Dating After Divorce Lessons from Isaiah 25

Sunday’s first reading from the Book of Isaiah, spoke of God saving His people from death, of wiping the tears from every face, and yesterday, I showed how death compared to divorce, but the passage is so rich in meaning for those searching for more in this life. Simply to not die, is no way to truly Live! As human beings, we were made to seek out companionship, comfort and Love in one another

But too many of us take this seeking too far. Too many of us search, not for someone to walk by our side through the trials of this life, but to save us from the trials of this life. When they fail to do so, as they must since they are human too, we become disillusioned, disappointed, and disavowed, but this is often less their fault than ours. We ~~sought~~ expected things in them no mere person can give or be.

Isaiah 25 tells us:

Behold our God, to whom we looked to save us!
This is the LORD for whom we looked;
let us rejoice and be glad that he has saved us!

This is a reminder to question who we look to for salvation. When the marriage ends and bills pile up and children are forced to adjust, when life seems to crash down around you and there seems no relief in sight, there is a great temptation to find someone (anyone!) to replace the abandoned spouse, to fill the hole, to take up the side of the bed left empty months after the spouse departed, but it is especially vital in those times to look to God for Salvation, not another human being.

This verse is a message for all to beware of jumping too quickly into the arms of another. The divorce rate among second marriages is high. If you are fortunate enough to find Love again, be sure you and your mate are centered on the Lord first, that you are stable and established and not dating out of loneliness or fear or pure sexual desire. Make no compromises when it comes to finding a man of faith. Hold yourself and your future spouse to a higher standard. Ask yourself and him tough questions and look for evidence to support your answers.

Is this truly someone you see being with for an eternity? Will he help you attain your ultimate goal, not of finding a good job or getting a clean house or helping your kids get into the right colleges or any other worldly aspirations, but will he help you and your children get into Heaven? Will he support you when you tumble? Will he push you when you backslide? Will he hold your hand and sprint with you when you’re motivated to do more, to be more? Will he accept your hand up when he falls? Will you kindly offer your hand when he falls because he, like you, will fall? Will he be the leader, showing you and your children the best path to follow? Will you always find something to Love in this man? Is he capable of always finding something in you to Love? Is this truly someone your God, with His high standards, will accept at his table?

The message from Isaiah 25 is that it is God who has the power to rescue you from death and divorce when you depend on Him and His timing. If you are considering getting involved with someone again, this time, be sure that if something goes wrong, you already know your own true value, that your foundation is built on God, not on man. For it is only God who truly saves.

If God has plans for you to be married again, He is already working on your future spouse too. Pray for that spouse, for his health, for his body, his mind, his emotional and spiritual strength, for his overall well being. Pray for his family, for his success, for his Goodness. Pray for his eternity. Do not wait until he is in your life and you “get something out of it.” Believe and Pray even today!