The Mississippi River flood of 1993 was a tense time if you had a home or a business near the river in St. Louis. That flood had already done unprecedented damage upriver, and St. Louis was holding its breath. The crests on the Missouri River and the Mississippi River were starting to converge just above the city. Several years earlier, St. Louis had invested heavily in a levee. This levee was bigger than they ever thought they would need. They built it thick and 52 feet high, which is many feet above the highest flood crest in the history of the city. Who knew whether the water could get that high? The tension was mounting. The predicted crests were rising over 40 feet and toward the 50-foot mark. Then the moment of truth came. The river crested at incredibly record-high levels but stayed under 50 feet. They were very glad they had built a wall that was strong and high.
Mark 10 speaks of a flood that is swamping many married people. A deluge of forces are breaking down the walls of marriage. You probably know some couples who have been swept away; maybe you're in one such deluge right now. Jesus says in Mark 10:6-9, "At the beginning of creation God 'made them male and female.' 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.' So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate."
This passage makes it clear that God is serious about marriage being for life. If your marriage breaks down, your relationship with God breaks down, and your children are scarred by it. The devil knows that, so he does everything he can to get into your marriage. Today, that flood of forces threatens even the healthiest marriages. Many times both people are working, so they have less time and energy left for each other. The lure of infidelity seems to be more acceptable and justifiable, and it's everywhere around us. There is financial instability. There is the prevalence of divorce, which in turn seems to make it easier for others to get divorced.
That's why God wants you to guard your marriage. Build a flood wall that is high and strong around your marriage. Anticipate all the places the flood could get in, then build a wall against it. For example, schedule regular time to really communicate with each other, and make it non-negotiable so lack of communication is not a hole in the flood wall.
Resentment can build up when you don't deal with things when they're small. That's why Ephesians 4:26 says, "Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry." Don't stuff your feelings inside. Those feelings are going to affect your mate. They won't just know what's going on and they won't know why you're acting that way. Deal with issues and feelings when they're small so you can build a flood wall. Maybe you feel like you're living in two different worlds. You have to do whatever you must to be together more, even if it means sacrificing financially. Sexual temptation is a hole in the wall. Don't be in any private situation with someone from the opposite sex, and focus all your desires and needs on your mate. Don't even flirt with getting some cheap strokes for your ego from someone of the opposite sex.
Look for the places the flood could get into your home, and build a high levee there. There may be a strain on the levee and a few sandbag nights, but if you have built your wall high and strong, your marriage is flood proof.