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| Are you dating? Use the Time Wisely to Gather These Facts. |
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I met someone recently and after talking to him for about a week I am wondering if we--most single women, are looking for someone who really doesn't exist? Do you think we are simply hard to please? Are we over-looking the man God has just for us because we are looking at the wrong criteria?
PRAYER: Dear Heavenly Father,
I confess that I have not always been as careful as I should've been with my heart. From time to time, my desire for love has caused me to leave my heart in the wrong hands. I now commit my heart into Your hands for safekeeping. Please help me to stop being so impulsive with what you deem so precious. As I learn to celebrate Your love for me, let me learn from Your example what a bridegroom should really be like. Help me to never settle for less than what you desire for me. As I embrace You as the Lover of my soul, keep my affections in the haven of Your own heart. As I rest in Your love, make me more discriminating of those who approach me. I ask that You take over this area of my life. Keep me from those You know would hurt my heart. I invite You to set a hedge around me and keep me from all who would draw me into unfruitful relationships until the day you present me to the m ate that You have selected for me. Grant me the discernment to recognize him as he recognizes me.
Cleanse me from the temptation to typecast the men I meet according to what I see. Help me to trust in Your knowledge and lean not on my own understanding. I know that You know what is best for me; therefore I yield to Your choice. In Jesus Name. Amen.
Here are some key pointers that I have learned along the way that help us to discern the answers to the questions posted above.......
Dating exists not for mating; it exists for collecting data. I believe that the biblical design calls for friendship, courtship and then marriage.
Friendship is two people walking together in agreement and accountability, learning and growing together.
Courtship follows the mutual agreement to commit to one another exclusively - it is the decisive turning toward the agreed-upon goal of the marriage altar. It is a period of laying a foundation and preparing your life together after marriage.
If you do date, use the time wisely to gather these facts.
1. Check out the fabric. Is the person mate material? Does this man or woman have an intimate relationship with the Father through Jesus Christ? Does he/she care what God thinks about their behavior? Are they accountable to God as well as another co-laborer in the faith? Accountability is an important factor. It is imperative to maintaining a committed relationship Is your potential spouse a member of the same family - the family of God? You need to have common interests and values and agree on the essentials of living day to day. You have a similar spiritual walk. You eat the same spiritual diet. You enjoy a lot of similar things. You have like interests, like goals in life, like opinions on basic life issues. You have had like experiences in your background. Though there is some truth to the idiom that opposites attract, like-minded folks fare better together. Furthermore, does he/she want to get married? If you want to be married and your dreamboat isn't interested, don't waste your time. Remember, women fall in love and get married. Men decide to get married and then look for a wife. Note the difference in order. So if a guy says he's not looking for anything serious, take his words seriously. If he's not going in your direction, get off the bus and wait for the right one.
2. Does this man want you? Is he pursuing you? The man who is right for you will pursue you, and God's hand in the relationship will be clear. No guessing, no fleeces, no dead ends. Scripture says: "He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives Favor from the Lord" (Proverbs 18:22). Note -who finds whom? THE MAN FINDS THE WIFE. From the beginning of time, God has transported men and women across the world in order to put them together. At the RIGHT TIME, He will bring that man (or woman) on the scene. In God's perfect design, the man is the one who recognizes his mate. Adam has no problem recognizing that Eve was his missing rib. You do not need to strategically place yourself anywhere. You don't have to help a guy out because he's shy! Men will do whatever they have to do to get what they truly want. The Man in your life should recognize you as the pearl of great price in his life and be willing to do whatever he must in order to gain your hand. If he is passive about gaining your affections, take it as a sign that he is not interested. Many a woman's mother has suggested that it is a good idea to marry a Man who loves you more than you love him. As cold as that sounds, it actually might be scriptural if you stop to think about it: "We love him because he first loved us" (1 John 4:19). Until then, take the ultimate chill pill. You don't need a bunch of men in your life to make you feel all right about yourself. You need only one man - your man, the one God has selected to select you. And trust me, the right man at the wrong time can be just as awful as the wrong man at any time. So trust God's timing in this. He is the ultimate matchmaker. Relax, sit pretty and allow yourself to be found. Again - WAIT until the man voices his intentions. He should take the lead in establishing the relationship. You may have an inkling that he is the one, but God will use the man to set the tone of the relationship. Allow him the opportunity to woo you - this is your first act of submission. Jesus set the standard for all men to follow. They should love us first. And they should lead the relationship.
3. The person in your life (especially the man) should not desire to move into your house, only into your heart. A man who prepares for your future has made his intentions clear. A man who is husband material has the means to take care of a wife. He is a responsible human being who understands he needs to have something to offer. In short, a man should have the means to be a suitable lover for you.
4. Check out his or her friends. Everyone knows birds of the same feather flock together, yet most men and women fail to see the connection between friends and the person. The friends a person has tells you a lot about the person that you haven't seen yet. They reveal things about the persons character that might be hidden when they are on good behavior. Everyone knows how to put their best foot forward. Don't stay focused on the foot, check out the rest of the body as well!
5. Check out their parent relationships. How does he treat his mother? What kind of relationship did she have with her father? This is your preview of how he or she will treat or interact with you. There are lots of men who, because of a negative relationship with their mothers, really don't like women, yet say they do and visa versa for women. Unresolved issues between mother and son, son and father, daughter and mother and daughter and father continue between husband and wife.
6. Remember that the persons family reveals the cloth from which he or she is cut. Take note and decide whether you want your future to look like the persons present family situation. Not to say that this will be the case, but it's always good to understand where a person came from and what they experienced because some of those past family experiences can impact their present day reality as it pertains to relationships.
7. Check out the patterns of life. Do you see repeated cycles of drama? Broken relationships? Problems in making commitments --including the job market? Mood swings? Is a problem always someone else's fault? Does the man embrace responsibility or shirk it? Does he or she keep promises? Is he a man of good reputation? Remember all garments look wonderful hanging in the store, but with wear, some begin to unravel. Give yourself time and space to check out the person. Time will always reveal whether or not he or she is made of the right stuff.
8. Does this man have a vision for his life? Is he running with that vision? Remember, God decided Adam needed help once Adam got busy DOING his assignment. As we saw Adam, a man doesn't need help until he is busy doing what he was created and called to do. Is the man in your life guided by sense of destiny and purpose, or does he just allow life to happen around him? A man who is not certain of his mission can be a most miserable person - and you'll be miserable too if you know where YOU want to go in life. A man who has vision is not intimidated by a woman whose mission statement is clear. He will be your best ally, cheerleader and assistant because he wants you both to make it! A man who cannot be supportive of your achievements because he is floundering in a sea of uncertainty over his own life is not a healthy partner to have and to hold forever. Creating dependencies or feelings of obligation is not the way to get the best out of your man. Somewhere along the way, he will resent you and flee from the smothering burden of obligation he associates you with. You want a man who is firmly anchored in his identity in Christ. Remember, we are looking for a man who will be priest and leader of his home. His first instinct should be to want to cover you, redeem you, and provide for you. Your job is to decide if this is the man God has ordained for you to complement.
9. Complimentary. Do your talents and gifts complement each other? Do his gifts, compliment yours? What about your temperaments? Do you see the two of you as an effective team capable of bringing blessing to the lives of those around you? Do your futures mesh? Can you coordinate your gifts in an attractive and effective way? This is why knowing your purpose is so important. Make sure your hearts beat for mutual causes . If the person you meet makes you feel that you need to completely reinvent yourself, something is wrong. This is where I ask you to consider the relationship in terms of cost. Is this relationship expensive spiritually, emotional or physically? Does your longing for a mate make you willing to forfeit who you are in the process? Or does he or she see you as the gift that you are? The man or woman in your life should consider you a rare find, a priceless jewel-because of you he or she is getting ready to get blessed big-time! Any relationship that causes you to feel unworthy, unlovely, unacceptable, undesirable or that you have to work for love, is too expensive! God has called the man to cover, protect and provide not only materially for a woman, but emotionally and spiritually as well. And the woman is to be a compliment with her own strength and abilities. You should both be richer in mind, body and spirit for your union.
10. Does he (or she) have a healthy love and acceptance of himself (herself)? Make sure the man/woman in your life has taken time to heal from past relationships and has made peace with themselves. How he or she cares for themselves is how he or she will care for you. A persons relationship with God is crucial here. Love for oneself will only be as strong as their love for God. This is not something that you can impart. You cannot be his or her savior or teacher. That is out of spiritual order. A man's rightful place is as the priest, he should be leading you to a richer relationship with Christ. A woman's rightful place is along his side. If the man or woman is causing you to compromise your faith destabilize your walk, if he or she is leading you into sexual sin or causing you to be distracted from your commitment to Christ, the relationship is too expensive. Offending the Lover of your soul, who promises you eternal love, is too high a fare to pay for a ride that has a limited run. If you and your man or woman can't soar in the Spirit, when the force of your love for another is tested by the pull or gravity of the world, your union will not be able to survive. |
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Jen |
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May 06, 2008 at 1:14pm |
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| Some great points here, Sandee. |
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| When I read this blog, I kinda had to say "ouch", as I thought of many of the things you pointed out I should have done, but just didn't do. Great blog my friend! Blessings!! |
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