LOVE NEVER FAILS: I don’t feel supported

Have you ever felt, “I just don't feel supported?” Have you ever said in a moment of frustration, “Will you help me?” What would our marriages look like if we lived out 1 Corinthians 13:7, Love, ”bearth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things?” Our marriage satisfaction rates would be much higher if we as a society lived out this passage of scripture. What does it mean to bear all things? To bear involves action; it's being intentional about helping your partner. As we know, in marriage, each partner’s attitude of working together as a team is critical. Marriage is no longer a “me” phenomenon, the “what is mine is mine” mentality.

On the contrary, marriage is a “we” concept where it’s “our” issue; we work for unity, harmony, and oneness. We call this concept the “Tool of We.“ Commitment in marriage encompasses the idea of bearing, believing, hoping, and enduring all things.

Marriage comes with many challenges. Life itself has many hard places that we must navigate. Having your best friend, your marriage partner, to support you is a wonderful thing. The load is much easier to carry with help. The writer of this beautiful passage says that love endures all things. According to Wiktionary, to endure means to take, tolerate, or stay; it means we come through it. Marriage takes stamina and resilience. When you feel like giving up on your marriage, DON’T GIVE UP. Instead, GET HELP! There is HOPE! You can connect with a Christian therapist, counselor, or coach to give you tools and skills to learn how to support your spouse and have a healthy marriage. Commitment in marriage includes each spouse supporting the other.

Do you support your spouse in their time of trouble or difficulty? Did you know that when one person in the marriage has a problem, the marriage has a problem? When you lose a job, experience illness, lose a child or parent, or go to serve in military duties, these life experiences bring stress to the marriage. Remaining committed to each other in marriage during times of stress is vital. It takes both people to work together to solve problems in the marriage. Marriage is a team. When both people in a marriage see the need to support each other, the marriage wins. Sometimes, one partner will need to carry the weight of the other. When I, Celeste, became ill with debilitating sciatica, I had trouble walking and was limited in doing everyday activities. Thank God Kelvin was there to assist me. He was very supportive and remained constant when life was rocky and hard. Here is an excellent example of what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 13:7 on how to love and support your spouse.

LIFE APPLICATION

1. In what way can you support your spouse this week? Have a conversation with your spouse this week to see how you can best help each other.

2. Your spouse can not read your mind. When you don’t feel supported, kindly explain how your spouse can help you.

3. Thank your spouse when they support you, and thank them for trying to help you.

Want to know more about how to have a Rockin Christian Marriage? See our online programs at www.coachustoday.com. We offer Christian relationship coaching. Explore music by Celeste on the site. Follow us on Facebook (Christian Relationship Coaching).