6 Helpful Scriptures to Inspire Love in the Unequally Yoked Marriage
Today, I’m excited to welcome Sarah Geringer as she brings us hope with her powerful story. This post will help you pray through an unequally yoked marriage and find encouragement and strength!
If you are in an unequally yoked marriage, I understand your hidden heartache. For 17 years, I have been unequally yoked to my husband. But God has blessed our marriage as two believers on different spiritual planes.
When you are unequally yoked, it affects almost every area of your marriage. Being unmatched in your most important point of connection can create a lot of friction and disappointment.
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As a new, disillusioned bride 17 years ago, I was driven to the scriptures to find hope. God lovingly comforted and corrected me. He showed me how to prioritize love for my husband despite our differences.
We’ve had some hard times in our marriage, including a brief separation. But as I stayed close to God and continued to show love to my husband, God has given me new hope.
These six scriptures have helped me the most. I pray they will help you too.
The Creator is your Husband. Isaiah 54:5 NLT
Though my husband and I don’t share spiritual fellowship, God is my perfect “spouse” and wants me to share my heart with Him. This verse comforts me because I can be my full self with God and get my spiritual needs met in His presence.
Even if I had a husband who was on the exact same spiritual plane, he couldn’t meet all my needs. Only God is my perfect Husband who perfectly meets my needs, which sets me free to love my husband with realistic expectations.
If a fellow believer has a wife who is not a believer and she is willing to continue living with him, he must not leave her. And if a believing woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to continue living with her, she must not leave him. For the believing wife brings holiness to her marriage, and the believing husband brings holiness to his marriage. 1 Corinthians 7:12-14 NLT
For a long time, I wondered if God would bless our marriage since I went into it knowing we were unequally yoked. The more I studied this passage, the more peace I felt. I must focus on the present instead of the past. God wants us to stay together no matter what.
According to this scripture, I have the great honor and responsibility of bringing holiness to our unequally yoked marriage. What a blessing to serve Jesus in that way! I can show Jesus to my husband simply by being loving.
Even if some [spouses] refuse to obey the Good News, your godly lives will speak to them without any words. They will be won over by observing your pure and reverent lives. 1 Peter 3:1-2 NLT
As the more spiritually motivated spouse, I’m often tempted to speak when I shouldn’t. I had to learn the hard way that reciting Bible verses, leaving religious articles open on his desk, or inviting my husband to join Bible study groups wasn’t wise or loving.
I can show love to my husband by being a woman of integrity who honors and respects him. This scripture has helped me love my husband without the pressure of needing to evangelize him.
Above all else, guard your heart,for everything you do flows from it. Proverbs 4:23 NIV
When you have an unmet need in your marriage, you have a weak area that Satan will attack. He will find your trigger points and try to trick your heart into believing something else is better.
You cannot leave your heart unguarded in an unequally yoked marriage. It’s important to know your triggers. Ask the Holy Spirit to prick your conscience when your weakness is exposed. Then flee from temptation with God’s help; I have found particular help in Ephesians 6:10-18.
You must guard your heart against discouragement, which is Satan’s foothold. When your heart is guarded with prayer and healthy choices, you can love your husband with no regrets.
Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. Romans 12:12 NLT
You always have reason to rejoice, because your hope for your marriage is based on your confidence in God, not in your spouse. You can ask the Holy Spirit to make you patient in the troubles you are sure to face. When you are weary of praying the same old prayer for your spouse’s spiritual growth, this verse spurs you on.
This verse has helped me love my husband because it helps me take the long view. My faithful prayers are a form of love for him, and they keep my heart connected to him and to God.
Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. 1 Corinthians 13:7 NLT
True love perseveres. In an unequally yoked marriage, you will need to persevere through many trials. To love like Jesus loves, we must put our love into action day after day.
Learn your spouse’s love language and speak it to your spouse through actions. When you feel lonely or discouraged, ask God to give you the love to share with your spouse. He has answered that prayer for me many times, and I know He will answer it for you too.
Meet Sarah
Sarah Geringer writes about Finding Peace in God’s Word at sarahgeringer.com and is the author of three books. She is currently writing a blog series on loving your spouse in a difficult marriage. She has also prepared a special resource package for you in her library, titled Hope for the Unequally Yoked Marriage. Sarah lives in her beloved home state of Missouri with her husband and three children, right in the heart of prime viewing for the Great Eclipses of 2017 and 2024.
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I totally believe that you have consoled quite a few souls through this article and encourage them to experience a better marriage. God bless your work, which is giving hope to the desperate.
Thank you for this article. It was just what I needed this morning. It really opened my eyes to see my unequally yoked marriage from Gods eyes and not my own. I have a new hope for my marriage and a better understanding of my role as the believing wife. Thank you so much.
Thanks for sharing this. God bless. I walked into unequally yoked married with eyes wide opened, in ignorance, full of my self, having the thought of changing things through prayer when married. Now I have prayed and it seems as if I don’t know how to prayer.I try to always let go of hurt and move on to love my husband yet am being pushed away attimes I get discouraged and really want to leave the marriage but when I looked at my 5months old baby and God’s thought concerning it, I stayed back. Please I need your prayers I really want to be successful in marriage.
Praying for you to have patient endurance, you are not alone! Not by might, not by power but by my Spirit says the Lord Zech 4:6
My ex-fiance and I were unequally yoked I have been trying to get closer to God and Christ our Savior I lost her due to drinking and I kicked her out of our home we had both become distant arguing constantly and no intimacy.we have a two-year-old daughter and my guilt is killing me. I want to work it out she feels nothing has changed with me and my insecurity/depression,I also feel nothing has changed with her and her laziness/emotional neglect (my daughter and I both) idle hands.and I believe has moved on and is seeing other men part of our problems in the relationship though was my insecurity and I never and still don’t have any facts but we both knew we were uncomfortable living together and over stressed working both of us. I still hope and pray that she wants to work it out but she does not strengthen me or bring me closer to the Lord she distracts me from his grace. I’m unsure of what she wants or if it’s in our best interest to work things out.our main concern is our two year old daughter I don’t want to move on but she hurts my spirit I tried constantly getting her attention but she is too stuck in this worldly things on her phone and in TV to see how much she means to me I was stuck doing all the work trying to raise my first child and now I’m doing it alone she keeps her overnight as I work graveyard as I care for her on only 4 to 6 hours of sleep during the day as part of the reason why I was so frustrated living together with not much help now I fear she’s ignoring her at night but I know nothing and can’t control nothing I put it in God’s hands amen please help. any info or advice thank you God bless
Continue to love Jesus as you ask him show you to love your husband, also ask God to help you to be the woman He needs you to be as He work to change your husband that he (your husband) can become the man of God that Jesus is molding him to become become remembered the word says that the two shall become one the word never fails.
Jesus has helped me through more trials and tribulations than most 90 year olds have experienced by only the age of 30 I have experienced my mom dating a Hitman my husband turning to alcohol and blaming me for my jealous mom trying to sabotage our marriage she’s a narcissist. Now she has lost her house and health because she is selfish.she put me on The streets and forced me to leave my great paying job, because I told her not to date a hired Hitman.
Lift me up in prayers. My husband loves seeing me unhappy, has another woman whom he buys things for, pays house rent for etc and I will be begging him for money even for our kid.he does show care. So abusive verbally, and his family is supporting him. Has not asked me for sex almost 2 years. I dnt know if he is planning to run away and leave me and the kid. Has not in any way been supportive to me as a husband.let the lord intervene cos there is not He can’t do. We are barely 5 years in our union. But he had been with her since like 2016 and I didn’t know.
I too am unequally yoked and for about 3 years since being in the Lord have suffered through abuse and much heartache due to my faith in Christ. We have children together and been married 20 years. I had to separate a couple times but ultimately have been living in peace for the past few months. If not for the grace of God I would not be here still. Being unequally yoked is not easy. My prayers go out to women who are longsuffering and patient in this. You are right on, God is the only one who can provide our daily needs. I think after I let go of my martiage and decided that I was going to let God do His will for my life is when I saw the most changes. God bless you for stepping out in faith and talking about your marriage and encouraging others. It’s a beautiful marriage.
We became Christians during our marriage but since then my husband has turned back . He’s allowed life heartaches to make him bitter and angry . I get so lonely . He is verbally abusive ,cursing when he’s agitated and is easily set off . 38 years and I’m so yearning for God to fix us , to restore the joy of his salvation and our marriage.I know that out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks and it saddens my heart for his 💔 I could be such a good wife if he would let me . I keep trusting God for that marriage of two becoming one where we can fellowship in Him ❤️
Romans 12.12 has jumped out at me more than once lately. Thanks for sharing your list of encouraging Scriptures. There are many wives in a similar situation and all of us face challenges that require prayer and walking in faith.
Sarah, I can’t imagine how difficult that must be. It’s opened my eyes to the fact that I need to pray for those who are in unequally yoked marriages. Such good tried-and-true advice. Prayers for you, friend. xoxo
Hi Brenda, thank you so much for praying. This week I really need the prayers. Love and blessings to you, friend.
As I was reading your post, Sarah, I sensed your sweet and gentle spirit within. Thank you for your honesty and the scriptures that point us toward Christ fulfilling our every need. You are not alone in your unequally yoked marriage, and I pray God will use your story to breath hope and life into anyone who reads it.
Thank you for your kind and encouraging words, Susan. I needed them today. Blessings to you!
Thank you for sharing. I recently had been saved and separated from my unequal yoked partner. It’s been painful to be separated and it’s months later. I’ve asked God to show me my husband but he hasn’t and my ex keeps coming in and out. Seeds are sowing but I’ve lost hope but then I read this and gives me hope. I’ve tried to move on but I can’t. I’ve asked god to remove my feelings for him but he hasn’t. I’m not sure but hopeful.
Thank you so much for sharing your story, I cannot imagine how difficult this must be. I am encouraged to see how much you are seeking out God and His will. I do believe that as you do this, you will begin to find healing and restoration. In this world we will have trouble and in those difficult times I find hope in the fact that God is using me for His will and that it is working together for my good. I pray that you can hang onto your hope in this time <3
Thank you for this publication, I’m currently at the crossroad of choosing between someone is
Who I love but he’s a non-christian and another believer who I’ve not given the opportunity to love cause my heart is somewhere else
I love this ” your hope for your marriage is based on your confidence in God, not in your spouse.” It is absolutely True… even when we are equally yoked – because as humans we all fall short.
Hi Tiffany! Thankful for your comment today. You are absolutely right about this God-given truth for all married couples. Blessings to you!
Sarah, I love that the Bible says, “The Creator is your Husband.” Because even in spiritually equal marriages no human can satisfy our deepest longing. I think this is important for singles as well as married women to know. We have the perfect bridegroom in Jesus.
Thank you, Debbie. I agree–that scripture is a powerful promise for every believer. Blessings to you today!