It’s easier to make a vow than to keep one. Do you agree? Anyone can promise to have faith in each other, but life takes us to the edge where it’s not easy to keep believing. If faith doesn’t act, then it’s not faith at all.
I couldn’t see all of Pike’s Peak on our first day in Colorado, but I could see enough to know Jeff would want to get to the top. At more than 14,000 ft high, it’s one of the State’s Fourteeners, visible for miles around in all directions. There are 3 basic ways to get to the top: take the Cog Railway, hike, or take the road. Either way, we had to conquer 5,000 from our host home to the top. We chose to drive.
Did I say I have a little fear of heights? Yeah, there’s that. Jeff promised the reward of the view from the top and sights along way would be worth the risk. He promised to be cautious, drive slowly, and take care of me. I wanted to have faith instead of freaking out. I put my life in Jeff’s hands almost 25 years ago, so I got in our rental car and buckled up.
Putting faith in our husband is no small thing. At first, you may expect having faith in your husband to be easy. As we become one, we share our fears, failures, wounds, temptations, burdens, and blessings. By putting our faith and trust in the one we vowed to love and honor, we put our life in his hands. About 1/3 of the way up the Pike’s Peak road, I wondered if I’d made the right decision. Gripping the door handle, I made the decision over and over to swallow, breathe, and look away from the sharp drop off under my passenger door. Jeff’s expressions of awe only stirred my amazement that he was unaware of my struggle. Finally, he asked, “Jul, are you okay?”
Wondering happens in marriages a lot. We accept risks for potential rewards. Along the way, we encounter the edge of the unknown, dangerous and daunting. We may contemplate bailing out, or simply withdrawing into a “back seat.” We may feel trapped and even begin to blame the one we’re with.
“Love does not insist on its own way.” (1 Corinthians 13:5b)
While riding the edge of the road, I decided to conquer my fears with faith. I had to do 4 things to make it to the top of Pike’s Peak in the passenger seat:
5 keys to having faith in your husband
- Take every thought captive
- Choose not to demand control
- Act on the faith by letting him lead
- Stay in it long enough for the reward
It’s not enough to say we will be “faith+ful” to our man. We know the Proverbs 31 husband trusts in the heart of the Proverbs 31 woman; that trust must be born partly out of knowing she puts her life in his hands. It’s not faith if we don’t act on it. Faith often requires stepping out into the unknown, acknowledging a fear and yet not bowing to it. The view from the summit of Pike’s Peak is beautiful. I’m glad I didn’t miss it, and I’m glad I shared it with Jeff.
If you’re going to cultivate faith and trust between you and your husband, you will have to choose to put your life in his hands over and over.
We will either act on our faith in our husband or act on our fear in our circumstances. Is it finances for you? A job? A decision about your kids? Distress about a relationship? Your husband is not all-knowing or perfect, yet God uses him to lead you. God has put him in the driver’s seat, and there’s a great reward to be had if you act on your faith in him.
You can put your faith in your man, because your God can move your man.
