Uninvited Guests - The Myth of "Happily Ever After"

Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram Daily Podcast

Living on the Edge

Religion & Spirituality, Christianity

4.9 • 1.7K Ratings

🗓️ 9 October 2025

⏱️ 26 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Every marriage experiences conflict, tragedies, and adversity. The question is: will you and your spouse allow those hardships to be deal-breakers or heart-makers in your relationship? In this program, Chip dispels the illusion that marriage is a care-free journey, without bumps in the road. He reveals that–contrary to popular belief–challenges and suffering are not signs of trouble in your marriage, but an opportunity to deepen your intimacy with your mate.

Introduction:

Marriage is an UNCONDITIONAL commitment to an IMPERFECT person.

Review:

Foundational Truth #1:

You can’t live this life without the supernatural power of God, so following Jesus personally is the number one priority.

Foundational Truth #2:

You must choose to love your mate whether you feel like it or not.

Foundational Marriage Truths

Foundational Truth #3:

We will have ongoing challenges with communication, sex, finances, parenting, and extended family. These issues are not “DEAL BREAKERS,” they are “HEART MAKERS” as we learn to listen, understand, and follow God’s path.

Key verse:

James 1:2-5

Foundational Truth #6:

I will not consider a divorce as an OPTION and I will never threaten my spouse with divorce. I have made a holy and binding COVENANT before God to let nothing undermine our LIFELONG commitment.

Key verse:

Matthew 19:6-9

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Transcript

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0:00.0	One of the most enchanting, yet often misleading phrases in all of literature is, and they
0:06.8	lived happily ever after.
0:09.3	Now it's completely natural to desire a wonderful relationship.
0:12.9	The problem is when couples believe that marrying the right person will guarantee them a fulfilling
0:17.8	life without any challenges.
0:20.3	Coming up on Living on the Edge, our Bible
0:22.0	teacher, Chip Ingram, confronts this common misconception about marriage and challenges us to consider
0:27.3	what it takes to be committed to someone for life. I'm Dave Drewie. Thanks for being with us as we
0:33.4	continue our series Uninvited Guests. In this program, Chip continues to identify the bedrock truths of a godly marriage
0:41.0	and what you can do to preserve these building blocks in your relationship.
0:45.4	All right, if you have the Bible, go to James Chapter 1 now as we join Chip for his talk,
0:50.3	The Myth of Happily Ever After.
0:53.9	Marriage is an unconditional commitment to an imperfect person.
0:58.5	Let me say that again.
1:00.2	Marriage is an unconditional commitment.
1:03.3	In other words, good, bad, hard, easy, great, difficult.
1:09.4	You're committed to an imperfect person.
1:13.6	We're all married to imperfect people.
1:15.6	That means that wonderful, amazing, loving, over-the-top wife or husband that you have,
1:23.6	we'll have a few days, and hopefully it's just a few days, where they won't be so amazing,
1:28.9	and they won't be so wonderful. In fact, they'll make mistakes that drive you crazy.
1:35.5	It's worse than mistakes, they'll sin against you. On a bad day, their flesh will take over,
	...

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