“Therefore do not be partners with them.” (Ephesians 5:7)
Letting go of a person doesn’t mean you no longer love them; it just means the relationship is not right for you. How should you handle it?
- A gradual separation is sometimes the best solution. There are relationships you need to get out of for your own good. But because you have a cord to cut, doesn’t mean that it should be ripped. Dissolving a relationship is stressful, so try to end it graciously. If the cord that binds you is constant phone calls, emails, and visits, that’s a good place to start.
- Don’t keep going back. Some of us are just so “nice” that we can’t end the relationship and move forward. We keep going back, second-guessing ourselves and re-evaluating our decision. Make it one time, make it right, and make it decisive. Often people will come back to entice you by suggesting you were wrong the first time. That’s why you must resolve any doubt before you make the decision in the first place.a
- If you find yourself in a pattern of going back to old, unhealthy relationships, you may be drinking from the wrong well. You may be trying to fill an emptiness in your heart that only God can fill.
When Jesus met the woman at the well, she had been through five failed marriages and was living with man number six. He told her: “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life” (John 4:13-14).
Prayer
Lord, help me to know when relationships can no longer be maintained, and help me concentrate on those that can be grown into maturity. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Stay encouraged!
Pastor Mike
