But there was no one like Ahab who sold himself to do wickedness in the sight of the Lord, because Jezebel his wife stirred him up. – 1 Kings 21:25

The first type of relationship with great potential to make or break anyone is marriage, particularly the choice of spouse that you say, “I do” to. Marital relationship is crucial to your balance and overall performance as an individual. You are as successful to the degree of cooperation you receive from your spouse. Based on his/her constitution, your spouse largely influences the thrust of your pursuits; when they are keen, you are also keen. But when they are not, you tend to doubt the workability of your ideas, and that may slow you down.

Marriage is a fundamental aspect of life. It is also a catalyst that colours and determines the thrust of your bearing in other areas of life – professional, social, academic, spiritual, emotional, etc. You are as settled in all these to the extent that your home is settled. And the portrait of your home is in direct relation to the personality of your spouse – cantankerous, reticent, ambitious, laid back, driven, carefree, focused, disciplined, scattered, spiritual, social, ethical, morally lax, sociable, introverted, thorough, superficial, and other value systems that your spouse espouses and to what extent.

From the passage above, we can see that even if Ahab wasn’t so bent on evil, the influence of his wife who “stirred him up” left him with little options to do otherwise. The Bible is replete with several examples of spousal factors in the determination of how one fares in life, so is our contemporary world. Solomon’s wives turned his heart away from the LORD and positioned him for divine retribution (1 Kings 11:4-9); Samson was ruined because of the kind of woman he married. Korah, Achan, and Ananias brought sudden death upon their wives and households because of their wrong choices. Abigail saved her husband and household from certain death (1 Samuel 25); Zipporah rescued Moses from being killed by God (Exodus 4:24-26). And Mary might not have been chosen to mother Jesus if she wasn’t married to a descendant of Judah, particularly from David’s lineage. These are all pointers to the sensitivity of the choice of person you decide to spend the rest of your life with in marriage.

Marriage is something that should be approached with lots of fervent prayers for divine direction, as it is a destiny issue. Your spouse is your first destiny partner, and s/he can either fast-track, slow down or even stagnate you. That is on the light side; at the extreme, many people have had their lives cut short directly by their spouse or indirectly through their spouse’s choices or misdeeds. If you marry an unbeliever, the devil is your father-in-law.

You will succeed in Jesus Name!

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