How To Have A Marriage Where Forgiveness Flourishes
OPENING PRAYER:
Heavenly Father, show me how to have compassion for my spouse and how to have a marriage where forgiveness flows. Amen.
Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 1 Peter 4:8
For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. Matthew 6:14-15
REFLECT:
In a marriage, there will be times when it’s challenging (if this hasn’t already happened). Times like this can come along for many reasons; a financial situation, parenting our children, completing a project at home, or maybe even a series of poor choices our spouse made. Forgiveness sometimes seems impossible because of the amount of pain our spouse may have caused. When things like this happen, because they are inevitable, we have a choice to make: we can hold grudges against our spouse or forgive them. It’s tempting to want to remember all of the things our spouse did to make us upset, but even though it’s difficult, choosing to have a short memory and forgiving is always the best next step. If we don’t learn how to forgive in our marriage, it won’t be built to last because where forgiveness stops flourishing, life stops flourishing.
APPLY:
What grudges are you holding onto in your marriage? Is there anything you need to forgive your spouse for? Or is there anything you need to ask forgiveness for from your spouse? It can be hard to forgive, but the best way to move forward is to remember how much God has forgiven us for our wrongs and how much he sees past our faults. When we understand just how much we have been forgiven, it moves us to forgive as well.
CLOSING PRAYER:
Heavenly Father, help me to forgive my spouse in my marriage as you have forgiven me. Help me to show grace and for forgiveness to flourish in my marriage. Amen.