Ignite the Fire: 4 Ways to Invest In your Husband

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4 Ways to Invest In Your Husband

September 2, 2013 by Courtney 18 Comments

Today we begin Week 1 of the “Ignite The Fire” Marriage Series!

An investment is something we commit to, in order to gain a return.  We invest money in retirement plans.  We invest time into things we enjoy and we invest our hearts in those we love.
The opposite of investment is to take out, drain, use up or treat as expendable.
Have you looked at your time spent on your husband as an investment?
Many in our culture today, go into marriage thinking about what they can take out of the relationship.  They are “me” focused and when the marriage fails to give “me” an immediate return – they treat the marriage like it’s expendable.  Out they go.

Recently I was listening to Matt Chandler speaking on a video and he said – (this is a paraphrase)
“We live in a culture that does not understand love.  It is “unsexy” to say “I’m in this and I’m not going anywhere.”  Instead our culture views that as, “you poor soul, you mean you don’t have butterflies in your stomach everytime you see that person?  God would want you to have that.”  But as someone who laid on the floor and was completely helpless for 18 months (Matt suffered from a malignant brain tumor in 2009) and to have my wife say “I love you and I’m not going anywhere.”  Let me tell you, it’s a far sexier love when you have nothing to offer and are definitely not meeting any of their needs  and they still say, “I love you and I’m not going anywhere”.  We need to teach the world what real love is.  This is a gospel issue.  Our culture simply does not have the framework to understand.”

Loving our husband through the hard times, through the valleys, and when they are most unlovable  - reveals the gospel in our lives.  It shows that we are true followers of Christ –  loving unconditionally and laying our lives down for another.
Some think marriage is a bad investment!  They tell our young ones to wait as long as they can before “tying the knot” or encourage them to live together and test this marriage thing out before committing.
There is a stigma to marrying young.
But can I say for all those who just can’t understand why some marry so young…
If you are striving to remain pure until your wedding day –then cohabiting is not an option and marrying young is likely and to be praised!
Many who are waiting because they are just too young to make such a large decision are living in sin and in fornication because society has perverted the glorious view of marriage that God created for us to enjoy and…invest in!
Sweet wives – you hold a precious title.  The title of Wife!  Social confusion, discontentment and dissatisfaction will bring us down if we do not rise above it through the power of God and his word.
According to Proverbs 31:10 – A good wife is of exceptional worth. We hold a vital role in the life of our husbands. God said in Genesis 2:18 “It is not good for a man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.” There is nothing on earth more fulfilling than the intimacy I share with my husband and the day our wedding bells rang – I was thrilled to be receiving the title “wife”.
But this coming week, my husband and I will  celebrate 16 years since those wedding bells rang and it’s true – the butterflies are a lot less frequent.  But the depth of love, from embracing our roles written out in scripture, knows no bounds.  It multiplies exponentially every year!
It is by far the best investment I’ve made in my life and each time I invest my time, energy, heart and soul into my marriage – I continue to reap a return on my investment.
But we all have weak spots and parts of our marriage that we have neglected to pour time or energy into.  Sometimes it’s our husband who points these spots out and other times – we just know in our heart that we have been neglectful.

Here are 4 Ways to Invest in Your Husband this week:
1.  Pray –  Have you prayed for your husband yet today?  Pause right now and cover him in prayer.
2. Communicate - have you told your husband you love him and appreciate him yet today? Pause – email or text him right now and tell him how grateful you are for him.
3. Get physically intimate – have you kissed your husband yet today? Purpose to kiss him like you mean it the next time you see him.
4. Get help - Do the tasks in #1 through #3 appear daunting, impossible, undesirable or nearly offensive to you…get help. Your marriage is not in a good place if you are no longer spiritually, emotionally and physically able to invest in your husband.  If you cannot bring yourself to do these three things on your own – then you need the help of God and possibly a trusted counselor, pastor, mentor or Christian marriage book, to help you break through the walls that have been built up in your marriage.

I want to invite you to join me in accepting the challenge of Week 1 of the Ignite Your Fire series?

Ignite the passion in your marriage by investing into your husband joyfully.  This may look different in every marriage.  The challenge is to focus on an area of your marriage that is a little weak and pour time, energy and love into it.

Walk with the King,

Courtney