“And don’t be wishing you were someplace else or with someone else. Where you are right now is God’s place for you. Live and obey and love and believe right there. God, not your marital status, defines your life.” (1Cor 7:17a, MSG)

I have encountered so many people who complain about their jobs, even their new ones. They were tired of their former bosses, but now, they find themselves in new nightmarish situations. “Had I only known!” They mutter. There are some who find their new jobs fulfilling, but all of this negativity could be avoided if we would all simply ask our Heavenly Father for direction before making decisions: “Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.” (John 16:24b, NIV2) It’s a simple promise that will ensure that we don’t make the wrong choices. We ask and our “joy will be complete”. It’s that simple.

The same is true about meeting our future spouse. We should ask our Father for direction: “Is she/he the one?” Ask and we will receive beyond doubt.

Be aware that some will try anything to break up our marriages. If we keep on focusing on our Father, instead of wandering into temptation, we will avoid heartbreak. Our spouses are still the ones we are married to. If there is tension at home, it generally because we don’t spend enough time with one another. There again, we can ask our Father for direction, so that our marriage will be a witness to everyone around us.

When we celebrated our 25th anniversary, six years ago, many of my wife’s colleagues were surprised. “Wow! You have been married so long!” They, too, wished this could be possible. “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (Matt 19:26b, NIV2)

When I was sixteen, I wondered if I would ever get married. I was extremely shy. When any girl showed any interest in me, it made me run in the opposite direction. One day, I asked my Father about this, and He answered me in a dream. I dreamed about my future wife, and boy, she was so pretty. When I woke up I was filled with joy.

As the years went by and I didn’t meet this girl, I eventually forgot all about that dream. Amazingly, my shyness disappeared, and though still self-conscious, I started to date; however, I never found the “one” to be my wife.

When I was offered a job at a college in Washington State, my Father came through again, telling me that I would meet someone very special from Los Angeles. How could this be? I was moving to Washington State!

During registration in September, my future wife signed up for one of my classes. When I saw her, I had the feeling I had seen her before. Strange! How could this be possible? We became friends, and I soon discovered she was from Los Angeles. The rest is history. It was only some years later that I remembered my dream, and it’s then that I realized why, on that first day I met her, I had the feeling I had seen her before. I had seen her in my dreams!

I have never regretted marrying her, for she is my one and only, and she will be until the day I die. This can be possible to you as well. It all starts with a prayer.

Did you have a dream?

Rob Chaffart

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” (Matt 7:7, NIV2)


(To access the entire “Marriage Bliss” devotional series, please click here.)