Speaking of the restoration God wanted to bring unfaithful Israel, He said that He would “make the Valley of Achor a door of hope and expectation” (Hosea 2:15). The Valley of Achor represents times of trouble, so God was saying He would turn Israel’s trouble into hope and expectation.

The hope of confident expectation is a powerful key to marriage restoration.

What God wanted to do for the Israelites, He also wants to do for you, but when your marriage has been through times of trouble, difficulties, or even disappointments, you many feel reluctant to hope for restoration. Past hurts, present disappointments, and a future of uncertainties are all trying to teach you to have a low level of hope- to be safe and not take chances “just in case things don’t work out”. You may be saying to yourself things like, “ If something does not start to improve, don’t get your hopes up, you know what happened last time.”

But life without hope isn’t a life at all.

Chances are you are simply afraid of getting hurt, and afraid of disappointment.

Your spouse may have thrown you away. They may have made it clear you are unwanted, as if you have no value. We are created for acceptance, not rejection. The emotional pain of rejection is the deepest kind of pain we can know, especially if the rejection comes from someone we love, or hope will love us, such as a spouse.

Your fear of discouragement may exist for good reason. The rejection of being abandoned has severely wounded both you and your family, and your hopeless expectation may tell you that nothing will ever change, and that they may never return home.

You may have experienced this same kind of rejection which seems impossible to overcome because you have lived too long in the valley of trouble. But who do you agree with? God says He has a good plan for your life. Do you believe and speak the same things He does? Hasn’t He opened the door of hope right in front of you?

He says that “All things are possible with God” (Matthew 19:26) and that promise alone gives us reason to hope!

Hope energizes us and motivates us to believe that God is working on our behalf no matter what the circumstances are in a marriage.

Hope is a joyful, confident expectation of good, which causes us to act out in faith and do what God is directing us to do.

Hope is too exciting to be passive.

Hope believes boldly, decides daringly, speaks firmly, and perseveres passionately.

Trust in Him enough to believe…

There is no PROMISE too hard for the Lord to fulfill.

There is no PRAYER too hard for the Lord to answer.

There is no PROBLEM too hard for the Lord to solve.

There is no PLACE too hard for the Lord to revive.

There is no PRODIGAL too lost for the Lord to bring home.

Trust Him enough to believe for the best- the best outcome, the best marriage, the best life.

When you understand the power of hope, you’re expecting amazing things to happen at any moment…

Keeping you in my prayers,

Heart of a Prodigal

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