Years ago I knew a boy who was deeply in love with a girl he met while they were still in high school. He loved her very much, and he was convinced she was the girl God wanted him to marry. They talked about marriage, but because they were young, and there were still several years of school that lay ahead for both of them, they weren't formally engaged.

For a couple of years they were separated in different schools. During the separation, the girl was "rushed" by a very attractive young man. He too talked of marriage, and the girl was confused. In her correspondence to her first beau, her confusion came through. The first beau talked with her on the phone, and her confusion was confirmed in their conversation.

So the young man did the only thing he knew to do. Believing that she was the girl God wanted for him, he communicated to her in writing that he loved her, wanted her to be his wife, but until God had convinced her of the same thing, she would not hear from him again. Then he prayed something like this: God, I think she is the one You want for me, but you will have to convince her. I leave her in Your hands to guide her emotions as well as mine.

And he stopped communicating. He didn't call. He didn't write, and he placed his future relationship in God's hands.

That Is the Risk of Faith!

And three months later, he heard from his girl, and three years later they were married.

Over thirty years ago, when I was pastor of a church in Alabama, a woman, whom I will call "Maggie," came to me and told me her husband, "Charlie," was an alcoholic. She described his behavior. He was an abusive, mean drunk. He had lost several jobs, and the only steady income to support her and her two sons came from her job as a bank teller. And, now, she was about to collapse from physical and emotional fatigue.

After listening to her, and questioning her carefully, I discovered that "Maggie" was a committed Christian who loved her husband and didn't believe in divorce. But she was caught on the horns of a dilemma. She needed protection from the abusive demands and actions of her drunken husband. She couldn't take care of him and hold her job at the same time. But at that time the State of Alabama had no enforceable provisions for legal separation.

Because she was a woman of genuine faith, I made the following suggestion: "Maggie, if you don't find a way to protect yourself from Charlie, you are going to collapse, and the boys will have no home and have to be put in foster home care. Get a divorce. Since you don't believe in divorce you will have to understand that this is simply a legal device to protect yourself. Even though you will be legally divorced in the eyes of the state, in your own mind you know you are not divorced in the eyes of God. This will give you legal protection from his abuse. You should pray for his healing, and the restoration of your marriage. Maybe this will force Charlie to face his problem and seek help for his alcoholism. And if he gains sobriety and wants to come back to you, make him court you all over again before you remarry him."