When was the last time you went out
on a date, for a meal, the cinema?
These things are important, but if
there is really a sense of people
growing apart, then that is a deeper
issue.
PCR: And praying together of course.
(i.e. another way to deal with a
spouse’s disinterest). Can a marriage
be stronger if a couple have come to
realise each other’s weaknesses and
if one or both of them have fallen
and forgiven each other and started
again, can a marriage be stronger or
is it permanently weakened?
People mistake forgiveness for trust.
There are certain things that happen
in marriages - if we see certain things
happen again and again, there may
well come a time when we need to
say “can I really trust this person
again?” Joseph had clearly forgiven
his brothers for their betrayal and
brutality. You could tell, he was
weeping so loud the Egyptians heard
him. But he didn’t yet know if he
could trust his brothers, so with the
wisdom of God, he set up some
scenarios to see if they had changed.
I’m not suggesting we set up some
elaborate scenarios in our
marriages…
JN: Absolutely, we serve a God who
is able to do complete healing and
restoration works in our hearts and
lives. When somebody has made that
horrible mistake and they have in
some way betrayed or let down their
husband or wife, and where that
spouse is able to fully forgive, where
they’re both able to be restored,
where they can put their marriage
right again, they can go on and have
a really strong happy marriage. PCR: With some lovely looking
women…
And this is it. We as Christians have a
God who answers prayers, that heals
our hearts, we have hope that just
isn’t out there normally. Interview reproduced by Puaichie Badejo
with permission from Premier Christian
Radio’s Inspirational Breakfast. Tune in on
Mondays-Fridays 7am -10am on DAB,
online and MW 1305 MW 1413. For more
details, visit http://www.premier.org.uk/
PCR: You mentioned forgiveness.
That in itself is really difficult, but
let’s say that we’ve managed to
forgive our partner, what about
trust? How can you learn to trust
them again?
JN: …and that is not wise and not the
way we do things, but we’ve got to
understand the difference between
forgiveness and trust. It is painful to
forgive, but it is worth it. Trust is
something else and trust needs to be
earned over a period of time.
PCR: Right, we need to earn trust.
JASMINE'S PLACE
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