2. God will not lead you away from your spouse.
Perhaps you and your spouse have ended up on two different planes. Maybe you started the marriage on the same page, but now you are different. It’s possible you have deepened your relationship with the Lord, and your spouse has not. In that clash of differing spiritual/relational levels there is strife in your marriage.
God does not lead you to divorce, and while it is important to be equally yoked, the Lord does not favor the severing of marriage. One flesh isn’t something to take lightly, so when differences and difficulties arise divorce is not the right answer.
I will never claim to be perfect, nor will I hide my past. I have suffered the scars and shame of divorce. I was not following close to Jesus at that time, and when my ex-husband told me he didn’t want to be married anymore I accepted that with little fight. God came and helped me through the aftermath of my broken marriage, but He didn’t lead me to divorce.
I am so happy with my current husband. Happier than I have ever been. I can’t imagine a life apart from him, but I don’t think it was God’s will for me to get divorced. For that matter, though, I don’t think it was His will for that first marriage to happen. Hindsight is 20/20. But I digress.
The point is, God doesn’t condone divorce. Can He forgive someone who has suffered through divorce? I believe so. I believe God forgives all His children who come in honest repentance and turn from their sinful ways. Can He heal someone after divorce? Absolutely! I’m living proof.
But does God lead you away from your spouse? No. Never. That’s not God. I’m sorry.
3. God will not change your spouse for you.
This is a hard concept to accept. It’s always what we cling to when marriage gets hard. When our spouse is difficult and calling it quits is on the forefront of our minds we hold tight to the old adage that God can change their heart for us. And He can. But He won’t.
Let me clarify.
God will not change your spouse for you. But He will change your spouse for His glory. What I mean is this. Many, many times when we are at odds with our spouse we pray in a certain way.
We pray, “God, make my husband be more attentive to me.”
Or, “God, make my husband be a better provider.”
“Notice me more.”
“Compliment me.”
“Get a better job.”
Maybe even, “get off his lazy butt.”
What do all these pleas have in common? Me, me, me.
Listen, God loves you. God wants you to have a happy marriage, and to have a spouse who treats you like you deserve to be treated. In fact, He commands such treatment in His word. But God wants you to treat your spouse as they deserve also, and that starts with desiring the best for them.
