Girls, who has your heart? Please ponder that question. Would you answer "Jesus Christ"? Really reflect on that... Sometimes it is very easy to rattle off the "right answer" because we know that it is the "correct answer", but we need to be honest with ourselves and look inward. What do our actions, words, and even our motives behind what we do and say reflect? Do they truly reflect that we have completely surrendered ourselves to Christ?
We live in a " me-centered" culture filled with so many things that can distract us and pull our hearts away from God. One area that I am seeing so many girls holding back is the area of relationships. Young women who were once so determined to allow God to "write their love story" now out of fear of singleness, willfully push forward to find their Prince Charming on their own. Why are we so afraid of being single? Why do we think that our happiness depends on finding Mr. Right? Who are we to think that we need to help God out in the Husband Hunting department?
Girls, it is very noble when you are a young teenager to say that you want to wait patiently on the man that God has created for you, but the true test is when you are 20, 21, 22, 23, and you choose to have faith that God's got it! Faith isn't something that happens after you have gotten what you want...It's what you show while you wait for what seems impossible.
“Talk what we will of faith, if we do not trust and rely upon Him, we do not believe in Him.” Anthony Farindon
“God loves with a great love the man whose heart is bursting with a passion for the impossible.” William Booth
Don't you want to have a heart that is "bursting with passion for the impossible"? I do! My God is great and He can and will accomplish whatever He desires. The other night I was listening to David Platt and he said, "A key to successful prayer is to be absolutely sure that—as far as possible—you align your will and your requests with GOD's will. As you zealously study the Bible and yield to let Christ live within you, His will increasingly replaces your own." (Psalm 37:4)
I have been in a relationship that was not the will of my heavenly father and I know the difficulty and hardship that can occur in ones life when trying to manipulate God's divine will. Dear sisters, from what I have experienced and from what I have observed in others lives, there is something far worse than being single, and that is to be in a wrong relationship.
Marriage is a beautiful thing and a very precious gift. Proverbs 18:22 However, it should not be what we seek. Rather we should be seeking Christ daily with our whole heart to discover His plan for our lives.
This morning I listened to a speech by Elizabeth Elliot on surrendering our lives to Christ, specifically in relationships. Click here to hear the entire message.
Elizabeth and her first husband Jim Elliot's primary focus was God and they were willing to give up their desire to be married, for Him.
"Here is the crux (the word crux means cross) of the matter; until the will and the affections are brought under the authority of Christ we have not begun to understand, let alone to accept His lordship. The cross as it enters the love life will reveal the heart's truth. I'm convinced that this is the point that many young people refuse the cross...refuse to endure the hardship." Elizabeth Elliot
Let it be said of you my friend, that you were willing to endure the potential hardship when it came to seeking a Christ centered relationship. May you rejoice in whatever season HE has you in and may you stay focused on Him as He directs your steps.
If any of you have thoughts you would like to share on this subject I'd love to hear them!
In Him-
McKenzie
Thursday, June 27, 2013
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9 comments:
Wow!! McKenzie! This post couldn't be more perfectly timed. This was such a HUGE encouragement to me this morning when I found it. It is one of those written-straight-to-me posts. :) I SO appreciate you taking the time to share with us what the Lord has shown you. I have been really struggling with this area particularly for a while now. Haha! I'll have to keep coming back here when I need a little encouragement again.
Again, thanks SO MUCH!!
God bless you,
Elizabeth
Praise the Lord! I prayed over this post before I posted it...It is exciting to see how God allows His children to encourage one another.
Thank you for your comment!
Well said. There are some times that I am glad that you are my daughter and then there are times that I am really glad that you are my daughter. This is one of those times. Love you, Dad
Thank you, Daddy! Love you too.
Really great post Mckenzie!
It is so true that it is so easy to SAY that we want to wait on God, but it is never easy when it comes to actually DOING it.
I think that some girls miss out on a lot as a result of the fear of being single. It took me a little while to realize (but I finally have) that being single is a BLESSING.
I'm not saying that marriage is not, I'm just saying that these precious years are the only time in our lives that we can serve God without distraction.
I have also found that if I had gotten married younger, I would have brought a lot of things into my marriage that would have caused a lot of problems. To tell you the truth, I have learned and changed SO much just in the past year. I've really been able to dig deep into my heart and weed out some of the imperfections there.
God has taught me so much, and I know that all of this would have been much harder to learn had I not been single.
God's timing is perfect. And if we are not content with where He has us now, then we may be missing out on some of the blessings that we could have received.
Well, those are just some of my thoughts :)
Loved this post!
Love Jenny
Amen, Jen! Thank you for sharing!
I couldn't agree with you more-wonderful thoughts here, girl!
Thanks, Chels! It has been a really busy last few days, but I promise to post those pictures you asked about soon! :)
...or when you're 24, 25, 26, 27...30, 31. I have friends in their mid to upper 30's and for the life of me can't figure out why a great guy hasn't taken them off the market. Or even 60! I often wonder the same thing when it comes to my mom...she's the best catch out there! :)
Anyways, my two cents: I remember being 24, meeting Alex, and asking God if this is a guy He would be pleased with me dating; if we did date, could it bring God glory? When God replies "Yes" I was flabbergasted because that was the first time I heard that from God. It was always a "no" or a "wait" prior to that. But God was clear about one thing--keep my eyes on Him. That although He knew this relationship could be a good thing and bring Him glory, we (alex & I) also had the potential to mess it up. It wasn't if we kissed before we were "supposed" to or crossed our boundaries we had set a time or two, it was if we took our eyes off of who brought us together and focused on what we thought was best. If we weren't willing to learn from our mistakes and refocus on the direction God had given us for our relationship.
Even though our dating wasn't "Perfect" to some, God never told either of us to surrender it....BUT, He did ask me to always be willing to surrender it. I had to ask myself daily, "emily, are you willing to surrender this if God asks you to?" The longer we dated, the deeper we fell in love, it was obviously harder and harder. I remember being engaged, though, and realizing that God isn't going to ask me to surrender this. He had blessed us by bringing us together and made sure we knew the key to a successful relationship, and that was God at the center.
My best advice for singles at any age is to enjoy every second. Realize that you have the time and energy to pour yourself in to anything God may have for you. You can up and go if He asks. You can live with no ties. Marriage comes with greater responsibility and less freedom. You now have another person to dedicate your life to in addition to God. I love being married and wouldn't trade it for the world, but I also look back with the fondest memories of the years I was single and REALIZED what a blessing it was. It was when I could truly enjoy life to the fullest and have the most adventures:-)
-Emily
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