Today Rebekah M Hallberg will share Hope for the Hurting Wife Standing for Your Marriage Alone from her story.
How do I save a failing marriage alone?
That thought came when everything was falling apart a few years back. I didn’t have the heart to wonder, ‘How can I make my marriage work again?’ because it seemed hopeless.
Doesn’t it take two to fix a marriage? If you have had any of those thoughts then pour a cup of coffee and settle in.
Hope for the Hurting Wife Standing for Your Marriage Alone
The knock on the door signified what would likely be the end of my marriage (I’m Rebekah M Hallberg) – at least, that’s what the devil had planned – no hope.
You see, he quietly came into our marriage in the form of some bad choices. He worked enough harm that our marriage nearly fell apart. In fact, by all worldly standards, our marriage was over. The knock was the final straw. I watched my marriage crumble to a million pieces that day. As I watched it unfold my hear needed hope as I joined many who are standing for your marriage alone.
The confusing part was this. By all accounts, we had a strong model of a biblical marriage. What happened?
What is standing for your marriage?
The choices my husband made behind my back nearly became my undoing.
What I needed was hope for the wife standing for her marriage alone. I remember searching for terms like “marriage crisis” or “hope for my marriage” when everything fell apart, to no avail. The realization that there was nowhere to turn for real, sustained hope was devastating.
Was there no one who wrote about how to overcome a crisis in your marriage?
What is standing for your marriage in this culture? Had the world’s wisdom to “cut and run” infiltrated our Christian perspective as well? Where was the hope for a godly wife longing to honor God first?
Regardless of what the culture says, I know that God is for marriage. The culture asks “is marriage worth saving?’ and “Why are you standing up for your spouse?”. But as a godly wife, I must do things God’s way and trust Him even when I am hurting, even when I am standing for my marriage alone.
Did you find this mid-series? Go back and see what you missed on the Hope For Marriage Event Page
When marriage is hard God can move in unexpected ways
Isn’t it funny how we ask God one thing only to have Him answer something different?
What I wanted was to ask God how to save your marriage alone. But God wanted to help me grow closer to Him and see the things He wanted to change in me.
I won’t presume to speak for you, but I know that in my own life, it was easier to hinge my hope on the man I see every day rather than the God who I cannot see.
Anybody else feel that way?
I put a lot of hope into the tangibles of life – people, food, shelter – and it was easier to have that faith in my husband when things were tough, rather than God.
So you can imagine how devastated I was to learn of all that had been going wrong in my marriage behind my back.
Friends, it took a traumatic incident to open my eyes. It took almost complete and utter devastation of my marriage for me to realize that my hope was misplaced.
The Only True Hope for the Hurting Wife
The only true hope for a hurting wife is Jesus Christ.
The only solid foundation for a marriage is Jesus Christ.
I know the depths of the pain of a marriage in crisis that leaves you standing for your marriage alone. I know the shame and guilt of a marriage that is broken.
But, I know the hope of a God who restores and redeems, and you can know that hope today, too!
Let me encourage you, though, that God is in the depths of the pain! When you are asking ‘how to fight for your marriage alone?’ God is there holding onto you. God is in those moments when you do not know what to do and you simply cry out to Him. When you’re ready to give up and throw in the towel, God is there!
Hope for the Hurting Wife: The Book
Hope for the Hurting Wife is a collection of stories of God’s faithfulness in some of the lowest and darkest times in our lives. My co-author, Jen Stults, and I, have been through some marital struggles that cut us to the core. God brought us together to share our stories and to share hope with you.
We never intended to write this book. Rather, it took the Lord’s prompting for us to understand what He wanted us to do. This has been His way of writing redemption on our marriages first and then filling our hearts with hope to share with others. We’ve come to truly understand this excerpt that we share on the back cover of our book:
“For better… or worse.”
It’s such a pretty phrase, full of promise and potential, one that captures the honest intentions of heartfelt pledges between bride and groom. But let’s be honest, you never expected your happily ever after would actually fade from better to worse.
Hope for the Hurting Wife is a thirty-day devotional journey that meets hurting and heartbroken wives right in the midst of a difficult marriage and gently encourages them to find hope that truly lasts. Jen and I know many wives truly wish to avoid divorce, but the pain and suffering experienced when marriage doesn’t go as planned is very real.
The Best Guarantee for The Hurting Wife Standing for Your Marriage Alone
We cannot promise that your marriage will be restored. That’s between you, your spouse and the Lord.
What we can promise you, though, is that if you commit to developing your own faith during this time of troubled marriage, even if you are standing for your marriage alone, then you will not be disappointed! God will work in your life in a unique way, causing you to grow in Him. While this book can offer hope for your marriage, our prayer is that it offers more than that.
Our prayer is that Hope for the Hurting Wife offers restoration – a restoration of your own faith, first and foremost.
Perhaps you’ve been following this series and searching for hope. Or maybe you’ve landed here today after searching hope for Marriage somewhere online. Friends, hope is not just a thing to be found; Hope is a person and that person is Jesus Christ.
Maybe you’ve hit rock bottom and you’re ready to give up; today is not the day to give up, though! Today can be a new beginning for you as you find the only hope for a hurting wife.
I would like to pray with you today, Sweet wife standing for your marriage.
Heavenly Father, You know the needs of each and every person who reads this post. You know where their marriage stands right this minute. Yes, Lord, you see this hurting wife, standing for her marriage alone – but never alone because you are always with her!
Lord, we know that we have to trust You with the ultimate outcome of our marriage and each of us are looking for hope for our marriage today. We know Your Word is faithful; we know that You love us; how we long for hope today. Lord, you are a God who restores and redeems. We read in Isaiah 43 that You have redeemed us and called us by name.
So, Lord, while we look for hope and search for restoration for our marriage, help us to remember that You are our hope. You are our restoration. You have redeemed us! What a wonderful God You are!
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
God Loves You and will restore you
But now, thus says the Lord, your Creator, O Jacob,
And He who formed you, O Israel,
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name; you are Mine!“Since you are precious in My sight,
Since you are honored and I love you,
I will give other men in your place and other peoples in exchange for your life.“Do not call to mind the former things,
Or ponder things of the past.
“Behold, I will do something new,
Now it will spring forth;
Will you not be aware of it?
I will even make a roadway in the wilderness,
Rivers in the desert.
Salvation
If you have come here today, truly searching, today can be your day of salvation. The Lord sent His Son, Jesus, to die for our sins. He was crucified on the cross, dead and buried, and on the third day, He rose again, He ascended into Heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father, waiting for the moment that He comes back to take us home to Heaven.
Jesus died to make a way for us to have eternal life with God the Father. In fact, He died for each of us, not willing that any of us should be without hope.
There is True Hope for the Hurting Wife Standing for Your Marriage Alone
Whatever heartache you’re carrying today, God wants to take it from you. When you are God’s child you never walk through anything alone. That does not mean a perfect life, restored marriage or happily ever after. No, but it means that when marriage is hard, when you are standing for your marriage alone, God is with you.
“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30 NASB)
Have you accepted God’s free gift of salvation through His Son, Jesus? Today is your day of Hope! All you need to do is simply pray this prayer with me. There is nothing special about these words, you’re simply asking Jesus to take your sins and to be the Lord of your life.
Dear Lord, thank You for sending Your Son, Jesus to die on the cross for my sins. Thank You for the free gift of salvation that you offer to me. I accept this gift, I choose today to have You be the Lord of my life. I choose today to have You as my Hope. Guide me as I grow in You, and show me how to live for you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
If you’ve prayed this prayer, today is your day of hope! Today is your day of salvation and we would love to hear about it. Please leave us a message in the comments below. We’d love to encourage you on this journey!
God gave Rebekah a front row seat to the work of His redemption in her marriage. After surviving the initial trauma, she determined to fix her eyes solely on Jesus and trusted Him to carry her through the storm that followed. Rebekah shares not only her heartache, but also her great hope with other wives so they might know God still redeems, even in the toughest of circumstances. Now, years later, she praises God for restoring her marriage. Rebekah is the co-author of Hope for the Hurting Wife: 30 Days of Encouragement for your marriage. She co-leads an online community for struggling wives around the world and shares encouragement for those who face the daunting task of surviving the “for worse” of marriage. You can learn more about her ministry to wives at her blog, Sharing Redemption’s Stories.
If you enjoyed this you would also like these Posts:
- 14 Characteristics of a Godly Wife that will Save Your Marriage
- 40-Days to Be Still and Know God More
- How to Fast and Pray in a Way that Pleases God
This is beautiful, Rebekah. Thank you Tiffany 😊
So glad it blessed you Ifeoma!