My Family | Healthy Relationships
HEALTHY RELATIONSHIPS
My Family
A Healthy Relationship with God and with My Spouse.
Genesis 50:20 (NIV) 20You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.
This verse captures:
✔ Family struggles – Joseph’s brothers betrayed him.
✔ Perseverance – Joseph endured trials but remained faithful.
✔ Healing and grace – Joseph forgave his brothers.
✔ Legacy – God used Joseph to bless his family and future generations.
Soul Tattoo: Healthy families stand together in love, navigate life’s challenges, choose grace over grudges, and build a legacy that lasts.
Define family, extended and blended family.
Family: The biblical ideal of a family is one man and one woman united by marriage to become “one flesh” for a lifetime and to produce children whom they raise to adulthood. Ideally, then, a “Christian” family would be a believing man and woman united by marriage and raising children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
Extended Family: A family that extends beyond the nuclear family, including grandparents, aunts, uncles, and other relatives, who all live nearby or in one household.
Blended Families: A family consisting of a couple and their children from this and all previous relationships. It’s a family, also known as a stepfamily and formed when two people come together and bring a child or children from previous relationships.
1. Historical Context: Widowed Remarriages (Pre-1900s)
2. Divorce Rates Rise (1960s-1980s)
3. The Normalization of Stepfamilies (1990s-Present)
Ask yourself:
- How is my relationship with my family?
- Is there one thing that I can do to make my relationship with my family healthier?
Soul Tattoo: Healthy families stand together in love, navigate life’s challenges, choose grace over grudges, and build a legacy that lasts.
Thriving as a Healthy Family:
1. Healthy families protect each other.
Genesis 37:21 (NIV) 21When Reuben heard this, he tried to rescue him from their hands…
A strong family shields, not shatters.
Genesis 37:21-22 (NIV) 21When Reuben heard this, he tried to rescue him from their hands. ‘Let’s not take his life,’ he said. 22‘Don’t shed any blood. Throw him into this cistern here in the wilderness, but don’t lay a hand on him.’ Reuben said this to rescue him from them and take him back to his father.
Proverbs 4:6 (NIV) 6Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will watch over you.
A healthy family creates a refuge, not a battleground.
- Protect with presence. (Be There for Each Other)
- Protect with words. (Speak Life, Not Harm)
Ephesians 4:29 (NLT) 29 Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.
Ephesians 4:29 (NKJV) 29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.
- Protect with boundaries. (Guard What Matters Most)
- Protect with prayer. (Spiritual Covering Over the Family)
Philippians 4:5-7 (ESV) 5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
A healthy family protects by:
✔ Being present in tough times.
✔ Using words to uplift.
✔ Setting boundaries that guard relationships.
✔ Covering each other in prayer.
2. Healthy families navigate hardships together.
Genesis 39:20-21 (NIV) But while Joseph was there in the prison, the Lord was with him…
Hardships don’t break strong families; they build them.
3. Healthy families learn to heal and rebuild.
Genesis 45:4-5 (NIV) Come close to me… Do not be distressed or angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you.”
Healing begins when blame ends.
4. Healthy families leave a legacy of blessing.
Genesis 50:20-21 (NIV) “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good… I will provide for you and your children.”
Healthy families don’t just survive; they leave a legacy.
Soul Tattoo: Healthy families stand together in love, navigate life’s challenges, choose grace over grudges, and build a legacy that lasts.
✔ Protection over betrayal
✔ Unity in hardship
✔ Healing over bitterness
✔ Legacy over temporary emotions
Ask yourself:
- How is my relationship with my family?
- Is there one thing that I can do to make my relationship with my family healthier?
Prayer of Blessing for Healthy Families:
Heavenly Father,
Thank You for the gift of family. We acknowledge that no family is perfect, but through Your grace, every family can be healthy, strong, and filled with love.
Today, I speak Your blessing over every household represented here. Lord, may our families be places of protection, where we cover one another in love, encourage with our words, and create an atmosphere of peace.
May we navigate life’s challenges with faith, choosing to stand together instead of falling apart. Strengthen every marriage, heal every broken relationship, and give wisdom to parents and children alike. Help us to walk in grace, choosing forgiveness over resentment, unity over division, and reconciliation over bitterness. Let our homes be filled with Your presence, where love, patience, and kindness flow freely.
And Father, may we leave a legacy that honors You—one that impacts generations to come. Help us to build homes that reflect Your heart, raising children and grandchildren who love You and walk in Your ways.
We declare that our families are blessed, covered, and strengthened by Your mighty hand. In Jesus’ name, Amen.