As a lay minister and counselor, I have helped many couples with marriage problems. I do so, not from a secular perspective, but from a spiritual one, with the Bible as my base.

Over the years I have come to realize that more and more "Christians" are so in name only, as they either don’t understand God’s Word, or no longer care to be obedient. For context, obedience is not optional for true Christians.

The Bible says marriage is forever, until death. It also says that the Lord hates divorce. (Malachi 2:16). And yet divorce has become the default setting for most people experiencing marital difficulties. At the first sign of trouble, they head for divorce court and then retry marriage again with their next "soul mate."

I am not going to elaborate on the many reasons not to divorce, as that’s not the subject of this article. The issue isn’t the substantial damage done by divorce, but whether or not a troubled marriage can be saved.

Rhetorically, as every marriage is uniquely different, the question of whether or not a marriage can be saved must be asked using specific details of the discord, right? No, details are of little importance for those who believe. Yes, they are the mitigating circumstances of our trouble, but in terms of solving the problem, they are irrelevant.

Secular marriage counselors would, of course, disagree. They’ve been to college, they’ve had specialized training, they’re licensed by the state, etc., so they know best --- or do they? Let’s try another rhetorical question. If secular marriage counselors are so good at what they do, why do they almost always fail? At best, most can only make your subsequent divorce less traumatic. But in terms of saving marriages, most have an almost perfect failure rate. Why?

Because they are "treating" a symptom, not the cause. To the point, when people are causing trouble in their marriage, they are really experiencing a problem with God, and that’s an issue secular marriage counselors won’t touch with a ten-foot-pole.

If everyone would do as God instructs in His holy Word, no marriage would ever end in divorce. It is only when we fail to obey Him that problems arise. In this light, we must understand that if we are right with Him, we will be right with our spouse as well.

Exposing the difference between the secular and the spiritual, will a secular marriage counselor make you a guarantee that your marriage will be saved? No, he won’t. He can’t! Will I, or any other truly Christian marriage counselor make such a promise? Yes. I state categorically, if a couple will obey God’s commandments, their marriage, no matter what shape it’s in, can, and will be saved.

If you are a Christian, but still have doubt, let me ask a secular question to make my spiritual point. You believe God created the heavens with but a single thought and that He raised His crucified Son from the bowels of death, and gave Him life where there was none -- why then would you question that He can save your marriage? Doing so is completely illogical. That would be analogous to trusting a heart surgeon with your transplant, then doubting he has the ability to bandage your superficially cut finger.

"But Jesus looked at them and said to them, "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." (Matthew 19:26 NKJV) This promise is repeated throughout the Bible. For example, "For with God nothing will be impossible." (Luke 1:37)

Paraphrasing Scripture; saving a truly troubled marriage is virtually impossible unless you turn to God.

I am not making light of marriage problems, as they are nothing to laugh at. The secular and spiritual loss to married individuals headed for divorce court can be catastrophic. And I am certainly not implying that saving a marriage is an easy proposition, because it’s not.

But the bottom-line is the bottom-line, so let me give you the "secret" to my fail-safe marriage guarantee: If your marriage is in trouble, seek God. "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you." (Matthew 7:7)

All marriages, no matter how troubled, can be saved. "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you." (John 15:7)