Recovering from divorce

Divorce is one of the most painful things the human heart can experience. If it’s happened to you, you know that’s true. If it hasn’t, be grateful and show compassion towards those devastated by it. Have you been crushed by someone you trusted? Does loneliness overwhelm you in the midnight hours? Do you feel as though your hands are completely tied? Does it upset you because your friends don’t seem to understand? Don’t despair – your present circumstances will change. You will recover; you will rebuild; you will not stay down. It will take time, and you’ll have to invest some effort. You will experience pages of sadness in your diary of success, but by God’s grace, you will learn to live again and love again. As you draw close to God and search His Word, He will reveal the secret of inner peace and how to take back your life. If you are the innocent party, read this Scripture and hide it in your heart: ‘He heals the broken-hearted and binds up their wounds’ (Psalm 147:3 NIVUK). If you are the guilty party, remember you haven’t committed the unpardonable sin. So your failures are forgivable and forgettable. God’s promise to you is: ‘I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more’ (Isaiah 43:25 NIV). Whether you are the innocent or the guilty party, the word for you today is: ‘Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past…I am doing a new thing!… I am making a way’ (vv. 18-19 NIV).

Prayer Point

Father, I pray for people who are alone today because of divorce or a relationship breakdown. Thank You that no matter our mistakes, You forgive us and encourage us to learn and move on. Please help me realise that my present circumstances don’t define the rest of my life. Help me to look towards the future that You have laid out for me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Murdock, Dr Mike, Wisdom for Winning (Tulsa, OK: Honor Books, 1988), 111-117.