Divorce Journal Entry #29

8:32 pm

I just recently got back from church with J**** and A**** (friends). The message spoke to me as if it was written for me. I wish that Amie would have been with me.

His main points were:
Satan has a plan of attack
1)To lure you from God’s path.
Satan is the ultimate deceiver. He is a liar and will plant thoughts in our minds that lead to wrongful acts.
2)Train you for divorce.
Satan wants us to believe that divorce is an option. That it is a way out. For a Christian, divorce is not an option especially when both parties love each other and agree that they can heal from painful events.
3)Rob you of hope.
Satan will make us start looking at other relationships around us and convince us that other people have it easier. He will cause great events in another couple’s life (having a child, new house, successful careers) to cause us to rethink our commitment and obligation to remain with each other. He will tell us that there is no hope.

Marriage is a covenant, not a contract.
Covenant – the unconditional surrender of your rights while increasing your responsibilities.
Contract – a conditional agreement about your rights and limiting your responsibilities.
In a covenant, two parties become one. There is no 50/50 giving or receiving… it is an agreement that regardless of what happens you will remain one. In a contract, two parties agree to uphold their portion of the deal. Should one party deviate from the agreement the contract allows them a way out.

Christians who experience divorce have allowed the devil to tell them lies. They have given up hope and lost sight of their covenant bond.

This message reaffirmed to me that I should never lose hope. I told Amie that regardless of how she treats me I will never lose hope. The basic premise of Christianity is to have hope.

“May integrity and uprightness protect me, because my hope is in you.”
Psalm 25:21

“For evil men will be cut off, but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land.”
Psalm 37:9

“But now Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in you.”
Psalm 39:7

“Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from Him.”
Psalm 62:5

“But as for me, I will always have hope; I will praise you more and more.”
Psalm 71:14

“Sustain me according to your promise, and I will live; do not let my hopes be dashed.”
Psalm 119:116

“Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.”
Proverbs 13:12

“but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”
Isaiah 40:31

“‘So there is hope for the future’, declares the Lord.”
Jeremiah 31:17

“The LORD is good to those whose hope is in Him, the one who seeks Him.”
Lamentations 3:25

“Therefore, my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will live in hope.”
Acts 2:26

“Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.”
Romans 5:3-5

“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.”
Romans 12:12

“Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”
1 Corinthians 13:6-7

“Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.”
Hebrews 10:23

“Everyone who has hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.”
1 John 3:3

I will not lose hope.