These thoughts speed through the mind of most newly marrieds. Couples struggle with answers to those questions much of their marriage as they hang onto inappropriate expectations of marriage. John and Stasi Eldredge talk us through the reality of marriage to find “the marriage you have always dreamed of.”
Love and War, Devotional for Couples is a companion to their book, Love and War. Since I have not read the book, I was curious as to how meaningful the devotional would be as a stand-alone book.
The devotional has eight weeks/five days per week of devotional material. Each week has a theme:
1. Remembering What We Wanted
2. The Two Shall Become One
3. The Journey
4. Companionship
5. Your Spouse Is Not Your Enemy
6. The Little Foxes
7. Increasing Intimacy
8. The Most Excellent Way
The dimensions of the book are small; each devotional is 2-3 small pages, making them very easy to read and digest. Included at the end of each one is a prayer to offer to the Lord. On the fifth day of each week’s section is an exercise to aid in application. The exercises are written towards one person – not requiring the participation of the other spouse. They guide the way for one person to be able to make a difference in a marriage.
Most of us, who have been married for very long, learn that unconditional love is impossible on our own. I do not have the strength, the resources, or the capacity to love in that way. That kind of love only comes from God, but He has given us His Spirit to receive that love and to love others in the same way.
John and Stasi Eldridge make that concept come alive in their book and direct the reader back to the Lord who loves him with an everlasting love.
In the first day’s reading, they acknowledge how hard marriage is, but they also give hope. “Marriage is meant to be wonderful, and most of the time it is. Though it’s sometimes so hard, think of the difficulty as a doorway. A doorway to all the more Jesus has for us in himself. There is hope!”
Through the devotional they take the reader on a journey to find the heart of God towards them and towards their marriage. The journey is a love story. The love story expands beyond the couple to the kingdom of God.
"Remember, we live in a love story, set in the midst of war. Love is our destiny, and all hell is set against it. We wake each morning and find that we have to fight our way back to all that is true, fight off the thousand reasons to settle for less than the life we were created for. Our bodies awaken, but them our hearts and souls must awaken, too, so that we might play our part in the grand affair. And God has made our hearts in such a way that nothing awakens us quite like some great mission, which is ours alone to fulfill. You have a mission. Your spouse needs you. The kingdom of God needs your marriage. And God is on your side. It will worth it.”
It is worth it! This devotional will encourage you and give you hope. It will help you see God’s love for you and a path to the joy of loving your spouse in a way that transcends the difficulties of this life.
(I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.)
