By Marilyn Pritchard
Is your spouse being unfaithful?
Infidelity may be one of the worst blows to a marriage that a couple will face. Whether the affair is sexual or emotional, it’s still a betrayal of the marriage vows and a dangerous step close to the precipice of divorce.
While some studies show that up to 70% of couples remain together despite infidelity [https://firstthings.org/infidelity-and-forgiveness/], saving a marriage after the devastation of an affair will depend on several factors. Dr. Sheri Meyers lays out some of those factors in Chatting or Cheating: How to Detect Infidelity, Rebuild Love, and Affair-Proof Your Relationship:
- This may sound obvious, but the spouse who was unfaithful must be willing to end the affair and seek forgiveness for the infidelity.
- The other spouse must be willing to begin the process of forgiving their partner.
- Obviously, it takes two people to make a marriage work, so there needs to be mutual commitment from both husband and wife to salvage the relationship. They will need to work out what underlying problems in the marriage may have led to the infidelity and what steps need to be taken to strengthen their relationship and prevent it from happening again.
Putting the pieces of your relationship back together again is best done with the help of a professional counselor and a lot of prayer. Even if your spouse refuses to work on the relationship, remember that Jesus is in the business of restoring broken hearts, so go to Him with your tears and your pain. Immerse yourself in the truth of His Word. Remind yourself of your identity as a beloved child of God:
“And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have the power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God” (Eph. 3:17-19).
Just Between Us (JBU) wants you to know that you’re not alone on this journey. Many Christian men and women have walked the road of marital infidelity before you. We have gathered some articles here that we hope will help you face the road ahead. Please prayerfully read through them, asking God to show you the light and hope that He offers when we give our broken hearts and relationships to Him.