WITHHOLDING TRUST CAN HURT YOUR MARRIAGE: By Brooke Keith.

Growing up in a broken home, I've always had trust issues. Unfortunately for my husband, he had always gotten the brunt of them even when they were undeserving. It's been something I've carried around all of my life. If you can relate, you've probably perfected my once set-in-stone mantra -"No one is trustworthy, but God."That's what I had come to accept as truth – truth or not.

I've always been good at withholding trust as a form of protecting myself . . . or at least I thought it was protecting me. But there did come a time when I realized that perhaps withholding trust was hurting much more than simply giving it freely.

While the devil will always try to pour salt on our most vulnerable wounds, with God's help, we can find true peace with ourselves and our spouses by being willing to do the work and by taking a closer look at the truths in God's Word.

"Let them call upon the elders of the church and let them pray . . ."James 5:14

When I first began to ask people to pray for my situation, I felt ashamed. Afterwards, however, I realized that it was just another way that God would use our pain for His glory. As things began to change, I started to see how it had allowed others to witness God's hand in our lives while also unlocking a power that I could not unlock alone.

When you find yourself going back to childish thoughts with no merit, ask God for His wisdom and He will give it to you. Apostle Paul said, "But one thing I do: forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead . . ." Philippians 3:13-14

If you can't let go of the memories that make trust difficult for you, remember what the Apostle Paul said, "Forgetting what is behind . . . I press toward . . . the prize for which God has called me." Forget past hurts. Speak with your pastor or get help from a Christian counselor. Remember that your past is not a reflection on your present. Our pasts can continue to harm us well, but only if we let it.

As you face the trials that come into your marriage, as it is in a factory, as iron grinds against iron, remember that something beautiful happens to both pieces in the process. The Father polishes their rough edges; breaking them down and shining them up into what He wants them to be, which will soon be revealed if we only trust.

As you face the trials that come into your marriage, as it is in a factory, as iron grinds against iron, remember that something beautiful happens to both pieces in the process. The Father polishes their rough edges; breaking them down and shining them up into what He wants them to be, which will soon be revealed if we only trust.