Many will say it is a well-known fact that millions of people file for divorce every year. It’s even been said the divorce rate is over 50% in the church. That is what I have been told and have taught others for years! I am embarrassed because I have believed and communicated this negative, inaccurate viewpoint.
Part of our conventional wisdom is based on false beliefs. In her book, The Good News About Marriage, Shaunti Feldhahn debunks discouraging myths about marriage and divorce, writing, “The actual divorce rate has never been close to 50%. It’s significantly lower and has been declining over the last thirty years.” Certainly the family is in a crisis, marriages are being attacked, and precious children are being washed onto the shore of lonely bitterness. But there are significant reasons and evidence-based facts that encourage us to have hope regarding the state of marriage today. Where are you in your view of marriage? Are you empowered by the health of your marriage? Do you want to move from throwing the bouquet to throwing in the towel in your marriage? No need to fret. Friends, it’s always TOO early to quit. With Christ, there’s hope, and your marriage can be better than ever.
The Bible gives us several enduring truths about marriage. In Ephesians 5:21-33, God calls husbands to love your wives. Wives, God invites you to respect your husbands, even when we sometimes act disrespectful. Both are impossible without Christ and the Bible. If you’re single, ready yourself with Jesus because the statistics of divorce are stacked against you. If you’re a child or teenager, are you a joy to your parents, a weight to your parents, or even a wedge driving them apart?
Wherever you are in life, God holds relationships high -- especially the institution of marriage. Let’s hold it high, too, by being someone who loves people better and forgives them quicker. Let’s not be a statistic, but let’s be significant and remarkable in our marriages and families!
Father, help me to never be a statistic. Help me to value relationships before things. Keep me from the slide of the culture that values selfishness above family responsibility. Help me to be the person You have called me to be for Jesus’ sake. Amen.
Thank you for joining me! I'm excited to join the PTLB team as a Life Coach, speaker, consultant, and blogger. I partner with parents and encourage and train kids and teens, spiritually, emotionally, mentally, academically, and athletically to help them develop the strengths and champion in their life. I look forward to writing more articles for Life Is Relationships in the coming weeks. If you would like to connect with me, feel free to reach out to info@ptlb.com.
In Him,
Rick Hoppe
P.S. If you are looking for encouragement and a tool to refresh your soul, check out my 52-week devotional, Refuel Your Soul. You can order it by clicking HERE.
P.S.S. Want more of Life Is Relationships? See past articles by clicking HERE.
52 Weeks of Encouragement and Refreshment for Your Soul!
We all need constant encouragement to refresh our soul daily. Refuel Your Soul: 52 Weeks of Encouragement is a renewing and hope-filled book written by life coach, speaker, consultant, and pro-tennis player, Rick Hoppe. It provides weekly refreshment for your heart and daily doses of powerful scriptural study. Perfect for a daily devotional, weekly small-group study, women’s study, men’s monthly meetings, or a 365-day dose of refreshment, Refuel Your Soul has been designed to resolve your need for daily hope and direction in an easy-to-read, colloquial manner. Topics include God’s perspective on family, friendships, marriage, and parenting, character development, life direction and purpose, and cultural influence.Paced with 52 dynamic devotions and 365 days of thought-provoking, refreshing questions, this book promises to nourish your soul continually with the empowerment of Jesus Christ. Refuel Your Soul is guaranteed to be a spring of spiritual refreshment and encouragementthroughout the year.