Lysa TerKeurst Calls for More Church Support for Women Facing Divorce
Lysa TerKeurst, a Christian author and president of Proverbs 31 Ministries, recently discussed the lack of support for Christian women undergoing divorce.
"You can survive this season," TerKeurst told about 1,000 women in attendance during a Q&A session on Monday, March 3, as part of her Trust Again Tour.
She spoke about her own experience of divorce following nearly 30 years of marriage due to her ex-husband's infidelity, Church Leaders reported.
"I look back on this season now, and I do see that God rescued me out of a situation that I would have never been able to leave on my own," TerKeurst explained. "And I'm grateful, so grateful to be where I'm at today. And with everything in me, I just sort of wanted to leave all the divorce stuff behind and just move on."
"It wasn't that I walked away from marriage," TerKeurst added. "It was that I had to accept a very painful reality."
She also encouraged the women who are likewise struggling with divorce that they can survive the season set before them.
"If you're in that situation, I do want to encourage you that you can survive this season, even on those days that you think you cannot survive the season," TerKeurst told those gathered. "And I have no idea still why my life took this turn…it still catches me off guard sometimes that my life took the turn that it did. However, I'm at the place now where I've healed so much."
During the Q&A, TerKeurst emphasized the need for churches to support women in destructive marriages.
"There's a big difference between a difficult marriage and a destructive marriage," she said. "I think sometimes churches are really, really good at helping women who are in difficult marriages, and I thank God for pastors who are passionate and for women's ministry directors who are passionate to help marriages thrive and all of that. I'm so grateful for that."
"I'm very pro-marriage, but when a woman is in a destructive marriage—or even it can be the other way around when a man finds himself in a destructive marriage—that requires a whole different kind of help," said TerKeurst. "And so I really do see it as my job to help fill that gap."
She also shared a story of a friend who was struggling with the loss of her marriage due to an unfaithful husband and encouraged her to focus on the truth rather than romanticizing the past.
"The point is that this is your season, not to sit back and romanticize what you've lost, but [to] step into reality and trust that God's going to meet you right there," TerKeurst said. "Mental health is a commitment to reality at all costs. Yeah, there's a cost to it. But if you want to stay safe and sane in a situation like that, you've got to face what is real, and what is real is where you're going to find healing."
TerKeurst's Trust Again tour, which runs from February 25 to March 9, is being held in several states in one-night events and features worship from Tasha Layton.
An author of multiple books, TerKeurst has published several New York Times bestsellers, including "Good Boundaries and Goodbyes," "Forgiving What You Can't Forget," and "It's Not Supposed to Be This Way."
Photo Credit: ©Facebook/Lysa TerKeurst
Originally published March 05, 2025.
