Marriage -Psalm 73:25

By Dan Lewis
Posted on March 30, 2005

This is an outline of a little discussion I led on marriage a few weeks ago in our Rio Link. Our group is very diverse - "skeptics and curious", new believers, and long-time believers. So we've been trying to find some common ground and start with some of the needs that we all have.

“Who Do I Have In Heaven But You? And Earth Has Nothing I Desire Besides You.” (Psalm 73:25)

How did getting married meet some of your needs? What do you have now that you didn’t have before you were married?

Write down some of your deepest longings / needs / desires. How would you describe them? (Physical, mental, emotional, spiritual needs) Example - adventure, challenge, understanding, respect, fun, purpose, stability, confidence, hope, etc

Is it possible for your spouse to meet ALL your needs? Why? Why not?

What are some deep longings / needs / desires that your spouse cannot meet?

How does it affect your marriage when your deepest needs are met or not met?

What do you do when your spouse fails to meet your needs? How do you react?

How can you allow your Creator (Jesus Christ) to meet your needs?

“After Jesus becomes our source of refreshment and nourishment for our spirits, we become secure in who we are in Christ. And we can freely offer love and encouragement to our spouse.”

Eccl 3:11 “God has set eternity in the hearts of people”

Psalm 27:1, Psalm 62:1-2, Psalm 73:25-26, Colossians 2:9-10, Colossians 3:1-3

Read John 3:1-8.
How did Nicodemus approach Jesus?
How did Jesus answer Nicodemus?
What does Jesus’ response mean to you?
Why do you think Nicodemus came to talk with Jesus?
What was Nicodemus looking for?

When we are depending on God to meet our deepest needs, Philippians 2:3-4 and 4:4-7 take on new meaning. Read these passages and write a paragraph summarizing your thoughts on how these verses speak to you and your marriage.

“One of the most profound ways in which God touches us and teaches us about Himself and His own essential otherness is through the very limits He has placed on our relationships with one another. It is an enormous source of human frustration that our need for intimacy far outstrips its capacity to be met in other people. Primarily what keeps us separate is our sin, but there is also another factor, and that is that in each one of us the holiest and neediest and most sensitive place of all has been and is reserved for God alone, so that only He can enter there. No one else can love us as He does, and no one can be the sort of Friend to us that He is.” ( The Mystery of Marriage, Mike Mason)

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