The first lie the devil tells so many hurting couples is simply: “God’s Word really doesn’t provide marriage healing.”
I hear this so much: “I just don’t think God can heal my marriage. I don’t see in the Bible where He healed marriages. I just don’t think it’s in God’s Word.”
How sad when people really believe they have no choice except to suffer in a bad marital situation or else get a divorce. Well, that’s just not true. That’s a lie of the devil!
God doesn’t want you to suffer and He doesn’t want you to get a divorce. He wants to heal your marriage.
Matthew 19:5 and Mark 10:9 both say the same thing: “What God hath joined together let no man put asunder.” First Corinthians 7:27 says if you are married, do not seek a divorce. Then, in Malachi 2:16, God said, “I hate divorce.”
Now, surely even reason and logic tell us that if God says not to divorce then He must have provided a way to prevent it. And He has! Marriage healing is a part of the whole plan of redemption.
Underscore that sentence! Get it into your spirit! Marriage healing is a part of the whole plan of redemption.
We Are Redeemed from Divorce
Jesus redeemed us on the cross. He redeemed us from sin, sickness, and disease. The Bible says He restored all that the devil took from us and that includes a blessed and beautiful marriage.
According to Galatians 3:13-14, Jesus redeemed us from the curse of the law. And let me tell you, marriage problems are a curse of the law.
Deuteronomy 28 makes it clear that it’s a curse to live in divorce and adultery. It talks about being away from your family and being away from your home – that certainly can describe the effect of divorce and adultery. And it’s a curse.
The Bible says Jesus redeemed us from that curse. So we don’t have to live with divorce in our lives.
One day the Pharisees came to Jesus and said, “Well, Moses permitted the people to divorce.” And this was Jesus’ answer: “But from the beginning this was not so” (see Mark 10).
What He was saying was that this was not God’s original plan, not His will. So Jesus, on the cross, brought us back to the beginning. He brought us back to His original plan, and that is for you to have a blessed and beautiful marriage.
You don’t have to stay in an unhappy marriage and suffer. And you don’t have to get a divorce. You can be free. Your marriage can be healed.
Jesus is a Healer. We all know that. That’s one of His greatest characteristics. He is a Healer. He heals bodies. He heals spirits. He heals minds. He heals relationships. And He heals marriages. Jesus wants to heal your marriage.
Don’t settle for second best. Don’t settle for less than God’s perfect will. Marriage healing is a part of redemption.
Excerpt permission granted by Lakewood Church
Lisa Osteen Comes is an Associate Pastor at Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas under the leadership of her brother, Pastor Joel Osteen. In her role, she brings over 25 years of preaching and ministry experience to the congregation and is involved in many aspects of the church's leadership.
Lisa is a notable miracle of our day, having been healed of a crippling disease as a baby. Injured at birth, Lisa developed a condition similar to cerebral palsy which doctors said would cripple her and cause her early death. But as her parents prayed for her, God miraculously healed Lisa before her first birthday.
In 1990, while serving at Lakewood Church, again Lisa's life was spared when she opened a package containing a pipe bomb that exploded in her lap, riddling her office with nails and shrapnel. God miraculously protected her and she escaped with minor injuries.
Through all of her challenges and experiences, Lisa has become known as a respected ministry leader and Bible teacher. Lisa's passion for God's Word and love for people radiate in her practical, yet insightful messages. Lisa is a graduate of Oral Roberts University. She and her husband, Kevin, work together at Lakewood Church and they have three children.
