It depends on what is wrong with the relationship. If the spouse is committing adultery or practicing a sinful behavior, then that person’s relationship with God is strained. God, Himself, does not depart from the person, because God has promised He will never leave a true Christian. Hebrews 13:5 (NKJV), “…He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you.” However, when a person disobeys God, that one is leaving God.
The closeness of our relationship with God is highly dependent upon obeying His word and keeping a clear conscience. John 14:23, 24 (NIV), “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching…”
Many times, we lie to ourselves. Jeremiah 17:9 (NKJV), “The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?” So, we may tell ourselves, “this sin is not really bad,” or “this behavior makes me feel so good, it must be okay.” In response, God will work in our lives and hearts to teach us that the sin is indeed bad and that we must stop behaving that way. We develop a guilty conscience. When we finally come to repentance, we should confess the sin to God and pray for forgiveness through the blood of Jesus. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness,” 1 John 1:9.
On the other hand, no marriage is perfect. We all hurt our spouses because we just don’t get it. We say something which seems okay but the spouse takes offense. Or we have habits which irritate. When this happens, it’s important to try to recognize how one person’s behavior is interpreted by the spouse. Then try to modify those actions. Marriage takes a lot of hard work. As we mature as Christians, we learn to overlook things. We may explain why we are hurt, but we recognize our spouse did not intend to hurt us. “…love covers all offenses,” Proverbs 10:12. Then we let it go and move on.
