Your Spouse Should Meet All Your Needs
They say that opposites attract, and in many ways that’s true. We often find the person who is our opposite but that balances us. This complementary nature is how a marriage should function, each one filling in the gaps and meeting the needs of each other.
Hopefully in a loving, marriage relationship you can expect your spouses to meet your needs, to love, respect, honor, and cherish, but even in the best marriages, this isn’t always the case. Many times we set false expectations that our spouse can never fulfill, and that’s because they were never meant to fulfill them. While your spouse loves you they simply cannot meet all of your needs.
For starters, your spouse can’t really know you. You can share yourself with them, but they can’t read your mind. We all wear masks. We hide who we are from everyone around us. You may be more open with your spouse, but there are thoughts and feelings that we choose not to or can’t share.
There is only one who truly knows who you are. This is reflected in Psalm 139. God is the one who put you together. He is the one who crafted you, your personality and desires. He understands you better than you understand yourself. Your spouse may help make you holy, but they are not capable of knowing you like your heavenly father.
Additionally, your spouse cannot make everything right. Even the best spouse, no matter how loving, caring, or generous, will not be able to fix everything. They will never be able to make life’s struggles disappear. They may be able to help, but the struggles in life will still come and your spouse can do nothing about it.
Loneliness and boredom will always keep coming. You will still have times of unhappiness or depression. Your spouse cannot give your life meaning or cure all the injuries you sustained in childhood.
Life is a challenging journey, but you are not alone. God says, “I will be the same until your old age, and I will bear you up when you turn gray. I have made you, and I will carry you; I will bear and rescue you.” (Isaiah 46:4).
When times get tough, lean upon your spouse. God has provided them as a helper. But know that God is to be your strength. God is to be your salvation. Your spouse cannot save you and you cannot save your spouse. You can tell them the way, you can show them the way, and you can pray for them, but ultimately you have no way to save them from their own sin. And your spouse cannot save you. There is only one name by which we can be saved, the name of Jesus.
Your spouse can do a great many things, but there are a things they simply cannot do. Trust and rely upon your spouse, but you cannot expect your spouse to meet all of your needs. To do so is folly.