A lot of my teaching to women in troubled marriages is based upon this verse ~
Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation {the way she lives her life} of the wives. I Peter 3:1
I have seen many women win their husbands by lovingly, patiently serving and pleasing them. The troubling word in that verse is "may." This word means that no matter how loving, how much you serve him, and how submissive you are, you may not win him.
There can be only one reason for a wife to begin doing her sacrificial part ~ to honor her God and obey his commandments. When a woman makes a lifetime commitment to be all that God desires her to become, regardless of how her grumpy husband responds, only then does she begin to mature and develop as a person. If he never responds positively, in the end she has become a saint of historical proportions ~ Christlike in every way. {Michael Pearl}
The only reason you should want desperately to obey the Lord is because you love Him and want to please Him, not for what you can get from Him. When you obey out of love for Him, you will reap His blessings, not in the way you may want but in the way He wants to give.
I know it is not an easy road. God never promised us an easy road but His way is always the right way. The Bible clearly teaches that divorce should not be an option for Christians if at all possible. You need to do everything in your power to hold your marriage together.
In most cases, a husband will be so overwhelmed with his brand new, lovely wife that he will lower his walls and lay down his guns of indifference and intolerance and start cherishing the lovely thing that now lives in his home. {Michael Pearl}
