It’s been a long and stressful day at work. You come home, looking for a little relief, support, perhaps even some affirmation. But what you get is . . . more stress, unmet expectations, invalidation, and down right meanness. Today it crosses the line of your ability to tolerate and you say – “that’s it. I’ve had it. I’m done!” You want out. Surely God wants better for you than this. But as you search the scriptures looking for loopholes, you only seem to find encouragement in how to choose loving behaviors. AHHHHH!! What to do?
I want to take an excerpt from my book “God Understands Divorce” to speak into this question.
“What does God desire?” . . . . ‘I need to know more specifically His will in this area of marriage and divorce. What does He want me to do in this situation?’ [In answering this] I want to set the stage with an important premise . . . .It is important that you make and carry out your decisions from a point of conviction and not convenience. . . . . . In other words, study to see exactly what God says and allow that alone to determine what you do. Too many times, I see individuals enter the discussion with preconceived ideas and desires. They know what they want to do before the discussion even begins. So, they work diligently to create an intellectual scaffolding to support their preconceived desires. This is what I call a decision that comes from convenience. People do mental and intellectual gymnastics to create an argument, to build a defense, for what they want, regardless of the facts. This is being intellectually dishonest with yourself and with God. [Instead] Set your course of action based upon conviction that comes from understanding God’s Word. . . . God knows what He designed, how we are meant to work, and what is best for us, and overall He knows what He is doing! What a concept! God’s will is not that we divorce, but that we love, forgive, reconcile, and redeem our marriages in order to honor Him. We also receive an amazing by-product of achieving satisfaction ourselves.”
Believe me when I say “I know this is not easy.” But I would submit that in order to achieve genuine joy, happiness, and fulfillment – it is a good place to begin, as you tackle what seems to be insurmountable. How might you begin to make decisions today that come from a place of conviction rather than convenience?