JUST SAY NO!

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For the Lord God of Israel says that He hates divorce, for it covers one’s garment with violence, says the Lord of Host. (Malachi 2 v 16)

Yes, God hates divorce, it goes completely against His divine design for the men and women He created. God knows what is best for us human beings, and His commands direct us to follow His path, a path He has outlined for our own good. Yet even when we’re where God wants us to be, and once we say “I do” we are where God wants us to be, the path isn’t necessarily easy.

Simply put, marriage is one of the greatest tools God uses to bring out our sins, our downfalls and our shortcomings, and it exposes our self-centeredness like few other experiences can. And who of us wants to look at our negative traits when it’s so much easier to go the opposite direction and run from God and the relationship.

At the same time. Satan loves to dangle the idea of divorce in our mind as a foothold for his deceitful attacks. He knows that pondering the thoughts of divorce as an option can change (and weaken) our approach to problem solving. And his success in this approach is obvious given the divorce rate now. The good news is, our God is a God of amazing power and grace, and by His strength and the support of the church and fellow believers, you and your spouse can work through the seemingly insurmountable marital challenges and the most painful of hurts. Lean on Him and His words with all your heart and trust Him to be faithful to you in return.

LOVE IN ACTION

Take a walk together, hold hands, think out loud together the cost of divorce, the cost of each of you, your children, your grandparents, your friends, the church. As you walk along, ask God to protect your marriage and to grow your love for Him and for each other.

Talk to God about how He has used your spouse to reveal your sin so you can confess it and He can make you more like Christ. Thank him for the important aspect of marriage.

P R A Y E R

Lord, we made a covenant promise to you to stay together until death do us part. When keeping that promise gets tough and it will from time to time, please surround us and protect us from the enemy’s attempts to pull us apart. Pour your grace and supernatural into our hearts and minds, that we might weather the storm for your glory and our good.