Marriage and Divorce Healing and Reconcilation
Are you hurting due to divorce, separation, or estrangement from your spouse during the holidays? Greg Laurie’s message “Immanuel” speaks the truth that Christ is with us and knows first hand the pain and loneliness of estrangement.
Listen to Immanuel (MP3) > Greg-Laurie-God-Is-With-Divorced-and-Lonely-People
God uses us when we are on empty and at our wits end. This has been the pattern for millennia. Take for example the prophet Elijah, who after a great victory ran from overwhelming troubles against overwhelming odds. Elijah thought he was alone, but he learned “one plus God is a majority.” Are your feeling empty and that you’ve run out of resources? Listen to J Vernon McGee’s sermon:
My friend LA Marzulli has a great mini-sermon about taking seriously a critical element of the Christian life – putting the full armor of God. We are living in a fallen world, full of all kinds of influences and attacks, physical, emotional, and spiritual. Keeping Ephesians 6:13-17 in mind everyday is critical, and having peace in the daily chaos is possible!
Listen to this brief audio- LA Marzulli on putting on the full armor of God (mp3 – 4 min.)
We have to do a lot of waiting in this life. We wait for loved ones to come to the Lord. We wait for reconciliation. We wait for God to improve us. This waiting is is part of God’s way to mature us:
“When you are going to play with me?” “Not yet. Not until I finish this report.” Fifteen seconds later the child asks the same question, this time with a tone of voice that can drive you mad. But the child is in us all. We too look forward to the day when we have learned perseverance before the Lord. It is the older wise man or woman who can take the many hassles of life in stride, without grumbling and complaining, with contentment rather than resignation. God has chosen to inject his character of perseverance and patient waiting into everyday, earthly life. We are patiently waiting for the Lord’s coming. Creation itself is patiently waiting for the time when it will be liberated from bondage (Rom. 8:22).
Welch, Edward T. (2006-11-01). Depression: A Stubborn Darkness (p. 94). New Growth Press. Kindle Edition.
Rejoice Marriage Ministries published some touching testimonies from women and men who are trusting Christ to heal their marriages. http://rejoiceministries.org/mothersday.php
The Lord spoke a strong word tonight via a sermon he directed me to. David Wilkerson’s “Standing Steadfast in Christ” spoke about not seeking the easy way out. As the Lord shows us in scripture through nature, those who choose to avoid conflict, people and the inevitable fires of life will suffer spiritual apathy. It’s clear my trials at work and at home most be met head on with the grace of Christ. So “Greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world” combined with the fact Christ will see me through my storms outside and my emotional pains within is absolutely necessary for me to grow.
And growing means not focusing on my own self but on how I can serve Christ and others. Wilkerson reminds us of Peter, who after he returned to the Lord and the risen Christ told him “Do you love me? Feed my sheep?”
Lord, help all who read this know that we must face life with your grace to grow and bear fruit for you. Let us not shrink from the spiritual battles at home and at work, but let us focus on helping the least and the lost of this world, in Jesus name.
Listen to Standing Steadfast in Christ>>
Loneliness is pervasive and deeply painful for many, no matter if they are divorced or married. Ironically, the lonely are a great company. John T. Cacioppo of the University of Chicago found that almost 25% of Americans feel chronically lonely. Above this authority, God Himself so identified the pain of loneliness it was the first thing in His creation He saw as flawed. In Genesis 2:18 He says, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”
Gary Wilkerson of the Springs Church in Colorado says there can be an end to your loneliness. Listen or watch.
It is with a mixture of present sadness and hope that we acknowledge the passing of David Wilkerson into the arms of Jesus, leaving this world due to an automobile crash. We continue to lift his family and his wife Gwen. David remains a man whose heart for the hurting, addicted, and lost touches me deeply in my continuing walk. Christ used my personal and marriage crises to bring me close, and David’s messages continue to show me the loving heart of Christ. David always honestly brought his own walk into his messages in a way that showed Christ’s love for those living the heartbreaks of life. His heart ached for those suffering around him.
I would recommend you read David’s last blog post “When All Means Fail“.
To those going through the valley and shadow of death, hear this word: Weeping will last through some dark, awful nights—and in that darkness you will soon hear the Father whisper, “I am with you. I cannot tell you why right now, but one day it will all make sense. You will see it was all part of my plan. It was no accident. It was no failure on your part. Hold fast. Let me embrace you in your hour of pain.”
Beloved, God has never failed to act but in goodness and love. When all means fail—his love prevails. Hold fast to your faith. Stand fast in his Word. There is no other hope in this world.
Earlier today I heard another who continues to minister after his passing via the radio, J Vernon McGee, tell a story about a man who took walks with God everyday. One day this man and the Lord were on an especially long walk. The man said to the Lord “It’s getting late, why aren’t we going back to my house?” The Lord said “Why don’t you come home with me today, my house is closer than yours.”
David, we are glad you are home tonight.
In “When the Boat Sinks” David Wilkerson talks about when Paul’s ship to Rome sinks. The Lord will sometimes allow the thing we fear to happen – the divorce, the health crises, the death of a loved one. Yet like Paul’s ship, the very breakup is a vehicle the Lord uses to spread His salvation. From Paul’s ship sinking came a series of miracles: no people on the ship died, they all made it safely to shore, and they and many on the island where the ship sank saw miracles of healing in their midst through Paul.
So in our crises, the breakup between with our spouse can result in many testimonies for Jesus as we stand for restoration – no matter how long it takes.
You have wasted years. These may be years spent with the pain and regrets of broken relationships, years wasted in drugs or alcohol, or years wasted where you were far from God and not the husband or wife you should have been. Within these wasted years your life was eaten up by worms of sin, addiction, sadness, and brokenness.
Joel 1:4 What the locust swarm has left the great locusts have eaten; what the great locusts have left the young locusts have eaten; what the young locusts have left other locusts have eaten.
When you come to Christ and repent, and let Him fill you up with His life, He will more than make up for these wasted years by an ever increasing Love from and for him. This will fill you up and will flow over to others, including prodigal spouses and broken family relationships. God can and will restore you and heal your broken relationships!
Joel 2:25 “I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten– the great locust and the young locust, the other locusts and the locust swarm — my great army that I sent among you.
Listen – David Wilkerson-God Will Restore All Your Wasted Years
For more information on David Wilkerson and his ministry please visit World Challenge >>
