Devotional: Discovering God’s Purpose For Your Marriage

There are two very important questions I want to ask that you consider as you begin to read this.
1. Do you believe God put you and your spouse together?
2. Do you know why God has put you together?

If you are like many couples then you probably answered the first question with a resounding YES! At least we hope you did…

But like many others, that second question may have frustrated you. At least I know it has for me and Amanda in the past.

Here’s the thing, you and your spouse have been brought together in marriage for a very specific, God-given purpose. Knowing this purpose and living from it together can have powerful effects in your relationship.

And this purpose is available for you to understand and live from today. It’s not a secret and it’s not changing.

Amanda and I love what the Psalmist declares in Psalm 33:11…

Psalm 33:11 – But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations.

So what are the Lord’s plans for you? What are the purposes of His heart for your marriage?

Thankfully, He hasn’t made it a secret. You don’t have to go through a 31-day season of prayer and fasting to finally see it. Our God has made His purpose for your marriage readily available for each and every single one of us to discover in His word.

So what is that purpose? Why have you and your spouse been placed together?

Genesis 1:26-27 – 26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness. They will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock, the whole earth, and the creatures that crawl[g] on the earth.”

27 So God created man
in his own image;
he created him in the image of God;
he created them male and female.

It’s in these words on the very first page of God’s word that we see His purpose laid out for you and your marriage. Do you see it?

Here’s your purpose: To bear His image to all of creation.

And while these words were written thousands of years ago, this purpose has not changed. Just like the Psalmist declared. This purpose stands firm and comes to you and your spouse right now.

Since the very beginning, this has been a purpose for your marriage and it is so much bigger than paying the bills, or raising the kids, or finding love. The purpose of imaging God in your marriage encompasses all of those things, but gives each of them a greater and deeper meaning.

Man and Woman were each created separately and each image God uniquely. But the joining together of these unique images of God into a loving connectedness and union is the final and greatest masterpiece made during creation. For after God had completed this He stopped and said…

It is very good.

Genesis 1:31 – God saw all that he had made, and it was very good indeed. Evening came and then morning: the sixth day.

God’s purpose is openly available to each and every single one of us. It is not hidden. The only question is whether we will choose to live it out.

You and your spouse have been joined together for a purpose that only you can live out. You have been placed together to uniquely image God in a way that only you can by becoming one.

He foresaw all your differences and subtleties. He is not surprised that you often think differently, behave differently, or see the world in different ways. That is all part of the plan!

You have both been crafted and created as masterpieces by God. You are each different in many varied ways and yet the same in one critical way: you are both unique image bearers of God.

And your purpose together? To take all those differences and unique qualities and become one.

Why? So that you can become an even greater image of God together. So that you can bring Him glory and honor in ways nobody else can.

That’s His purpose. It’s always been His purpose. And it’s open and available for you. Will you choose to live it out?

As you start this journey, begin by inviting God to continue to reveal how this purpose plays out in your everyday life. Ask Him to show you how you can uniquely give Him glory in your marriage by becoming one. And request that He would empower you to live out His purposes.