“Happily Ever After”
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I think the cliché, “Happily ever after,” has become very deceptive.
The Ghanaian news and social media was flooded this week by two tragic stories of alleged physical abuse in relationships, that led to fatalities.
The first I saw was on a radio interview posted online. Then I later saw the daily graphic headline,
“Businessman allegedly ‘beats’ wife to death”
It broke my heart. The second was allegedly between a man and his girlfriend. The stories are still unfolding, and we pray for the best. My heart goes out to the families.
Love is beautiful, and a lot of people look forward to entering relationships, getting married, building beautiful families and living “Happily ever after.” Interestingly, we hardly talk about the fact that these are just aspirations: that the relationship might not work as expected, or the marriage might not be as blissful as anticipated, or the anticipated beautiful families might not happen as imagined; and that hard work, determination, patience, sacrifice and commitment would be needed to let them work the way they should.
Disappointed expectations has been identified as one of the main causes of conflict in marriage. When the expectation is, “happily ever after,” but then you spend a huge chunk of your earnings on paying hospital bills, or have to wake up at 2 am to feed a baby; then you would be disappointed. The human limits we have in meeting our educational and career ambitions, which compel us to put in the hard work, also exist in our love and other relationships. They also require staying up late, sacrifice, focus, determination, patience, hard work, commitment, prayer and faith that they will work in the end.
Paul, in addressing the Corinthians about marriage wrote:
But if you do marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. But those who marry will face many troubles in this life, and I want to spare you this.
( 1 Corinthians 7:28 NIV)
Yes, there can be many troubles in marriage; and they require a lot of hard work to be overcome. But the joy of marriage is when you see your family flourish, because of your hard work, and fervent prayer.
“Happily ever after” is a misnomer.
MEMORY VERSE
But if you do marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. But those who marry will face many troubles in this life, and I want to spare you this.
( 1 Corinthians 7:28 )
QUESTIONS
Do you have very lofty expectations of relationships and marriage?
Do you know that “happily ever after” is just a cliché, and that marriage is hard work?
PRAYER TIP
Father, please help us to understand our roles and responsibilities in building and nurturing our families the way You planned it from the beginning. In Jesus' name.
URGENT CALL
Every soul is valuable to God, far more than the entire world! But by nature, we are all sinful, and alienated from God, and we ultimately face his wrath!
God in His mercy and love made a way for us to remedy this. He gives us a chance to reverse this downward spiral to destruction, join His family, be part of His household, and become His children.
The first step to becoming a member of God’s household is for us to be saved.
Salvation comes through accepting Jesus Christ as our Lord and Personal Savior.
It is a very personal decision. No one can make that decision for you.
If you make that decision today, there will be great singing and rejoicing in heaven; because one new member has joined the family and household of God! A soul, much, much more valuable than the world, has been saved from destruction!
Do you want to make that decision today?
Please visit “The Believer’s Prayer”
for guidance if you want
to make that decision.
Then develop your new relationship
with God through your Quiet Time.
Then find a Bible-Believing Church
where you can Fellowship with like
minded people.
We will be happy to hear from you through the contact information on that page, or the ones at the top of this page. Don’t delay. Make this very personal decision today!
God richly bless you
SPECIAL GRATITUDE
Thank you for visiting the Testimony Devotional Website.
We would not have gotten here without your prayers, goodwill and overall support. We are grateful, and humbled.
We thank God for counting us worthy to share in His Great Commission; and we thank you for sticking with us through this journey.
God richly bless you.
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