COMMITMENT

I was a marriage commitment failure.

I got married at age twenty with a baby on the way and a husband who was a full-time college student. Life was tough but got more challenging when chronic illness hit. It seemed like an almost constant struggle to keep our heads afloat.

Finally, the devil influenced my spiritual weakness and convinced me I was the cause of all our problems, even the health problems that my husband suffered. A “Christian” counselor, and I use that designation lightly, agreed that I should terminate the marriage if I felt it would be best for everyone. I was confused, tired, sick, and desperate to find a way out of difficulty, so I thought that was the confirmation I needed. God was not in that room speaking to me.

Biblically, I didn’t know any better, but it was just what my flesh wanted to hear. Our marriage ended exactly thirteen years from the day we got married. Several years ago, I made amends to my former husband, and he refused to let me take all the blame. That’s amazing grace.

Saved but undiscipled, I eventually remarried. A wonky-yoked marriage of believers who aren’t born again isn’t a bed of roses. We both had faults that grated against each other. Still, twenty-eight years later, by the grace of God, this couple who got married in Vegas at the Chapel Of Love are born again and committed to a biblical covenant marriage. We’ve had marriage counseling and close calls. We’ve fought in the car on the way to church. We have communication problems because neither of us is very good at it, but we know God is in this. He’s forgiven us for our weaknesses, so how can we not do the same for each other?

Life is tough, you know? As long as we stay focused on the Lord in our lives and the promise we made to each other and God, our contentment will only increase by measure.

Have you ever felt judged and condemned by those around you? Did you internalize it or draw nearer to the Lord? What healing balm did the Lord apply to your soul?

For me, the healing balm was realizing that in God’s eyes, no sin is more or less than another, except blaspheming the Holy Spirit, the only unforgivable sin. By His stripes, we are forgiven, healed, and saved. We must not become shrinking violets hiding in fear but use our time, talents, and treasures to invest our love in people with eternity in mind. We will spend eternity with other people on the New Earth doing what we do best to glorify God. Loving people glorifies God. Pray about how you can best love people.

Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. 1 Peter 4:8