Observing your own faith grow is a very magical, blessed experience.
As women, we often have a strong desire to talk with others about the positive changes in our lives and to share our excitement in that regard.
What happens when we try to share our interest and enthusiasm with someone important to us, and the feeling of excitement is not returned?
More and more women are experiencing relationship struggles regarding their faith incompatibility with their significant other, best friend, or some other important person in their life.
Many couples do not regularly attend church together, as was the custom in years past.
I can relate! This has always been a roadblock in the way of thoroughly connecting with one another in my own marriage.
Although I have grown and matured in my faith over the years, my husband seems to have stayed stationary, in the same spot he was when we said our vows.
If partners or best friends do not understand each other’s stance on the topic of faith, it can become a source of deep relationship frustration!
Many times, I have found myself hoping and praying that my significant other would experience a deepening faith, as I have. I have wished for him to fully feel the love of God in the beautiful ways that I have. What a true blessing it is to actually sense God’s presence in your own life, to witness your own heart growing, and your love for your neighbor multiplying as faith deepens within you!
But after years of praying for my husband to experience what I have, I finally realized and accepted that each person has their very own “rate of growth” when it comes to their relationship with God.
We must find a way to be all right with our loved one’s level of faith and the speed of their journey of faith, as well. Just because you may be in high-speed pursuit does not mean that someone important to you can’t be on a casual horse and buggy ride toward knowing God better. Each person is entitled to their own rate of growth and understanding!
So rather than praying for your significant other to progress in faith in a manner similar to you, pray for them to progress in faith as God intends for them to progress!
As I began to pay closer attention to the “faith gap” between my significant other and myself, I realized that some of it was amplified by my desire for him to understand me more fully.
Who am I to expect that? All these years, I should have been praying for him to more fully understand God, not “my” faith. Because really, his relationship with God will blossom in its own way and at its own time as God leads him to a fuller understanding of his blessings and the importance of a solid relationship with God.
As you wait patiently for God to move in your loved one’s life, I would urge you to pray Romans 15:5-6 over your specific relationship (replacing “you” with “us/we”):
“May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (ESV)
Then, watch and wait. God is holding this relationship that is so precious to you in his hands. We can be certain that he has a plan and will bring it to fruition at the perfect time! So let us stop comparing our faith with that of our significant other or best friend, and let us embrace our differences and enjoy the ride as we wait and watch God move in their life, in his own time!
This post is written by Guest Contributor Angie Kutzer, who writes more on her blog: http://www.frommylifetoyourheart.com/about.html.
Recent Comments