Happiness

It is often too easy when our marriages become challenging to think, “What about my happiness, what about what I want out of this life?” Those are all valid questions. Nobody wants to go through life unhappy or feeling like your spouse got everything he wanted, yet you have done all the sacrificing. But that can be a dangerous slippery slope for believers. We can get caught up in the lie of, if I get divorced I can finally do things my way and then I can finally be truly happy. God warns us of the trouble we will find when we walk away from his commands and try to find our own happiness.

God places the lonely in families;

he sets the prisoners free and gives them joy.

But he makes the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land. Proverbs 68:6.

Jesus understands the temptations of this world. He also understands what it’s like to not want to do something, but do it anyways for the glory of God. Before he went to the cross he begged God for another way out, but ultimately was submissive to God’s will. But if you choose to disobey God’s will for your life, you will be subject to all the consequences of that decision.

And you have brought this upon yourselves

by rebelling against the Lord your God,

even though he was leading you on the way! Jeremiah 2:17

God wants us to follow down roads not that are fun, but those that will lead to everlasting life. He knows those fun and easy roads will only lead to our destruction. God wants us to have a full and rewarding life, but not at the cost of our souls. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will. And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. Romans 8:27-28.

So if you are sitting here thinking how much better your life would be without your spouse telling you what to do all the time, just remember that God HATES divorce. God wants us to stay married and work things out not because it is easy and fun all the time, but because it will help grow our character, make our marriages stronger in the end, and make our relationship with him even stronger. If we decide to walk out of the protection of his umbrella, we may face a future just as Israel did when they abandoned God.

Has any nation ever traded its gods for new ones,

even though they are not gods at all?

Yet my people have exchanged their glorious God

for worthless idols!

The heavens are shocked at such a thing

and shrink back in horror and dismay,”

says the Lord.

“For my people have done two evil things:

They have abandoned me—

the fountain of living water.

And they have dug for themselves cracked cisterns

that can hold no water at all! Jeremiah 2:11-13.

So lean on God and travel the hard road, because God will be with you on that road. God loves you and is trying to keep you safe. And after all, our truest happiness comes from God and God alone. The stronger our relationship grows with him, the more happy we will be. He is the way, the truth, and the life.