Rebounding Does Not Always Mean to Bounce Back

The practice of rebounding occurs during basketball, but also during dating relationships. It is used to describe a new relationship, which occurs by ricocheting from the door slamming on a past relationship. The person who is rebounding falls for one of the first people to give them attention after their divorce, and they quickly form a commitment without consulting the Lord.

This is tragic. In new relationships, we should take our time and seek the Lord's will in them. We need to pay attention to every red flag that pops up during our interaction with this new person. It is far better to live alone than to shackle oneself to someone, which is not God’s will for us (Proverbs 21:9, 25:24; Proverbs 17:1). We need to spend quality and quantity of time with any new person.

Carnal attraction is the main reason many people choose a mate; yet, this wanes with familiarity. If we do not develop a friendship and a genuine caring connection, our new relationship may not weather life’s storms either. We will end up in another bad situation and heading for divorce court all over again.

Instead, use your time as a single person to minister as the Lord directs, join group activities to cultivate new friendships and work in church ministries to meet people who share your common bond of faith. If God wants you married, He will bring along a new mate in His timing. He may take longer than you would like, because He wants to work out issues in your personality and soul, which need healing first.

Prayer:

Father God, sometimes divorce is inevitable, especially in cases of infidelity or if our partner is determined to leave us. Please help us to focus on our relationship with You in our times of grief and solitude. Remind us that watching romantic movies and reading novels will reinforce our feelings of loneliness. Keep us from rebounding or using addictions to fill the void in our life. The deeper we delve into Your Word, Your people and Your ministries, the less lonely we will feel and the more Your joy will fill our heart. Joy and contentment in You will ease our feelings of isolation and disappointment.

Thought for the Day:

Listening to Christian worship and hanging out with the Body of Christ, as we focus on God's will for our life, will help to fill our soul with God's peace, joy and love.

For further reading, check out:

http://www.focusonthefamily.com/faith/christian_singles/being_single_and_faithful/reentering_the_dating_scene_after_divorce.aspx

Loving With All of Your Heart

Read: Romans 12:1-2

“The man answered, "'You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.' And, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"- Luke 10: 27

In his sermon tonight, my pastor husband spoke about how God wants us to love Him. He made his point by using this example:

“I love my wife. I really, really love my wife. I tell her this all the time. I spend as much time with my wife as I can. I enjoy spending time with her and she loves to spend time with me. We do just about everything together.

“Now, what if I told my wife, ‘I really, really love you;’ but then, I did everything I could to avoid spending time with her? What if I fill up my days so full of activities that I barely have a chance to say, ‘Good Morning,’ and ‘Good Night’ to her? Would she believe that I love her? Would she believe that I was devoted to her and that I would do anything to make her happy? Would she let me get away with this type of behavior for very long without saying something to me about it? No woman in her right mind would feel loved without actions to back up the words.

“God wants this same devotion from us. He wants us to spend time with Him, as well as telling Him that we love Him. I meet people who say, ‘Oh, I really, really love the Lord;” but their day is so full of work, running their kids in ever direction at once, and pursuing their own hobbies or watching TV all hours of the day and night, that they never have time to read their Bible, to pray or to come to worship services and church Bible studies and prayer meetings. This makes me wonder just how much they actually love the Lord. How do you think the Lord feels when people act this way?

“If my wife expects me to be a man of my word and to love her in deed, as well as in word; how much more does the Lord expect this same consideration from me? Let us strive to love God not as hearers only, but also as doers of His Word (James 1:22), starting with constant communication with Him throughout the day (1 Thessalonians 5:19).”

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, teach us to pray without ceasing and to follow the leading of Your Spirit every moment of the day. Enable our love for You to spill over into our time with our family and community as well.

Thought for the Day:

God’s love fills in the cracks of our imperfections.