Trusting God with our marriage or with life as a single parent is our project for this month.
Trusting God with Kids: Progress Report
As usual, I’d like to begin by talking about how trusting God went last month. Our topic was trusting God with our kids. My daughter did not develop whooping cough, but she did get another diagnosis that we are praying will be treated effectively. I also had to trust my teen driver to get this same daughter to volleyball camp with a 40-minute drive in rush hour. And I always have to trust God with the choices my adult kids make.
This project has made a big difference in my anxiety level and has decreased the time I spend worrying. I pray that it is helping you too. I read a wonderful devotion in My Weakness for His Strength, Volume 2 by Michael Wells this morning. Michael wrote that the world attempts to brainwash us night and day that there is no God and even if there is, He does nothing on our behalf. We have to resist these lies by renewing our minds. That’s what the Trust Project is all about.
Why Trust God with Your Marriage or Single Parenting?
The first question to answer using your Trust Project printables is what are the benefits of trusting God with our marriage or with single parenting?
I know I will have a much happier marriage and much less stress. My faith in God will grow as I see the Lord working in and through my husband.
What Will Be Different if You Trust God with Your Marriage or Single Parenting?
Next, what will you stop and start doing if you are trusting God in this area? I will stop the compulsion to remind my husband to put safety first. I will believe that God is in control of my husband’s life and wellbeing. I will start praying for my husband more. I will add his safety and faith to my prayer list.
The next question is what would trusting God with marriage or single parenting look like? For me, it would mean telling my husband to have a good time on his outings without a safety reminder. It would mean entrusting Him to God in prayer. It would mean believing that God gives me guidance through my husband’s decisions.
Marriage and Single Parenting: TRUST
Now let’s move into our TRUST acronym. T is for truth. What is the truth about God and marriage or single parenting? Our Scripture to meditate on is 1 John 4:16:
“And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.”
Whether we are single or married, God loves us. We can rely on that. He will work all things together for our good. Our biblical account is from 1 Samuel 25. This is about Abigail who was in an unhappy marriage. She keeps David from avenging himself on her husband. She says something remarkable to him:
“The Lord your God will certainly make a lasting dynasty for my lord, because you fight the Lord’s battles, and no wrongdoing will be found in you as long as you live.”
The respect she pays him and the belief in him had to have bowled David over. We know that when the Lord took her husband’s life, David married her. We can trust God to care for us even if our husbands aren’t trustworthy.
The next part of truth is addressing lies we believe in this area. One lie that I think both singles and married women believe is that we won’t make it without a husband.
I had a single friend whose car broke down. She prayed aloud. “Lord, You are my husband. If I had an earthly husband, he would take care of this car for me. But I don’t, so it’s all on You.” You can imagine what happened. The Lord sent kindly men to get her back on the road.
Another lie I’ve believed is that God only works through me and not my husband. In other words, there are some truths that only I have been privileged to understand. While it is true that my husband has made mistakes — don’t we all — I know I can trust God to protect me while I am under my husband’s leadership. Whenever I doubt this, I think of poor Sara who found herself in a Pharoah’s harem because of her husband’s decision. She was not only delivered but praised for continuing to honor her husband.
The R in TRUST is for remembering. How has God proved Himself trustworthy in your marriage or singlehood? There was a time in my marriage when I felt that I was destined to stay unhappy. I was so miserable because of the circumstances (and to honor my husband, I want to make it clear that he had not been unfaithful). I had no other option but to cry out to the Lord for help in changing my heart. That prayer was answered in less than a day. My love for my husband and my happiness were supernaturally restored.
The U in TRUST is for understanding. What has God made clear that you should do with respect to your marriage or singlehood? When my husband drives, I already know that I need to stop “bracing for impact” as he calls it. I have to pay him respect, even when he does something I disagree with.
The S in TRUST is for supplication. We pray for our needs to be met, apart from a relationship. We ask how we can serve God and our spouse better. And, of course, we pray for our spouses, believing that God hears our prayers for their faith, health, success, and relationships. We can ask for our husbands’ prayer requests. And we can make time to pray together. The divorce rate for couples who pray together is very, very low.
The final T in TRUST is for thanksgiving. Take time today to thank God for His provision in your single parenting or for your husband. I hear from moms all the time who are unhappy with their husbands’ traits that are so different from their own. But God puts opposite strengths together all the time with good reason. Thank God for that. Thank God for all the blessings He has given to your man. I am so thankful that the stroke my husband this March was not severe and that he is recovering.
The T in thanksgiving is also to remind us to thank those who protect and care for us, spouses included. When I was a single woman in college, an older gentleman from my church would come and get my car and have it serviced for me. What a blessing! I thanked him for his help with a sincere heart. But I am reminded today that I need to thank my husband for all the things he does for me and our family. I hope you’ll do the same.
Trust God with your singlehood or with your marriage. He is worthy of our trust. Next month, we’ll talk about trusting God with finances. So get all your worry about money out now. Just kidding!
Which is a bigger struggle for you: trusting God with your kids or your marriage? Comment and let me know.
