Hot Stock Alert!
I recently saw a headline that said:
“Five Potentially Hot Stocks."
And then right after, an “ALL IN” stock-buy alert popped up, and I was immediately reminded of marriage.
So.... Have you checked your investing lately?
Ya know it’s those investors who go “ALL IN” that end up rich on the other side. But they rarely go all in on something that’s just “potentially hot.”
They see something valuable and immediately think,
I don’t care the cost or the sacrifice,
and they pull all their resources, and they go ALL IN.
When I think of the word, "invest," I think of sacrificial giving. When you invest something, you are essentially GIVING--often being in a sacrificial way. If your gift doesn't cost you something, would it truly be a gift, anyway?
Reminds me of Jesus, honestly. He went all in with us, didn't He. He gave His all, He sacrificed His all for our all, and it cost Him everything. It was a risky investment on His part, but He considered us HOT STOCK, worth it all.
What about your marriage? With your husband? Have you gone all in? Have you seen something valuable and decided you don’t care what it takes, you're giving it your all?
‘Master, I took what you gave me and invested it, and it multiplied ten times.’ (Luke 19:16, TPT)
in·vest /in ' vest/ - to purposefully devote one's time, effort, and energy (the list goes on) into something/someone they believe valuable and worthy, expecting a good result in the now and in the future.
We've seen this time and time again:
Why have some waited for major marital issues before they’ve been willing to invest time, effort, energy, patience and heart into their marriage?
Why have others waited until their spouse is gone to realize they should have invested more? (We’ve all been to that funeral.) And why have some waited foolishly until on the brink of divorce before investing in their marriage? This is not to make someone feel bad.
This is to get honest and real enough about it so we know what to do differently.
As marrieds, surely we've all come to know, the only other thing—besides the Lord—that we really need to succeed and be happy in life is a happy marriage.
A good, strong family is only as good as your marriage—no matter how much you love your kids. Without a happy marriage, life is miserable on all sides. I think we can all attest to the fact that a happy marriage is a happy husband, is a happy job, is a happy wife, is happy children, is a happy life. With a happy marriage, it’s like you can do anything!
So why haven’t we pulled all our resources to regularly invest in this “ALL IN” stock alert? Why have we been unwilling to sacrifice our selfishness, impatience, unforgiveness, and pride?
Do you know much about investments? I don’t know a ton, but what I do know is that investments require sacrifice. Sacrifice can be a scary word for some, and not something many want to do. We’ve been good at investing into and sacrificing for our children, and even for some friends and other family, but what about our marriages?
Another thing I know about investments is that investors don’t wait until they NEED a good return before they start investing...they started investing long before and have let their accounts build up. Investors pull from their current resources and begin putting back in to whatever they’re investing, knowing they will make tremendous gains. And these gains are for when they really need it.
As wives, we are investors. Yes, your husband should be an investor, too; but don't wait for him to do the investing. Someone's got to start! Let it be you. Proverbs 31:11 points out so well how are husbands can trust us with these investments!
The heart of her husband safely trusts her; So he will have no lack of gain. (Proverbs 31:11)
We give our husbands something to trust. We can’t wait until things are so bad and we have nothing to pull from. Investing all along the way gives you something to draw from when you need it.
Things may be going peachy right now, but don’t be foolish. The enemy hates Biblical marriage and he will always be doing his best to destroy ours. Not to mention, our selfish fleshly nature will be doing its part in the destruction too, if we aren’t aware. The moment you stop investing, or never begin, is the moment you start losing, because your husband is NOT “potentially” hot stock—
He’s full on HOT STOCK.
He is one HOT STOCK that’s calling for an “ALL-IN” Stock Buy Alert. And his stock is always on the rise. Your marriage and husband are assets with limitless appreciation—their value will only increase as you continue to invest.
The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully
will also reap bountifully.
(2 Corinthians 9:6, ESV)
If you wait until you need something before you start investing into it, you won’t have it when you really need it—the return just won’t be there.
Consequently, you won’t give up on someone for whom you’ve gone ALL IN.
For where your treasure is,
there your heart will be also.
(Matthew 6:21, ESV)
Is your marriage worth it? Is your husband worth it?
Is your future worth it?
Romans 8:18 answers it perfectly:
I don’t think the sufferings we are going through now are even worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed to us in the future. (Romans 8:18, CJB).
I can promise you every bit of sacrifice of my flesh and every bit of long-suffering has paid off. Every sacrifice of my pride, every gift of patience and forgiveness, has paid off. My marriage is at a completely different place than when we started.
We've begun to taste "glorious"
and we've only got our toes in.
They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. (Psalm 126:5)
Marriage investments do require sacrifice, along with daily suffering of the flesh in order to do it right. It is sacrificial love. However, the greater the sacrifice in the “company” of marriage, the greater the reward dividends you will receive. Are you willing to go all in, give your all, for your marriage and your husband?
To clarify, we are not investing our husbands. We are not sacrificing our husbands! LOL! We are sacrificing ourselves. We are investing what God has given us--love, patience, grace, help, joy, etc. etc.--into our husbands.
We are investing ourselves!
Held captive by your love, I am truly overcome! For your undying devotion to me is the most yielded sacrifice.
(Song of Solomon 6:5, TPT)
The Bridegroom from Song of Solomon recognized his Bride’s sacrifice, and your husband will notice yours, too.
If you love someone, you will be loyal to him
no matter what the cost.
(1 Corinthians 13:7, TLB)
Yes, the stakes are high, but the stocks are high, too. Your marriage is no gamble: everything you put in you will get back. Plus, if you aren’t willing to “risk it all,” can you really expect to gain it all in the end? No risk, no gain. The greater the sacrifice, the greater the REWARD.
Now that we’ve settled it’s a win-win proposition…
What are some ways we can invest into our marriages?
I like to focus on the spiritual aspects first because I’ve learned the natural side automatically emerges from the spiritual, to resemble the spiritual:
1. Read and listen to the Word of God about marriage.
If faith comes from the Word of God—and you can’t get it anywhere else—then faith to be a wife and faith for your marriage comes from the Word of God on the subject of marriage. You can’t be a good wife or have a good marriage without faith in what God has said to you about being a wife and having a good marriage. Maintaining real faith and trust in what God has said is what will keep you going, and real faith comes from nowhere else than God’s Word. The Word of God is FULL of scriptures, keys, and promises for you as a wife and for your marriage. Word-based and faith-filled resources like these emails, and the time you give to them, are investments into your marriage. Yes, it does take time and effort, but never without fabulous return. What you do privately, on your own time, will surely show up outwardly/publicly with your husband.
2. Cultivate your fellowship with Jesus. Life for your marriage flows from the Source of life Himself. Good fellowship with your husband is born out of the fellowship you have with Jesus. You have nothing to give if you didn’t get it from the Lord. Plus, if you don’t get it from the Lord, you’ll only be wanting it from your husband.
And what he has to offer you isn’t able to fill that Jesus-shaped hole, anyway.
The time a wife spends fellowshipping with Jesus will only enhance, never take away from, her relationship with her husband, if she holds a right heart. This connection you have with Jesus is never to be used against your husband in any way. In fact, this personal fellowship with you and Jesus is exactly that: between you and Jesus. However, it will be evident you have fellowship with Jesus in how it impacts your marriage. The way you are with God is how you will be with your husband.
3. Pray for your husband. This is to never take the place of your personal fellowship time with the Lord, rather in addition to. Why do I say that? Because I have been there in my prayer life when the only time God would hear much from me was in times when I was desperate in my marriage. This kind of praying left me dry and desperate. God had lots of mercy on me, but praying out of frustration and desperation is praying outside of love, and it doesn’t work. So, yes, invest quality time praying quality prayers for your husband, after you’ve invest quality time with the Lord. Then, you’ll be in the right frame of heart and mind to pray. (What to pray? If you don’t know what to pray/how to pray for your husband, I would be happy to send you a separate email with Scriptural prayers I have compiled over the years for when I pray for my husband. Just let me know.)
4. Devote time and effort into marital fellowship.
What is fellowship? Fellowship and relationship are not the same thing. You can be in a relationship with your husband, but never have any fellowship. True fellowship brings refreshment (Romans 15:32). Fellowship is intimate closeness and togetherness. It’s doing life together, on the same page, in the same heart and mind. This doesn’t happen overnight. This is why it's an investment. From the day you say, “I do,” until now, every day is an opportunity to invest in your fellowship, connectivity, and companionship with your hubby. Every day is an opportunity to grow closer, not more distant. Every day is an occasion to become better, closer friends. Don’t focus on your differences. Focus on unity. Find ways to do things he likes and take part in his enjoyments. Listen with abandonment, love unconditionally and sacrificially, and give whole-heartedly.
Your husband is a guaranteed HOT STOCK.
You invest in him and your marriage, you can count on a large return.
So get in on this while you have something to give. Don’t wait until all you have is gone.
Possibly sobering, yet still true.
Remember, it's those investors who go ALL IN that end up RICH on the other side.
Going ALL IN,
Jess