Christians Going Through Divorce

The Bible says that God hates divorce. When Christians marry, they intend to spend a lifetime together. No one anticipates their marriage ending in divorce. For Christians, especially, it’s not only emotionally and sometimes financially devastating, but it can be embarrassing. If you and your spouse have been involved in your community or have participated in church activities and become good friends with other couples, they may not understand. You may even try to hide the fact that you’re divorced; but, sooner or later, the truth will surface and you’ll have to deal with it.

Divorce isn’t supposed to happen in Christian marriages, but sometimes it does, and most Christians find that being open and honest about their situation will garner support and compassion from friends and family members. The divorce isn’t your fault, if you had a cheating or abusive spouse. If your spouse is doing these things, he or she is not converted. Scripture (Matthew 7:16) says, “You will know them by their fruits.” One of the fruits of the Spirit is long suffering, or patience (2 Corinthians 6:6).

This means that when trials come, you’re supposed to work together to overcome or get through them. An unconverted person may run away, but not a Spirit-filled Christian. According to a survey done in 2004 by the Barna Group, 35 percent of Christians have gone through divorce. The same percentage is true of non-Christians. The truth is that if you’ve experienced divorce due to your former spouse’s adultery, abuse or abandonment of you, possibly you were unequally yoked to an unbeliever. God has called us to peace (1 Corinthians 7:15).