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Apples of Gold
Radio Script for September 24, 2009
“Are You In a Valley Today?”
Hello, I’m Doug Apple…with Apples of Gold.
“I despise my life.”
That’s what Job said in Job 7:16.
In the old King James he said, “I loathe it; I would not live alway: let me alone…”
If you think that’s bad, listen to what he said in verse 15. “…I prefer strangling and death…”
Yes, you could say that Job was in a serious valley in his life right about then.
But, it’s a good thing he didn’t strangle and die, or he would have missed the great mountain tops to come.
The last chapter of Job says, “…the Lord made him prosperous again and gave him twice as much as he had before.” “The Lord blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the first.”
Yes, he went through a deep valley, but after that came many happy years.
It’s a good thing he didn’t quit in the valley, isn’t it?
And the same is true for you. If you find yourself in a valley today, don’t quit!
And that especially applies to marriage. Marriages are full of ups and downs, and sometimes in the down periods you feel like giving up, like it will never get any better.
Maybe in your marriage today you feel like Job, like you would prefer “strangling and death” to staying married to that so-and-so.
Well if that’s you, you will relate to the title of an article I read recently by Amy Desai. It’s called, “Is There Hope For My Marriage?”
She wrote, “Often we think an unhappy couple has only two options:
Stay together and be miserable, or
Get a divorce.
But there is a third option, she said, and it is simply this. Stick it out.
You heard right. Just hang in there.
It kind of falls into the category of “This too shall pass.”
You see, so many of the valleys we go through are just temporary. Life gets better, so don’t make life altering decisions while you are in the valley.
Amy quotes from a national study of married couples. They asked them to rate their marriage on a scale of one to seven, with one being very unhappy and seven being very happy.
Then they followed up five years later, and now listen to this. What do you think happened to those couples who said they were a “one,” that their marriage was “very unhappy”?
Now don’t miss this: 77% of them, just five years later, ranked their marriage as a “seven”! Most of them went from being “very unhappy” to “very happy.”
Is it because they got marriage counseling or tried some amazing marriage technique?
Nope. There really wasn’t much evidence that they did anything out of the ordinary except this one thing. They stuck it out.
Amy also quoted a study about divorce. It said that about 60% of divorces happened in marriages that were ranked as “average.” It wasn’t that their marriage was terrible. It’s just that it wasn’t that great. The marriage slipped into a valley, and they decided to call it quits.
Is that you today? Is your marriage in a valley? Are you ready to give up?
Don’t do it! Be encouraged by these statistics! Even if you don’t really work on it, your marriage will likely climb out of the valley. And just imagine what could happen if you actually worked on it!
Like Amy said, “Most marriages go through emotional ups and downs – times of great happiness and times of boredom and fatigue.” To have good marriages, we need to ride out the “lows” and learn from them.
So are you like Job today? Do you loathe your life? Would you prefer strangling and death?
Well don’t quit. Things will get better!
“Wait for the Lord,” it says in Psalm 27:14. “Be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.”
“We wait in hope for the Lord,” it says in Psalm 31:24. “He is our help and our shield.”
“Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God.” (Psalm 42:11)
Yes, you may be going through a valley right now, but there is hope!
Job persevered, and he was twice as blessed on the other side!
So stick it out.
Bide your time.
Wait on the Lord and
Everything will be just fine.
Comments?
E-mail me: dougapple@wave94.com.
May God bless you today! With Apples of Gold…I’m Doug Apple.
Here is the complete article “Is There Hope for My Marriage?” by Amy Desai, J.D.:
http://www.focusonthefamily.com/marriage/divorce_and_infidelity/should_i_get_a_divorce/is_there_hope_for_my_marriage.aspx
© 2009 The Arrow’s Tip
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(Proverbs 25:11 – “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.”)
Why “The Arrow’s Tip”? Each morning, after diligently seeking the Lord, I write Apples of Gold. Then before I release it to the public I pray one final prayer, “Lord, send forth your arrows.” I envision Apples of Gold as arrows, tips dipped in the river of the water of life that flows from the throne of God (Rev. 22:1), sailing toward the hearts and minds of men and women around the world.
Doug Apple
General Manager - Wave 94
Christian Radio for Tallahassee
PO Box 4105
Tallahassee, FL 32315
(850) 926-8000
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