Love never fails.
1 Corinthians 13:8
The night of the Last Supper, Jesus was surrounded by people who swore that they loved Him, that they would never turn their back on Him, or leave Him. Yet, it happened. Peter denied Jesus three times. He was left to fend for himself while His followers slept. Even though His followers did exactly what they said they would never do, what was His reaction? He loved them anyway.
Maybe your spouse has sworn, thoroughly believing that he would never hurt you, never turn his back on you, never leave you, but he did. Maybe he didn’t physically leave the house, but quite possibly he has already left. What was your reaction? Maybe it’s you who has done this. Either way, the hurt was so deep and the tendency was and still may be, to shut down and close yourself off to love. But this is when we need to look to Jesus. He never shuts down. He never withholds His love. He keeps on loving us. Even when He was betrayed by Judas, He loved.
You cannot stop your spouse from leaving. Your husband can do what he wants. If he is going to leave and walk out the door forever, you need to be in a place where you know that you have truly given everything you had, in obedience to God and that you never stopped loving him.
Humans fail, but love never fails.
The Love Dare says,
“Of the nine “fruits of the Spirit” listed in Galatians 5, the first of all is love. And because the unchanging Holy Spirit is its source – the same Holy Spirit who dwells in the hearts of all believers – then the love He creates in you is unchanging as well. It is based on the will of God, the calling of God, and the Word of God – all unchanging things. The Bible declares them “irrevocable” (Romans 11:29). “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away” (Luke 21:33).”
If you have accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, then the Holy Spirit is indwelled in you. You have an amazing opportunity to make old things new if you are in obedience to God. You are able to seek Him and His direction and have things change in your marriage, even when the world says it is over. It doesn’t have to be. You need to hold onto love.
Today is a wonderful day. You get to show your love for your spouse on paper. You get to lay out the blueprint for how you will love your spouse and commit to him from this day forward. Even if your husband dismisses it, you will be blessed because God is aware of your heart and everything that you have done to come to this day. So, don’t delay. Get writing!
Today’s dare.
Spend time in personal prayer, then write a letter of commitment and resolve to your spouse. Include why you are committing to this marriage until death, and that you have purposed to love them no matter what. Leave it in a place that your mate will find it.
At the end of the day, answer these questions:
1. What were some of the hesitations you had in writing this letter?
2. How do you expect your spouse to respond to it?
3. How did God help you in writing it, and what did the process teach you about yourself?
Congratulations! You have completed Day 39! Tomorrow’s dare is Love Is A Covenant. Can you believe it? Tomorrow is the final dare!
