A Christian Response to Divorce and Doubt

Everybody likes to complain about God, especially when something bad has happened. He's never there when you need Him! He doesn't care about what's happening to you! He wouldn't let people suffer if He really loved them! It's easy to feel this way especially when you are going through a divorce and riding on that reckless roller coaster of emotions. This sentiment of feeling abandoned by God can definitely haunt you as you sift through the debris of divorce, trying to figure out what and why it all happened. Does it feel like God has turned the tables on you?

Well, let's take a moment and try to see the situation from God's perspective.

When you are born, it’s like God has given you a signed, blank check. The check represents all the incredible gifts he's given you; time, free will, intelligence, talents, etc. Everything you need to go forward and live a life full of achievement and possibility. He’s endowed you with gifts that are unique to you and your life. It's like hearing God say, “Here is my gift of life to you! Run with it! Make the most of it!”

But, at some point, life's unwanted surprises hit, like divorce. The pain and ugliness can completely overshadow this understanding of what life is supposed to be. The world becomes a cold and heartless place, almost as if you're living only in black and white – there's no color or taste to life. The rejection, anger, and lack of forgiveness can make you feel as if life is completely void of joy and possibility. God is still there, and His gifts to you are still there. He has not revoked the slightest one of them. So why not reject the typical attitudes toward God and suffering and seize the opportunity to do something really great? This is precisely the point where you can make a change that will affect you the rest of your life and most likely affect those around you. When everyone else is complaining about God, you can be the one to turn around and give Him a signed, blank check. It is a blank check that offers your life, your time, your talents back to Him. It represents your fidelity to Him and says, “I trust you, Lord” at a time when everything seems uncertain and you don’t know what the future holds.

There was a single mother who did this once in a very positive way. She got fired from her job one day and instead of letting herself become consumed with worry and negativity, she stopped at the grocery store on her way home and bought sweets and treats and many things she and her children didn't normally have because they couldn't afford it. When she came home, the children were naturally excited and asked what it was all for. Their mother told them the job she had had come to an end and now they were going to celebrate the new path God was going to have her take. What a great way to show her children how to handle adversity.

It is just too easy to just give in to pessimisim and the temptation to blame God for your troubles. What an amazing act of strength, hope and courage it would be to offer God that blank check of trust and hope in Him. And what an incredible example it would be to others. Who knows who is out there watching you as you go through this challenging time? Who knows what kind of change you might effect in the lives of those observing you?

Placing your trust in God is an act of faith and love that will be rewarded. He will take your blank check, invest all the trust you give him, and the return will be greater than you can hope for. Trust Him.