I came into our marriage and had just recently put my faith and trust in Jesus. I had little if any knowledge of the Bible, while my husband had Scripture memorized and could tell you the location of any book of the Bible. I felt insecure, and it took a toll on our marriage that I never realized.

I began to grow bitter to what my husband had with God; I wanted that too. But every time I opened the Bible I felt intimidated. This doesn’t make any sense. What does this mean?  I even wondered at times if opening my Bible was worth the work. Years passed, babies came, life got hard and so did marriage. The gap between God’s Word and me felt too wide.  

That was until the day God showed me that my faith and knowledge of Him rested in me opening His Word and not in my husband. So I began opening the Bible that sat on the shelf.I started small, and I read a few passages or verses a day. I began to journal prayers and seek the face of God above all else. I got up earlier in the quiet of the day, made my coffee and sat with my Bible open.

It was just me and God, no one else. I let God do the work that needed to be done. He was transforming me through His Word, and as He changed me, He changed my marriage. You see all the pressure I placed on my husband to be the spiritual nourishment I needed left him an idol in my life rather than what God created him to be. Being in the Word of God saved my marriage.

Here are four ways being in the Word saved my marriage (and continues to):

1. It’s not about me, my husband, or our marriage, it is about the finished work of the cross. When we open God’s Word, the Spirit of God teaches us the truth of who God is, and through this we understand who we are. The Bible shifts our hearts from self-focused to God-focused.

2. It makes me a better wife and mom. I cannot be a godly wife and mom apart from God and His Word. It is impossible, that is the long and short of it. It equips me to face whatever may come in my day, the good, bad, ugly, messy, or beautiful.

3. I’m humbled. We cannot ask God to change our husbands until he has changed us first. I am guilty of seeing the faults of my husband before I see my own.  Reading God’s Word softens my heart to want God to examine my own heart. My heart is humbled with self-reflection instead of outward blaming.

4. I’m reminded of what matters. When we make God’s Word a priority it shows what our priorities are. My day, attitude, and surroundings are noticeably different when I’ve been with God and in His Word. I need Him to work in me and show me of the one thing that matters – Him. There is so much to be grateful for.

Let’s commit together to be wives in God’s Word every day. To open it, take it in and allow God to change us in amazing ways. As He changes us, He will change our marriages and families.   

Wife Step: Commit to spending five minutes reading your Bible each day this week. Let us know how it goes!

Michelle is a writer and speaker on a mission to equip women to thrive in their walk with Jesus by getting into God’s Word every day. She is a wife to Jeremy – a Minister of Music, and mom to three wild and wonderful kids. She loves Christmas music all year, collecting shells, crazy socks, and drinking lots of coffee. You can find her at www.displayinggrace.com, on Instagram @displayinggrace, or on Facebook @Displaygrace.