We were living paycheck to paycheck. More money was going out than coming in. The medical bills alone – from delivering my (Rachel Daniel of Brave Pursuit) two daughters in ten months – were astonishing even with insurance. There was no Financial Peace in our Christian Marriage and Joy was in short supply.
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Christian Marriage is hard work, parenting is hard work, and working is hard work.
Adult life comes with financial burdens:
- A mortgage
- Car payments
- College tuition
- Baby needs
- More bills than we ever imagined
And with each new burden, our marriage began to crack. We were either spending our money on going out – to take our mind off of our daily demands- or we were spending our nights arguing. We were always a week away from a payday with no money in the bank for gas or diapers.
Our marriage was cracking at the seams, and nothing we were doing seemed to help.
Looking back, I realize our financial problems were seeping into the other parts of our lives, creating friction. Divorce was on the horizon, and neither of us knew what to do to stop it. Lauren Daigle’s song “O’Lord” has a beautiful lyric that describes this moment in our marriage perfectly: “Your strength is found at the end of my road.”
Ecclesiastes 3:11 He has made everything appropriate in its time.
God’s timing is so incredibly perfect.
A colleague mentioned a financial class that he and his wife had taken. Not only did it allow them to get out of debt, but it saved their marriage. I believe with all my heart that God spoke through this man, and my heart received the wisdom that the Holy Spirit was sharing with me.
The choice to join Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University
After much talking, debating, and even some arguing, we signed up for the financial class. The first few visits were brutal. It forced us to take inventory of all the irresponsible financial choices we had made.
We had to stand at the base of our mountain of bills and decide what we were going to do to overcome this problem. It was not God’s will for us to live enslaved to our debt. The debt was stealing the Joy in our Christian Marriage.
Romans 13:8 Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another…
Over the course of the next few weeks, we had many difficult conversations. We each had to take full responsibility for our own part in the spending. It’s not easy looking the person you love the most in the eyes and telling them that you failed them. Repentance, whether to God or your spouse, is never easy, but it opens the door for grace and mercy to flow in like a healing ocean wave (Lamentations 3:22-23).
Financial Peace Will Reclaim Joy in a Christian Marriage
We completed the class and committed to putting into practice what we had learned. Finally, we had become partners in our finances, having budget meetings where we discussed what was the best plan for our money that pay-period.
Our willingness to converse regularly about our finances turned into an open dialogue for the other parts of our lives. Regular Communication not only freed us from the bonds of debt, but it saved our marriage. I can truly say that we are happier and more in love than we’ve ever been.
God desires His people to be financially responsible, and He desires for husbands and wives to be in harmony with one another (Mark 10:6-9). Let me encourage you to become partners with your spouse in your finances. With God’s help, your financial burden will become your financial legacy.
How are your finances?
Do you spend time together working on them? I created a simple budget to help you start the process of finding Financial Peace. Download it below!
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Communication is such a huge factor in the health of our Marriages! We keep coming back to it for just that reason! Thank you so much, Rachel, for sharing such an amazing testimony of God’s faithfulness as you walked through this Path to Financial Peace!
Is Communication a struggle in your Marriage? It is listed as the #1 reason for divorce in the US. Be sure to check out The Marriage Communication Mini-Course from the HopeJoyinChrist Shop!
- Inside the course, you will learn How to Season your Speech and Strengthen Your Marriage in Playful Ways.
Our Words are a sign of what is really happening in our hearts, Learn when to Pray and when to Speak the Truth in Love, Let God filter your words, Find Playful Ways to say things instead of nagging, Replace deadly words and phrases, Learn how to look deeper into your words and recognize what you’ve not forgiven and so much more
Do you need some encouragement to keep pressing into that Daily Commitment? We could all use a community to help us in Reclaiming Hope & Joy in our marriages!
We just finished a 31 day Series to help us Reclaim Hope & Joy in Marriage by Intentionally Investing in our Christian Marriage. Get the articles Free in this downloadable e-Book. And Be sure to check out the Wives Only FB Group where Christian Wives chose Hope and Joy in every Season
BIO: My name is Rachel Daniel, and I’m a sinner saved by the grace, love, and mercy of Jesus Christ. I’ve been blessed to be married to my best-friend, and together we are blessed to have two smart, sweet little girls. Recently, I felt God calling me to into a life of writing to share His Love and His Word with the world around me. I’m excited to see where this new journey is going to take me. I’d love to have you join me on this journey as each day we draw closer to meeting our Savior again.