
I moved. Two days ago. A two hour drive, with two cars packed full of stuff, to an apartment I’ll be staying in for the next two months, because I want to be closer to the boyfriend I’ve been seeing for the last two months.
I’ve always said three is my favorite number, but maybe it should be two. There are two, after all, in a romantic relationship, in a couple.
But there should be three. There should be man, woman, and someone else…
There should be Jesus.
As I’ve been processing all of these amazing changes that God’s orchestrated in the last few months, one verse has persistently stayed in my mind:
“Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken” (Ecc. 4:12).
God is that third strand, friends. This verse can relate to any relationship, since two are better and stronger than one, but I think it can be especially potent when applying it to a couple.
How many people do you know who have marriage/relationship trouble? And I’m not talking about a little spat, but serious, deep trouble. Divorce and discourse is everywhere, friends.
While there are a plethora of reasons and individual circumstances, I think the root of all of this trouble is that God is not part of our cords.
Yeah, two are stronger than one, but have you ever tried to rip apart three? Have you ever tried to yank apart a braid by sheer force? Essentially, this braid is a type of three-stranded cord. And let me tell you, as a woman who values a good braid here and there–braiding your hair takes patience to do, and patience to undo.
Of course, we don’t want to unravel a three-stranded relationship cord, but you get the idea:
Three is not only the best, but is necessary, if a relationship is going to flourish like God designed.

And if God can’t be your third strand, you may want to evaluate if the other two are meant to be entwined; like Paul says, “bad company corrupts good character” (1 Cor. 15:32-34).
But I digress because that’s a whole other topic for a whole other day.
The bottom line, friends, is that God has designed us to be relational–not just with each other, but with Him.
The Trinity is three, the wise men were three, Jesus was tempted by Satan three times, and He was dead for three days.
Three–the number of completeness, finality, wholeness. We can’t be whole without Jesus, and neither can our relationships.
Man, woman, and God.
No way am I changing my favorite number.
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