Psalms 141:3-4 “God, give me grace to guard my lips from speaking what is wrong. Guide me away from temptation and doing evil. Save me from sinful habits and from keeping company with those who are experts in evil. Help me not to share in their sin in any way!”

The Big Idea: Learning to work through differences.

When two people are together, differing opinions occasionally arise, and if we learn to respect each other’s opinion, it can actually create more intimacy in the marriage. However, allowing differences to become battle zones is a different story.

In 1 Samuel 23, David heard Saul was in pursuit of him. Instead of praying about whether to attack Saul, David left the area. He recognized King Saul as an authority figure, and knew he must honor Saul’s position and was not ever supposed to battle him.

In our marriages, we don’t ever have to take a step back and pray about whether we should enter a verbal battle with our spouse. God wants us to live together in unity and harmony. When we fight battles we are not supposed to be engaged in, we’re likely to cause more harm than good. Satan recognizes the unity we have together as couples, and he will go to great lengths to bring division in marriages. Let's not wound each other. Instead, let’s be wise to Satan’s schemes, bite our tongues and not say anything we might later regret. James 1:19 says, “My dearest brothers and sisters, take this to heart: Be quick to listen, but slow to speak. And be slow to become angry.”

We should hear our spouses out, even if we don't think we will agree with what they have to say. At least we can acknowledge their opinion as valid. If a solution can't be reached, it's important to let it go for a while, both of you pray about it and discuss it again later. The key to finding the right solution is being willing for God to change your mind - and you in the process.

The Action Step:

This is a fun one! Go through a drive-thru together and order a treat. Find a parking spot and while you are enjoying your treat together, ask one another if there is anything that is between you, even if it seems small, that you could find a solution for. If you don’t have anything to work through, then share a time you did work through a difference in positive way. Celebrate the fact that your marriage is about finding solutions and working through differences effectively.