Marriage, walks you through biblical principles for building a marriage that honors God and remains strong through the different seasons of life.

Click the book image or the "click for details" button below to get your copy.

Finances in Marriage: What Does the Bible Say About Who Should Pay the Bills?

I once spoke to a friend who was divorced, and she was telling me some of the things that her husband did that hurt her feelings. One of them was that immediately after she was able to get a job, her husband split all the house bills in half and demanded that they share the bill payments, and she had to remit her own portion to his account every month. 

Her husband singularly paid all the bills while she was unemployed, but as soon as she began to earn income, he set the rule that she had to pay her own share of the home’s running costs. And this is not a case in isolation. All over the internet, there have been debates about whether the husband and wife should share the bills or not.

What Does the Bible Say About Financial Responsibility in Marriage?

Before sharing anything about how to handle financial stress in marriages, we need to check the Bible, God’s own word, to understand the mind of God when it comes to the matter of money and its impact on marriages.

One of the most popular scriptures when it comes to the matter of finance and marriage is 1 Timothy 5:8, and it reads, “But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially those of his household, he has denied the faith and worse than an unbeliever.”

From this scripture, and the role of the man as the head of the home, and the one assigned by God to care for his wife as his own body (Ephesians 5:25-29), and train his children in the way of the Lord, we won’t argue with the fact that the husband is the primary financier of the family.

A good man ensures that his family is well taken care of, and he would do whatever it takes to ensure the well-being of members of his home. A good man is sacrificial in ensuring he fulfills his God-given assignment, because his assignment is to follow the pattern laid by Jesus.

So, expecting a man to go above and beyond in this regard will not be a surprise. But more importantly, the underlying catalyst is love. A man who loves his family deeply and genuinely will do what it takes to care for them sacrificially. A man who loves will do all that is within him to show that love, and financially providing for his family is one of the means of showing that love.

Should a Wife Help Her Husband Financially?

But there is another caveat to this theory. A man who is genuinely needing help to fulfill his God-given role as the provider for his family has not sinned if he seeks the financial support of his wife when he is sure she is capable of providing that support.

In discussing this angle of the matter, I want us to consider Proverbs 31:16-18, and it says, “She considers a field and buys it; from her profits she plants a vineyard. She girds herself with strength, and strengthens her arms. She perceives that her merchandise is good, and her lamp does not go out by night.”

The scripture above is the description of a virtuous woman. The Proverbs 31 woman is not idle. She is industrious, resourceful, productive, and willing to use her abilities to contribute to the flourishing of her household, including financially where she has the opportunity and capacity to do so.

Should Husbands and Wives Split the Bills 50/50?

The question that then comes to mind is: Is she supposed to be earning income to hand it over to her husband, or is it right for the husband to demand that she shares in equal proportion the family expenses simply because she is earning income?

While there is no right or wrong answer to these questions, we can glean wisdom from God’s word as we try to approach this. Genesis 2:18 describes what God has in mind when He formed the woman. That verse says, “And the Lord God said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make him a helper suitable for him.’”

So, the woman that God made and handed over to the man, who then became his wife, was formed as a suitable helper for the man. If we agree to this truth, then a man asking financial help from his wife, who is formed for him as his suitable helper, is not out of place.

God's Rules of Engagement in Marriage — discover God’s principles for navigating money, responsibility, and financial support without resentment or division, and build a marriage where love, honor, unity, and God’s design come first.

Marriage Is a Partnership: Two Are Better Than One

But more than this, the angle I want to approach this from is found in Ecclesiastes 4:9-10, which says, “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor: if either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.”

A good wife should be readily available to help when it is required of her, first because she is her husband’s suitable helper, and because that is what partners should do naturally; they should help one another up in times of a fall.

But when a man refuses to carry out his financial obligations to his family and shies away from his responsibilities not because he does not have the means to, but because his wife works hard and earns income, then 1 Timothy 5:8 tells us that such a man has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

So being able to do and not doing when it comes to a man’s financial responsibility to his family is an act of irresponsibility. I have seen a man who continually grows in God’s blessings, and one of his secrets to success is that he cares for his family sacrificially. Nothing is too much for him to spend for the comfort of his family.

When Financial Support Becomes a Weapon in Marriage

But there is another side of the coin that I want to talk about. There is another true-life story of a divorced couple, and one of the husband’s pain points is that the wife really does help whenever she is called upon to support financially, but when there is a slight misunderstanding, she starts to recount all that she has done for the husband.

She will hound him with the house furniture she bought, the home appliances she paid for, and the mortgage she supported, and, as such, make the man feel worthless. And so one begins to wonder if the financial support was even worth it in the first place.

Proverbs 31:11-12 says, “Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value. She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life.” And verse 23 says, “Her husband is respected at the city gate, where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.”

These scriptures above tell us what is expected of a good wife. It is not enough that a wife supports her husband financially, but that she honors him even while doing so. Money should be a blessing and not a curse. It should be enjoyed and not used as a weapon.  

Submission, Money, and Obedience to God

If you then ask me what I would do if I were in the position of a wife whose husband has asked for financial assistance. First, because communication between my husband and me is very active and we discuss a lot, I will not wait for him to ask before jumping in to help if he needs it.

If you ask again what I would do if my husband demanded that we share the household bills equally, my answer is that I would pay my share. Not because I believe that a 50/50 arrangement is fair, but my submission to my husband is ultimately an act of obedience to God.

Ephesians 5:22–24 tells wives to submit to their own husbands as unto the Lord. Therefore, my focus would not simply be on whether I agree with my husband's decision or not, but on whether I am obeying what God has required of me. Unless what my husband asks of me requires me to disobey God, I cannot define submission as yielding only when I agree with him.

My husband is responsible before God for how he leads me, and I am responsible before God for how I respond to his leadership. If his decision is unfair, God can deal with him concerning his responsibility; but I should not allow his failure in one area to become my justification for disobedience in another.

So, when I pay that bill, I am not merely putting money toward a household expense. I am choosing to honor God's Word. I believe that no sincere act of obedience to God is wasted. God sees the heart from which that obedience comes, and He is the One who rewards those who honor Him. My confidence, therefore, is not in the fairness of the arrangement, but in the faithfulness of the God whom I am ultimately obeying.

In my own real world, I am a stay-at-home mum who does not earn income yet, but my invaluable contribution to my husband is priceless and well appreciated by my husband. But when I do earn income, what I would do is what I have described above.

I will say this as my closing: The husband is the primary provider of the home. God, knowing that there will be downtimes in a man’s life journey, provides a suitable helper for him in the person of his wife. A good wife should not sit idle; as much as she can, she should earn income or strive to earn income.

A wife who financially supports her husband does what is good. But more than just supporting your husband financially, how you do it matters. Do it while protecting his honor. A man who has the capacity to take care of his family financially but does not has lost the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

Financial disagreements are rarely just about money. They often reveal deeper questions about responsibility, sacrifice, trust, honor, submission, and how two people learn to function as one. And these are not principles we need only when financial pressure comes; they are part of learning how to build a marriage according to God’s design.

Today’s post is the twelfth in our three-month series on marriage. If this message has challenged you to look more closely at how God’s Word should shape not only your finances, but the way you relate to your spouse, then I invite you to go deeper.

My book, God’s Rules of Engagement in Marriage, walks you through biblical principles for building a marriage that honors God and remains strong through the different seasons of life.

Click the book image or the "click for details" button below to get your copy.

Communication Problems in Marriage: Causes and How to Fix Them

There is a proverb that says, “Familiarity breeds contempt,” and simple as this may be, familiarity is one of the silent killers of marriage if we are not careful to pay close attention to it. Couples get so familiar with one another and then begin to take each other for granted, and then a loss of respect for each other creeps in.

With time, they begin to lose value for each other, and this loss of value is evident in the way they communicate with one another. They begin to throw piercing words at each other, and verbal abuse begins to surface. And I will tell you that verbal abuse is as emotionally damaging as physical abuse is to the body.

In today’s blog, I want to discuss the issue of communication and conflict in marriages. Still, I am most interested in the root cause of negative communication and conflict in marriage.

When Familiarity Begins to Affect Communication in Marriage

It is common knowledge that when you are so close to someone for a very long time, chances are that you will get very familiar with that person, and the probability of taking that person for granted is high. When they are supposed to come first, they come last, with you telling yourself that such a person would understand.

And this even gets worse if, for any reason, you perceive that the person isn’t adding much value to you. Let’s take an example of an executive director of a multinational firm whose wife is a stay-at-home mum. To such a man, the probability of him taking his wife for granted is high if his measure of the value of the wife’s contribution to the home is quantitative.

For a man like that, if she is not contributing in monetary value, she might be considered not contributing at all. The familiarity they share, along with his inability to see the value of her contribution, will cause him to take her for granted and erode the respect he has for her. His lack of respect begins to show in his communication with her, causing verbal abuse and conflict.

The Connection Between Value, Respect, and Communication

Proverbs 16:24 says, “Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the bones.” This is one of my focus scriptures when I consider the issue of communication in marriage. I hold on to the fact that what to say, when to say it, and how to say it matter a lot when dealing with communication in marriage.

But in the course of writing this blog, the Lord is taking it deeper for me. One truth is that there is a correlation between the value you place on your spouse and the way you communicate with them. When you hold your spouse in high esteem, you care about their feelings, and in turn you pay attention to how you communicate with them.

So, what I am learning and sharing is that there is a chance that the way your spouse values you may have a quiet impact on the way they communicate with you. The value your spouse places on you impacts the level of respect they have for you, and the way they respect you impacts the way they communicate with you.

If your spouse respects you, they will speak with you respectfully, and vice versa. Now, for those who are having communication issues in their marriage, one thing to consider is the level of respect your spouse has for you.

I strongly believe that the level of value your spouse has for you determines the level of respect you get from them, and this shows in the way they communicate with you. I know there will be little bouts of conflict, but the respect they have for you often makes the conflicts short-lived.   

How Do You Restore Value and Respect in Your Marriage?

So that brings me to the thought: how do you make your spouse value you? The value and respect your spouse gives you cannot be demanded or forced, or it will not be genuine. This is something you earn based on what you offer them.

To explain my thought properly, I want to use an illustration that I hope will help me get this across effectively. When you give someone a gift they don’t need, no matter how expensive that gift is, if it does not meet a need, it is not valued.

When you give a gift that is highly needed, even if it does not cost much, such a gift is genuinely appreciated, and the one who has been gifted the item would most likely hold the giver of the gift in high honor and respect.

So, one of the easiest ways to earn the respect and value of your spouse is to meet an important need in their lives. When you have positioned yourself as an indispensable and invaluable part of their lives, you become respected and spoken to with respect.

But there is a caveat to this assumption: a spouse may be trying their best to position themselves as an invaluable part of their spouse’s life but still not meet the mark. And this is where prayer becomes very important.

Earlier, I shared an illustration of giving an expensive gift that is not needed. A lot of times we assume we know what our spouses need, but if they have not told us, “This is what I want from you,” what you think you know is still an assumption with margins of error.

But when you pray and follow the leading of the Lord, He will lead you straight to the center of your spouse’s heart and teach you what to do and how to position yourself as an invaluable component of their life.

God's Rules of Engagement in Marriage — discover God’s principles for restoring value and respect, communicating with love, and building a marriage where both spouses feel seen, appreciated, and deeply valued.

How God Changed Communication in My Own Marriage

Communication in my marriage was an issue I dealt with for a long time. I am a stay-at-home mum, and this has been so for 85% of the time in my nearly 23 years of marriage. I take care of the house diligently, manage our four children, and do the household chores, but these are activities that my husband cannot quantify in figures and, as such, concluded I was not bringing any value to the home.

This eroded a large chunk of the respect he had for me and the way we communicated. My self-esteem was at its lowest. And I honestly contemplated a divorce because I was tired of putting up with the disrespect.

And the honest truth was that my husband didn’t realize he was doing anything wrong. But I took my hurt to God and allowed Him to lead me. The first thing I discovered was that I found myself taking an interest in online courses. 

I quietly began to take my career seriously and began to grow myself. This was not me waiting for my husband to value me, but allowing God to teach me to pour value into myself. I began to take certification exams and started growing.

The moment my husband noticed that I was taking all these courses, his perception of me started to shift. I took courses in business analysis and moved towards web development. I started learning programming languages and how to code. And even though I am still a stay-at-home mum, the way my husband sees me and respects me has improved greatly.

I would not miss the fact that, by divine grace, he got a job relocation to another country while the children and I live in another country, and he found himself having to do the household chores all by himself. This made him appreciative of the things I was doing for him that he took for granted.

We are in a better place in our marriage now, and we share strong respect for each other. I am not removing the bouts of conflict, but because of the value and respect we have for each other, we are quick to apologize. Now, my husband does not mind saying sorry when he is wrong. He even apologized for taking me for granted in the past years.

What to Do When Your Spouse No Longer Recognizes Your Value

Although I will not generalize this assumption, I would rather say that the first place to begin tackling a communication problem in a marriage is the place of weighing the value you place on your spouse. Have you gotten so familiar with your spouse that you begin to take them for granted?

If you believe that your spouse is beginning to communicate with you in a disrespectful manner, the solution is not to fight them, nor is it to demand respect. Let’s begin to seek the solution from a place of prayer.

It is so very possible that you are doing so much that your spouse is yet to appreciate, just because they are yet to put a value to it. In some cases, they get so familiar with you taking care of that concern that they begin to take it for granted and lose its value.

That is a problem you cannot solve on your own; that is an assignment for God to handle. This is because you cannot force your spouse to appreciate your contribution if they have yet to see its value. It’s only God who can restore such lost value and make them appreciate your efforts again.

Let God Lead You into Personal Growth

The second thing I would encourage you to do is to continue building yourself with the help of God. Your spouse may fail to recognize your value, but that should never stop you from growing. Allow God to show you the areas where you need to develop, not merely to earn your spouse’s approval, but to become everything He has called you to be.

Achieving this does not necessarily mean throwing yourself cheaply at the beck and call of your spouse. Doing that devalues you more. The answer is to go to God for a strategy on how you can improve yourself in the area of need of your spouse that will make you an invaluable component of their life.

Sometimes this does not require you to do more for your spouse, but to do more for yourself and improve your self-worth and self-esteem to the point that you begin to earn their respect. People value what they need, and they respect what they value. So, becoming who they need makes your spouse respect you more and communicate with you with respect.

Doing this achieves two important goals. You become a better you in the long run and achieve the goal of earning the respect of your spouse without conflicts or negative drama in the home.

And in this pursuit, your strategy is not arrogance or vengeance. It is doing what you are doing in love and humility. In working towards a better marriage, you should never neglect your God-given role in that marriage. The wife submits to her husband as unto the Lord, and the husband loves his wife as Christ loves the church.

Today’s post is the eleventh of a three-month series on the big topic of marriage. If this message is speaking to you, then you need more than just a blog post—you need a guide. My book God’s Rules of Engagement in Marriage walks you step-by-step through building a marriage that stands strong, even in difficult seasons.

Click the book image or the "click for details" button below to get your copy.

Sexual Intimacy in Marriage: What the Bible Says and Why It Matters

The way we brush away the issue of intimacy in marriage as something not to be spoken about openly is very interesting. It is often assumed that sex is not a thing to be discussed openly by Christians. It is viewed as a dirty topic and can only be addressed privately in the secrecy of the couple's bedroom.

Why Christians Need to Talk About Sexual Intimacy

But while we shy away from this vital aspect of marriage, this issue is breaking some homes. I have heard of a true-life story of a couple who divorced because the wife claimed her husband was not satisfying her intimacy demands.

Now, that is not a case in isolation, as I know another couple who had a very messy breakup, and the underlying problem was the wife not being experienced enough to meet the sexual demands of her husband.

These two were always fighting. The wife was in her mid-thirties when she got married, and she was a virgin. Due to the maturity of her body and her celibacy, her first attempt at sex after getting married was not an interesting one. It was a painful attempt.  A couple more attempts were not any better.

Unfortunately, her husband was not a good communicator, with high hopes and expectations that turned into disappointment, irritation, and aggression. The wife assumed there were demonic attacks on her marriage, as she could not understand what about her was pissing her husband off.

She prayed, and prayed, and eventually sought shelter for safety when irritation and aggression turned into physical abuse. She walked out of her home and back to her parents without truly knowing what was wrong with the man she was married to.

There were several interventions from the wife's and husband's parents, and when all attempts to patch things up between them failed, as the husband insisted he was done, he filed for a divorce, and they went their separate ways.

When the Real Problem Is a Lack of Communication

I met the husband for the first time about 6 years after the divorce, when he reached out to me after reading some of my blog articles. We got talking, and he told me about his divorce. I was curious, as I never wanted to hear of couples divorcing. I asked many questions and even requested to speak to his ex-wife, with the hope of igniting a reconciliation.

In the course of talking to this couple, they told me many things that didn’t add up, but the man kept nagging about the fact that the wife didn’t like sex. The fact that he kept repeating it told me more than he admitted, and I confronted him about it.

It was when I stayed on the issue of his sex life in our discussion that he admitted that it was a big issue for him. But what beat my imagination was that he never complained about it to his wife. When I asked him why he never addressed the issue with his wife, his response was that she was supposed to know.

What killed that marriage was not just the fact that sex was a problem, but communication about sex was the main killer. The only way this Christian husband was able to communicate his demands to his wife when it related to sex was to buy her books about sex and nothing more. In his world, she was supposed to understand what the books were for.

I have just shared two true-life situations where the marriage was broken solely because of a problem with intimacy in those marriages. And these are not cases in isolation. Problems with intimacy in marriage form part of the irreconcilable differences used as reasons for divorce. Calling it irreconcilable differences is just not wanting to say the real issue out loud.

While sexual intimacy should not be the main reason for couples to go into marriage, it is a very important part of a marriage union. Intimacy is one of the physical displays of love that promotes oneness in marriage. It encourages affection and helps the bond of togetherness in marriage stay strong.

What Does the Bible Say About Sexual Intimacy in Marriage?

But it is interesting to note that the issue of intimacy in marriage was not left out of the Bible. 1 Corinthians 7:3-4 says, “Let the husband render to his wife the affection due her, and likewise also the wife to her husband. The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. And likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does.”

If this topic of sexual intimacy is discussed in the Bible, then that tells us that it is a matter that should be addressed strongly. When intimacy disappears and is left unaddressed, an important part of the marital bond can begin to suffer. Though intimacy is not the first thing in marriage, it is a strong lifeline of a good marriage.

It is a bonding gift from God to the married couple that should be enjoyed by both partners. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 7:5 that the husband and wife should not deprive one another of this good gift except for mutual consent and for a short time.

While I cannot explicitly give guidelines about intimacy in marriage, one truth needs to be emphasized. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 7:4 that the wife does not have authority over her body, but her husband does, and likewise the husband does not have authority over his body, but his wife does.

But this scripture should not be misread. The scripture does not encourage an entitlement mentality or coercion or aggression when it comes to the issue of intimacy in marriage. Intimacy is a display of love that should be earned. Intimacy is not an act that should be forced.

God's Rules of Engagement in Marriage — discover God’s principles for building deeper intimacy, communicating with love, and nurturing the closeness and oneness He designed marriage to enjoy.

When the Real Problem Is a Lack of Communication

Intimacy in marriage, as designed by God, is for the good of the husband and the wife. It should be a thing of pleasure and love. But for some women, the first experience of sexual intimacy can involve discomfort or pain, which makes patience, communication, gentleness, and understanding especially important. And this is the downside of the story I shared earlier.

But that is not meant to be a problem when a married couple learns to communicate openly, with understanding and love as they navigate new terrains of their marriage. There is always a first time for every experience, and this precious issue should be handled with love and care.

Sexual Intimacy Is About More Than Sex

Two things I want to mention just as I close this discussion are that sexual intimacy plays a very significant and beneficial role in marriage, but it can also be abused. In the next few paragraphs, I will explain why I say this.

The dictionary meaning of intimacy is closeness; one of the meanings of closeness, when viewed in the context of a relationship, is affection. And the last thing I found is that closeness is “the quality of being done in an attentive and thorough way”.

So intimacy in marriage means closeness, affection, attention, and thoroughness. I want to believe deep in my heart that all of these beautiful attributes are qualities the Lord had in mind when He added sexual intimacy to marriage.  

This is beyond procreation; it is beyond reproduction; those are just the fruits of the gift of sexual intimacy. But at the core of this act are closeness, affection, attention, and thoroughness. The couple pays attention to the needs of one another in an affectionate and thorough manner.

That is what God wants; that is why He made them bone of bones and flesh of flesh to one another. I have come to realize, maybe with a few exceptions, that couples cannot stay angry with each other after an act of sexual intimacy. If they had issues or disagreements, sexual intimacy tends to dissolve the problem easily.

When Intimacy Becomes a Weapon in Marriage

But there is also the issue of weaponizing sexual intimacy in marriage. We have cases of a husband or wife depriving their spouse simply because there is a disagreement. This is very wrong, and that is why Paul called it out in 1 Corinthians 7:5.

By virtue of the fact that you people are married, based on God’s definition found in Genesis 2:23 and in Matthew 19:6, Jesus says they are no longer two but one. On the basis of these scriptures, Paul says in 1 Corinthians 7:4 that a woman's body does not belong to her alone but also to her husband, and likewise, a man’s body does not belong to him alone but also to his wife.

And this is so because the Lord intends that the body be a vessel of sexual intimacy, fostering love, closeness, affection, and attention, and not to be used as a weapon of war in marriage. And this underscores the importance of a man taking care of his wife’s body because that body belongs to him also, and vice versa.

Physically abusing your spouse’s body is physically abusing yourself. You may not feel the physical pain, but the Lord will hold you accountable spiritually. Like the story I shared earlier, you cannot physically abuse your spouse’s body and still expect that same body to serve your sexual needs. What you take care of will serve you well, and what you disdain will repel you.

Building a Marriage of Closeness, Affection and Care

Like every other aspect of marriage, the intimacy part of it is very important and should be taken care of diligently. I agree that stress and fatigue may create bottlenecks in sexual intimacy, but we should not allow them to create a bottleneck in other aspects of intimacy.

Personal hygiene that makes intimacy attractive should also be a daily lifestyle. These are spices that make marriages a beautiful and holistic experience, just like God intended it to be.

Today’s post is the tenth of a three-month series on the big topic of marriage. If this message is speaking to you, then you need more than just a blog post—you need a guide. My book God’s Rules of Engagement in Marriage walks you step-by-step through building a marriage that stands strong, even in difficult seasons.

Click the book image or the "click for details" button below to get your copy.

How to Protect Your Marriage From Outside Influence

In the first few weeks of my marriage, I noticed that whenever my husband and I returned home from work, my husband would drop me off at home, change into more relaxed clothing, and go out again while I prepared dinner. Oftentimes, I would have to wait for him to return home before eating my dinner. Calling him to say dinner was ready was a battle in itself.

When I eventually had him come home, his excuse was always that he was playing the game of Ludo with the neighbors. I thought of what to do to make him stay home with me more, instead of always going out. So, I called my sister to help me get a Ludo game from my mom, from the leftovers of the many Ludo games shared at my wedding as souvenirs by one of our relatives.

The plan was that my sister would bring the Ludo game to work, and I could get it from her at work, because our offices were close to each other. My father heard about my plan and called me to give me advice on how to make my husband stay home more.

Why I Chose to Protect My Marriage From Outside Influence

On the surface, this would have been advice to listen to, but I was quick to decline his intervention in my marriage. And 22 years later, I am still of the mindset that the only source of counsel that I want for my marriage is the voice of God and not that of any man. This is not that I do not honor my father; I will take his advice for other things, but not for my marriage.

One thing that I knew was that my father would not give me unbiased advice. I am his daughter first, and he is inclined to want to protect me even against my husband. When we were courting, that would have been very okay because I was still under his leadership. But in marriage, the dynamics had changed.

Marriage Changes the Boundaries With Family

Genesis 2:24 says, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” And Matthew 19:4-5 says, “And He answered and said to them, ‘Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’”?

My truth is that I do not need protection from my husband because my husband and I are supposed to be one flesh. Before marriage, we were two individuals, and I could be protected from him. But when marriage sets in, we stop being two separate entities and become one flesh.

Genesis 2:23 says, "We have now become bone of bones and flesh of flesh with one another.” And this understanding has been part of the protection my marriage has enjoyed from external influence for more than 22 years of its existence.  

What Works in One Marriage May Not Work in Another

One of the reasons why I deliberately ward off external interference from my marriage is that humans are peculiar and unique. And so, every marriage is peculiar and unique. No two marriages are identical, so a solution that may work for you does not necessarily mean it will work for me.

The strategy that applies to you may not apply to me. The grace for implementation may differ. The temperament of our spouses differs; their foundation and upbringing differ; their viewpoint on issues differs. So, if I implement advice given to me by a third party and it fails, I am accountable for the outcome, and I bear the consequences afterward. The one who gave me the advice has nothing to lose.

Seek God First When Your Marriage Is in Trouble

So, when I need to solve a problem in my marriage, which is always the case every now and then, I go directly to God. I pray to the Lord over the issue. And God always shows up. He always solves my problems for me. He intervenes and gives me divine strategies that have never failed.  

The primary source of counsel for my marriage has been the Word of God. Every time I run to God for direction when the road seems rough, He speaks to me and confirms it with His word. As a human who feels hurt oftentimes and wants to take matters into my own hands, His word has been a timely caution for me.

So, like every person who is married, this journey is one I have never taken before, and there are bumps on the way. Disagreements happen; misunderstandings happen; my husband and I do not align all the time; and sometimes the love grows very cold.

I have realized that when you share your experience with other people, you find common ground in those shared experiences. But the honest truth is that the approach needed or applied in dealing with these issues will differ. It may be the one going through the experience or the spouse who is the architect of the experience that is different from one scenario to the other. So, strategies will differ.

God's Rules of Engagement in Marriage — discover God’s principles for navigating marriage with wisdom, protecting your covenant, and building a relationship that can withstand the pressures around it.

When You Need Marriage Advice, Choose Your Counsel Carefully

That being said, I am not ruling out the need to seek advice when needed, even in your marriage. My own approach is not a general rule, and it is also subject to one’s level of maturity as a child of God and in the issues of life. So, sometimes you will need to seek advice; you will need to seek counsel when you are so confused and emotionally down that it becomes difficult to hear from God.

There are times you will be so emotionally heavy that all you want to do is pour your heart out to someone, and because your spouse is the person causing the heaviness in your heart, they become the most unlikely person you want to unburden to.

This is the point at which you are most vulnerable, and unburdening your heart to the wrong person will be wrong for you. It is very okay to seek counsel, but it is not okay to seek counsel from the wrong person. And this is where care is needed. The person you will trust with the challenges of your marriage, other than God, needs to be chosen with great care.

Your most trusted confidant when it comes to the delicate issues of your marriage does not have to be a family member or a pastor. It does not have to be your parents or your siblings. But in wisdom, you need to choose someone who is mature and experienced in what you may be going through and who loves you enough to tell you the honest truth, even when it hurts.

Not Everyone Who Loves You Can Give You Unbiased Advice

Some people think that confiding in their family members is the safest thing to do, even though your parents may be mature in experience. Sometimes, the people who love you most can love you away from the truth.

They do not qualify as unbiased counsel. So, in cases where you are in the wrong, you may lose the opportunity to hear it as it is. In some cases, they even live in denial that you could be the one in the wrong.

You also find some other categories of people who give you very wrong advice. They tell you to do what they would never do in their own homes and marriages. Some of this advice feels so on point that the anger and vulnerability at the time will prevent you from seeing the huge red flags in the advice.

Some People Will Give You Advice They Would Never Follow

I had one such experience within the first 7 years of my marriage. My husband had continuously done something that hurt me, and addressing it with him would always result in fights. I got to talk with one of his relatives one day and opened up to her about my pain. My thought was that she would be objective enough to counsel me.

Honestly, she told me all I wanted to hear and emboldened me to stand my ground and not take any rubbish from my husband. By the end of our conversation, I was charged up and poised to confront my husband and tell him enough was enough. And that was exactly what I went back home to do. I stood my ground, and the situation just grew worse.

Then, after a couple of months, I went back to visit this relative for a completely different reason, nothing to do with my marriage at all. What I found in her home showed me how stupid I had been. The person who had advised that I stand my ground a couple of months earlier was displaying a great deal of reverence for her own husband. More like worshipping the ground he walked on.

That was another wake-up call for me and a huge brain reset. That day was the last time I ever said anything regarding my experience in my marriage to that woman. When I sat down to rethink the whole situation, I realized she had no blame and would face no consequences for whatever happened in my marriage.

It was not her responsibility to guide and guard my marriage for me. Shielding my marriage from influences like hers was my assignment and no one else’s. The joy of my marriage is mine to enjoy, and the pain of my marriage is mine to fix.

A lot of people have advised others to get a divorce over situations that can easily be fixed, while they remain in their own marriages, enduring worse things. I am not speaking here about abuse, violence, or situations in which someone's safety is at risk. Those require appropriate help and intervention.

Guard Your Marriage and Protect Your Privacy

As I conclude this blog message, I encourage you who are reading this first to learn to hear from God. The best source of advice and strategy that you need to navigate the journey of marriage successfully comes from God. When hearing from God is difficult for you, find the strength to pray that God will direct His vessel in human form to you, who will be a mouthpiece for God in your life.

Be careful who you allow access into your space. Choose your friends wisely and prayerfully. Choose with care the information that you give away to those around you. There is no point in sharing your vulnerable information with those who do not possess the ability to solve your problems.

Make your story a need-to-know private matter. Both your wins are yours to celebrate, and your losses are yours to learn from and fix. If they don’t need to know, then they don’t have to know, and you should not be apologetic about private information. Your marriage is your private information. 

Today’s post is the ninth of a three-month series on the big topic of marriage. If this message is speaking to you, then you need more than just a blog post—you need a guide. My book God’s Rules of Engagement in Marriage walks you step-by-step through building a marriage that stands strong, even in difficult seasons.

Click the book image or the "click for details" button below to get your copy.

4 Biblical Principles of Marriage that Actually Work

When you apply Godly principles based on the truth of the Bible to any aspect of your life, there is only one possible outcome, and that is success. I say this because God is forever faithful to His promises. He makes all things beautiful in His set appropriate time, and with Him, all things are possible, and He is the master strategist.

Here is a question that is quick to come to mind when observing marriages today: Why do some marriages flourish while others slowly fall apart, even when both couples begin with good intentions? There is a lot of marriage advice flying everywhere in our world today.

You find women advised not to get too ambitious, so as not to scare their potential husbands away. Some say, in marriage, you need to speak and not die in silence. And men are advised against ambitious women who cannot be controlled in their marriage.  

Interestingly, this diverse and erroneous advice only shortchanges those who accept and apply it. Proverbs 19:21says, "There are many plans in a man's heart, nevertheless the Lord's counsel—that will stand." Some people would have missed out on a good spouse just because they took the wrong advice.  

Why God's Design for Marriage Always Works   

The two most critical Biblical marriage principles that are proven to work effectively in marriages are found in Ephesians 5:22-31. What you will find in this scripture is the instruction to the wives to submit to their husbands as unto the Lord, and for the husbands to love their wives as Christ loves the church.

As simple as these principles may seem, they are proven to be the most disobeyed. Yet they are the basis of every truly successful marriage. A lack of understanding of these principles has led to their abuse, which has, in turn, led to the fallout in many marriages.

I discussed these principles in great length in my very first blog post of this series titled “What does the Bible actually say about marriage roles?” I cannot overemphasize the fact that submission in marriage is not suppression. A woman who feels she has to fight for her place in marriage did not understand her purpose in marriage to begin with, because marriage is not a union you go into to fight.

Principle One: Submission as an Act of Worship

A woman who submits to her husband in reverence to God, ensuring obedience to God through submission to her husband, already secures her place in that marriage. This is because when her obedience is complete, God will deal with every disobedience in her life (2 Corinthians 10:6). 

But more importantly, God did not instruct the wife to submit to her husband because she is inferior to her husband or that she is his subordinate. It's because submission gives the husband more room to love his wife like Christ loves the church. Jesus loves the church, and the church submits to Jesus. Yet we are all joint heirs with Christ Jesus (Romans 8:17).

So the first Biblical principle of marriage that is proven to work is submission on the part of the wife as unto the Lord. The second principle is also found in Ephesians 5:25-29. It is the principle of unconditional love from a husband to his wife in the manner in which Christ loves the church.

Principle Two: Love Without Conditions

What God demands of a man in principle number two is deeper than most men understand it to be. I say this because a lot of men attach conditions to the love they have and give to their wives, and that is far from the manner in which Christ loves the church.

Sadly, there are men who have entered into marriage solely because of what they perceive as benefits from the woman they are getting married to. Once the benefits expire, the love dies, and they are on to the next woman.

For them, marriage is not a commitment; it is a transaction. And once the proceeds are not adding up, the wife becomes an irritant, a burden, and they are only staying for fear of legal actions. But that is not what marriage is designed to be.

A man who cannot love his wife for better and for worse will do himself and the woman he is planning to tie down a lot of good by walking away before the vows are taken and the oath is sworn. A husband should be the physical display of God’s unconditional love for the woman he is marrying. He is on assignment for God to love that woman like God loves her and nothing less.

If these two principles are lived with a hundred percent commitment in any marriage, there is no doubt that such a marriage will be a resounding success. When a husband loves sacrificially, and a wife responds in reverence to God, something beautiful begins to emerge: unity. And that leads me to the third principle.

God's Rules of Engagement in Marriage — a step-by-step guide to living out the four Biblical principles that actually make a marriage strong enough to last.

Principle Three: Build a Marriage Marked by Unity

Matthew 18:19 reads, “Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven.” The third Biblical principle of marriage that works is the principle of unity in marriage. What other two can come together and agree that can be as effective as the coming together of a husband and his wife?

Ecclesiastes 4:9 says, “Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their labor.” Verses 10-12 elaborate on this and show us more about the benefits of why two are better than one. What unity in marriage guarantees is prosperity. When there is oneness of mind, purpose, and goals, the doors of breakthrough begin to open.

Genesis 11:6 reads, “And the Lord said, 'Indeed the people are one, and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they purpose to do will be withheld from them.” This scripture confirms to us that once there is a unity of mind, purpose, and goal, then nothing purposed by a united force of a husband and wife will be withheld from them. And if this united couple has God in the center of that union, it makes the possibility of achievement stronger.

But unity in marriage does not just come. It is cultivated; it is built with determination and resilience. Because in truth, there will be differences in opinions, views, values, and sometimes beliefs. But there should always be a point of letting go for the purpose of protecting the unity of the marriage.

Sacrifices of opinions and views will have to be made in order to protect the unity of the marriage. As a husband or wife, you don’t always have to be right. Instead, protect the unity of your marriage, which benefits more than the satisfaction of being right.

Amos 3:3 says, “Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?” This scripture shows us the requisite ingredient to unity. And that is agreement. For one to walk together, which is an indication of unity, there must be an agreement.

That agreement may not be something that either partner is convinced of the decision of the other, but for unity to thrive, sacrifices of opinion have to be made. But what I will not forget to say is that all decisions need to be brought before the Lord. As we read earlier in Proverbs 19:21, only the counsel of the Lord stands.

Principle Four: Communicate with Wisdom and Grace

The last principle that I want to touch on before I conclude this blog is that of communication. I have often heard advice like “speak your truth and don't die in silence.” I totally agree that one of the major success factors in any marriage is effective communication, but I want to emphasize the word EFFECTIVE because not all communication is effective.

For a successful marriage, what you say, when you say it, and how you say it all matter a great deal. Proverbs 18:2 says, “A fool has no delight in understanding, but only in airing his opinions.” This scripture is so on point with what we need to understand about communication in marriage.

Sometimes, airing your opinion does not improve anything; it only makes it worse. Proverbs 18:6 says, “A fool’s lips enter into contention, and his mouth calls for blows.” While I do not and will never support violence in any marriage, I am tempted to say that a handful of violence in marriage originates from airing opinions when it is not okay to do so.

Effective communication in marriage cannot be overemphasized. Proverbs 16:24 says, “Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the bones.” The Bible doesn’t lie. When you say what you have to say in the manner described in Proverbs 16:24, it becomes effective communication.   

When you are angry, please don’t speak. Pray instead. God will lead you on what to say, how to say it, and when to say it, so that it will have maximum impact, without sparking further problems.

Living Out God's Principles Every Day

I hope this has been useful to you as you read it. These principles don’t just work because they came from the Bible; I have applied them to my life, I live by them, and I have benefited from them, and that is why I share them with you.

For any of the principles that feel hard to implement in your life, take them to God in prayer. The Holy Spirit will hold your hands and help you live them in your life. He did that for me, and I know He will do the same for you.

No marriage becomes strong overnight. Strong marriages are built one biblical decision at a time. Every act of obedience to God's Word lays another stone in a foundation that can withstand life's storms.

Today’s post is the eighth of a three-month series on the big topic of marriage. If this message is speaking to you, then you need more than just a blog post—you need a guide. My book God’s Rules of Engagement in Marriage walks you step-by-step through building a marriage that stands strong, even in difficult seasons.

Click the book image or the "click for details" button below to get your copy.

Why I Had to Teach What the Bible Says About Marriage

I also shared the thinking that marriage was a bondage, when all the butterflies I had in me before getting married all disappeared, and I was faced with the harsh reality that my expectations and my reality were miles apart. But I took some steps back and shifted my position, understanding that if this marriage was to work, I needed to do some work.

Why Marriage Became My Passion

Talking about marriage has been one of the most fulfilling aspects of my existence. In a world where negativity thrives and marriage vices shout so loudly, I find purpose in telling the other side of the story. If there are so many sad marriage stories, awful endings, and messy breakups that are going viral on our social media spaces, I think we also need to have some positive stories, too.

There is a need to give hope to the upcoming marriages. In reality, more marriages thrive in the midst of struggles, weather tough challenges, stay strong together in spite of the differences in opinions and ideas of those in the marriage, and even disagreements that cannot be denied, than the marriages that are failing. But the negative marriage stories are traveling farther and wider.

The Painful Reality I Couldn't Ignore

In my adult years, I have spoken to a lot of women regarding the topic of marriage, and their views of it have been very concerning. Quite a handful of women see their husbands as never-do-wells. I believe a lot of these originate from what they have experienced in their marriages and stories they have heard or passed down notions from parents’ experiences or even relatives' marriages that they have seen.

And this observation is not limited to just casual women, but this anomaly also comes from those who are of the faith: those who are pastors' wives, and even those who stand on the pulpit to preach. The situation is so bad that we now have people come forward, with a microphone in hand, and tell the world God told them to get a divorce.

But while we will not deny that there may be trouble in paradise, and the devil has greatly worked his way into the marriage institution, God also will not fold His hands and let the devil win over and destroy what He created and certified to be good. 

So, God is raising voices, and He is impressing it in the hearts of those who will yield to that call to rise and tell the story of the goodness of marriage. And one such voice is my humble self, driven with passion and purpose to tell the story of the resilience and beauty of marriage.

My Own Marriage Wasn't Always Beautiful

One truth that I am burdened to share is that just like those who shout about the horrors of marriage, I have had my own very good share of marriage struggles. In my self-effort, I have prayed hard to God for a divorce; I have, in fact, contemplated suicide. But I have also surrendered my troubles and challenges to God. I handed the reins to Him and let Him lead me while I painstakingly followed after His leading.

Were those experiences easy? Most definitely not. Were they challenging even to the bones? I can tell you for free that it’s a big YES. But looking at where I am today, and what I have been through and come out of, I know without a doubt that when God is allowed to lead, the story will always end in praise.

I have been married for over 22 years, and I am writing this in the year 2026. I have seen it all in marriage. I have experienced things that, when I share my story, those who hear it tell me they can’t stay in such a marriage. But here I am in that same marriage, with the same husband, and having the best time of my life. And only God made it happen.

Those close to me say I have a special grace, but I beg to differ. The grace of God is like an ocean of water. The container you fetch grace with from the ocean of grace determines the quantity of grace that you will take away.

God's grace is abundantly available to all, but how much we receive often depends on how much we trust Him. No one is given more grace than another when it comes to having faith to receive from God, because God is a just and fair God. But your volume of grace is directly proportional to your container of faith and trust in God.

God's Rules of Engagement in Marriage — a step-by-step guide to fighting for your marriage instead of against your spouse, even when restoration feels impossible.

What God Taught Me About Restoration

At the time when there was nothing else to hold on to, I held onto God. I didn’t tell God what to do, or how to do it. I simply cried for help and let Him do what I couldn’t do for myself in a way that I could never have done and succeeded. God restored my marriage; I was just a willing partner in the whole process.

In Matthew 19:8, Jesus confirmed that Moses permitted divorce because the heart of men was wicked, but in the beginning, it was not so. So, the importance of willingness in the restoration of a challenged marriage cannot be overemphasized.

The problem is not whether God can restore a challenged marriage, but whether we are willing to set aside the hurt that we are feeling and not carry the weight of our troubles on ourselves, but let God truly heal and restore what the enemy has destroyed.

Why I Chose to Teach What the Bible Says About Marriage

Sometimes, I get to think and wonder if God would truly permit people to get a divorce, like people have been announcing to the world that He did in our present times. But God is a Father who does not force us to obey Him. If He expresses His will and you disagree, He lets you have your way. Unfortunately, you also carry the burden of that decision.

But what is most unfortunate in that is the fact that these people who still have God’s oil on their lives mislead others who assume that if it was okay for God to let them do that, then they can also do it and it wouldn’t be a sin.

So, here I am with a counter experience. That is why I am led to teach about marriages and let the world see the other side of the divide. The one that ends in happily ever after without bitterness and divorce.

God made this happen for me. And going through all that I went through, coming out of it with better love and attention from the same husband, in the same marriage, and having to share my story, I appreciate now why God put me through that season.

Without me experiencing it firsthand, I would say it can never happen. But it happened to me. I won the war on my marriage. God helped me dig out my husband’s love for me, and now we are two adult love birds.

There Is Hope for Your Marriage

My experience is not an isolated one. I believe there are more stories like mine out there than there are negative ones. But the truth is that the negative story gains more ground and is loudly amplified. But for those having marital troubles, you are not alone, and you can win without bitterness and divorce.

Your willingness to let God handle things and lead you to win should be your first call. And follow that with your willingness to let go of the hurt you feel. That may seem like the hard part, but when you understand that your fight is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers and rulers of darkness in high places (Ephesians 6:12), you will know that your spouse is not the problem; they are just a vessel in the hands of the real enemy.

These are the truths that God helped me to see and understand, which enabled me to redirect my emotions and focus on my real fight. With God’s leading, I fought for my husband and fought for my marriage. These are the reasons why I teach about what the Bible says about marriage. I have enjoyed these truths, and I am led to share them.

That said, I also recognize that not every marriage ends in restoration. Some people have faced abuse, abandonment, or situations where separation became necessary for safety. This series is not written to condemn anyone. It is written to point readers toward God's design for marriage and the hope that He can bring where hearts remain willing.

Today’s post is the seventh of a three-month series on the big topic of marriage. If this message is speaking to you, then you need more than just a blog post—you need a guide. My book God’s Rules of Engagement in Marriage walks you step-by-step through building a marriage that stands strong, even in difficult seasons.

Click the book image or the "click for details" button below to get your copy.