Bible Verses for Surviving Divorce

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Are you barely surviving divorce? It’s a hard time to go through because it is riddled with grief, pain, suffering, and hurt. But the principles in the Bible can help you survive all of the twists and turns you must go through to find acceptance and healing. These verses can give you perspectives on the many angles of your journey to recover from divorce.

As you go through these Bible verses for surviving divorce, pick out the ones that resonate the most deeply with you. To get the most out of the verse, write it down and post it somewhere where you will see it frequently. Each time you see it, meditate on it for a few moments, letting God’s truth and love rest on you. You can turn the verse into a prayer, asking God for the help and support that you need in your divorce recovery.

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. – Psalm 34:18, NIV

This is a favorite verse of anyone who is going through a painful experience. No matter what kind of marriage you had, your heart is sure to be broken after divorce. Your spirit may feel crushed by the weight of guilt, sorrow, and regret.

However, God does not ignore your pain. Instead, he draws close to your broken heart to bind it up and hold it in his healing hands. He draws nearer your crushed spirit, lifting it up with his powerful support. You are never alone after divorce because God is right beside you.

“The man who hates and divorces his wife,” says the Lord, the God of Israel, “does violence to the one he should protect,” says the Lord Almighty. “So be on your guard, and do not be unfaithful.” – Malachi 2:16, NIV

This verse tells us God’s stance on divorce. God hates the covenant-breaking that divorce involves, and the pain that divorce causes. He does not say that divorce is never necessary, but he does say that he understands the pain that we suffer from divorce. God does not hate you for getting a divorce. Even if your marriage was destroyed by infidelity or abuse, God wants healing and restoration for you.

You can find that healing and restoration by meeting with a caring Christian counselor during your divorce recovery. Your counselor may also suggest that you join a divorce care recovery group to get support from other people going through the same kind of hardships you are facing.

Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning.” – Matthew 19:8, NIV

Jesus makes it clear that divorce is not God’s design. But He also knows the realities of life, and those include the fact that sometimes marriages end due to hardness of heart. You may be struggling now due to the problems in your marriage that led to the divorce.

You may also be struggling with having hard feelings toward your ex-spouse, your former in-laws, or friends who have sided with your ex-spouse. There are so many hard things to sort through after divorce, and meeting with a Christian counselor can help you gain perspective and insight into your problems from a neutral standpoint.

For your Maker is your husband – the Lord Almighty is his name – the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; he is called the God of all the earth. The Lord will call you back as if you were a wife deserted and distressed in spirit – a wife who married young, only to be rejected,” says your God. – Isaiah 54:5-6, NIV

If you are feeling rejected after your divorce, you are not alone in that feeling. Many people deal with the fear of abandonment after being rejected in their marriages. However, this verse holds unique comfort for those of us who are divorced.

The One who made us promises to be our Husband, a figurative expression of one who is faithful, fully committed, willing, and able to provide for all our needs, and one who pursues an intimate relationship with us. You may feel lonely and cut off from companionship, yet God calls you back close to him. You can draw near him as many times during the day as needed to ease your feelings of rejection, abandonment, and distress.

I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears. – Psalm 34:4, NIV

It’s very common to have many kinds of fears after divorce. You may have fears about how stress is impacting your mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual health. You may also have many fears tied to your finances if you have lost income due to the divorce. If you have children, it’s all but certain that you will fear how the pain of the divorce will not only affect them now but in the years to come.

You may also fear the loss of friends and family members on your ex-spouse’s side of the family. You may also fear that you will never find another person to love you the way you long to be loved. But when you seek the Lord and present all these fears before him, he will deliver you from the anxiety and stress these fears produce. Every time you feel fear rising, surrender your fear to the Lord and ask him to deliver you from it. This practice will grant you greater.

I will be glad and rejoice in your love, for you saw my affliction and knew the anguish of my soul. – Psalm 31:7, NIV

There are so many points of pain related to surviving divorce that you may not even share with anyone else. So many losses and feelings of hurt related to betrayal or rejection haunt you daily. Though you may not even be able to put these feelings into words, God sees your affliction and knows the anguish of your soul.

He covers over these deep hurts with his unconditional love, which can cause you to be glad and rejoice even on your hardest days. If you are having a hard time expressing your deepest emotions that are haunting you, a compassionate Christian counselor can help you define and sort out those feelings, so they no longer have control over you.

I took you from the ends of the earth, from its farthest corners I called you. I said, “You are my servant”; I have chosen you and have not rejected you. – Isaiah 41:9, NIV

Rejection is one of the most painful emotions to overcome after divorce. If you feel like your ex-spouse rejected you for another person or lifestyle, your self-worth may have taken a huge hit. Since this is such a painful situation, you may seek a quick fix to try to take away that pain.

But it’s better to turn to God first when your pain seems overwhelming and remember that he has chosen you and not rejected you. He wants the very best for you and will search the whole earth to find you and draw you near. Don’t run away from him by choosing a quick fix to make you feel better. Instead, cry out to Him in your pain, and he will give you the gift of his loving presence even in your hardest moments.

He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. – Isaiah 53:3, NIV

It can be a great comfort to know there is no level of pain that we face that Jesus has not already endured. He knows the intense pain of being rejected by his own people, even by his closest friends in his deepest time of need. He didn’t just suffer physical pain by dying on the cross but suffered deep emotional pain like we suffer when we go through a divorce.

We worship a God who loved us so much that he sent his Son to suffer as we suffer. God not only sees your pain but also knows how it feels. Instead of turning from him, turn toward him in your pain, and he will always accept you.

Christian counseling for divorce recovery.

Surviving divorce is never easy, nor is it quick or painless. It’s better to go through the valley of divorce with a support system in place. A Christian counselor is a key member of your support system.

You can pour out your heart in counseling sessions to get the perspective and healing you need. A Christian counselor will offer support in the form of prayer and biblical principles. Contact us today to learn how Christian counseling can help you in the process of surviving divorce.