WILL YOU MAKE IT?
Tuesday, May 5th, 2026 my wife and I celebrated 47 years of marriage. You may not realize it but this is a very significant milestone. Did you know that only 7% of marriages make it to 47 years? That means 93 out of 100 marriages do not make it to 47 years!
Let that sink in a moment—most people have no idea this is the actual reality. Here is my question for you—what are you going to do to make sure you are part of the 7% that make it and not the 93 out of 100 that don’t?
I want to share with you how we made it to 47 years. I’ll keep this simple, straightforward, and right to the point. I urge you to embrace these with the utmost seriousness of heart.
You must earnestly walk with God, seek Him every day with a humble, responsive heart toward Him. Apart from Christ you can do nothing! He is your very life. If you grow cold, indifferent, hard-hearted, and unresponsive to God, you don’t have a chance. You’re sunk. You will not make it.
Pray together–stay together. Did you know the divorce rate for couples who pray together every day is just 1 out of 1150?
You must devote yourself to reading God’s word every single day of your life. Listen to God. Did you know 65% of people claiming to be followers of Jesus Christ own a Bible but never read it? Build your life on His commands, principles, teachings, wisdom, and truth. Believe, apply, and obey His word in the actions, attitudes, and behaviors of your life. If you don’t, you’re sunk. You will not make it.
You must, absolutely must, be willing to change! You must be willing to acknowledge your issues, turn from ways of behavior that destroy a marriage, and embrace godly ways of behavior. If you don’t, you’re sunk. You will not make it.
Recently, an old friend wrote to me that I hadn’t heard from in years. I led him and his wife to Christ almost 30 years ago. He wrote simply to say, “My wife and I just divorced. After years of dealing with her destructive behavior, my children and I confronted her, and she responded, ‘No one will tell me what to do, I want a divorce.’” This is a couple my age. They were doing so well early on in their faith. He still to this day continues to seek the Lord, and treasure the Word of God. But the stubborn intransigence of his wife sunk the marriage. It was impossible to go on. Her unwillingness to acknowledge her wrong for years, and her unwillingness to change, sabotaged the marriage after all their years together.
I can tell you first hand, not because I am perfect or my marriage is perfect, but because I was willing to admit my great need in some very specific areas of my life that were marriage destroyers, and made concerted, intentional efforts to change, to become more Christ-like, my marriage remains today. If I had not, there is no way we would still be together. It would have made it impossible for Kathy.
Ponder these profound Biblical truths:
Proverbs 29:1 NLT
Whoever stubbornly refuses to accept criticism will suddenly be broken beyond repair!
Proverbs 14:1
NLT–The wise woman builds her house; The foolish woman tears hers down with her own hands.
CEV–A woman’s family is held together by her wisdom but it can be destroyed by her foolishness.
Matthew 4:4 NIV
Jesus answered, “It is written: Man does not live by bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”
Psalm 105:4 NASB
Seek the Lord and His strength; Seek his face continually.
Galatians 6:7 NLT
Don’t be misled. Remember that you can’t ignore God and get away with it.
For decades, every single morning, my wife sits at the kitchen table reading her Bible and devotionals, and then writes scripture in a journal. Without fail! She listens to God’s voice. She treasures His words. She keeps her heart tenderized towards God, molded by His truth. I have at least 20 of these journals of hers, full of verses she’s written down.
You won’t make it because you’re pretty enough, talented enough, rich enough, smart enough, in love enough, or have a nice personality. You will only make it and thrive if you do the things I describe above.
So I ask you once again—WILL YOU MAKE IT?
WILL YOU CHOOSE TO DO THE THINGS THAT WILL ENSURE YOU MAKE IT?
THESE THINGS MUST BE DONE BY BOTH SPOUSES!
Helping you become a Strong Disciple,
Because of Jesus,
Pastor Mark Darling
