Day 13

Well, as you guys know, I got back to school in Kansas yesterday, and this morning I'm headed to Arkansas! God is good that he has blessed me with the energy and financial stability to make this trip! A new brother and Christ and I have had amazing Facebook conversations and we are both in agreement that having a good circle of godly friends is one of the most important things that you can do in your faith walk! So I'm excited for the fellowship, and I'm excited for the ministry conference that will be at her church this weekend. God is just doing AMAZING things!!

This is going to be a shorter post because I need to get on the road soon, but today's big story was about Jacob and his love for Rachel. Hello! Ladies! This is how we should encounter relationships with young men!! Let's overlook the fact that they were 1st cousins, okay? Jacob LOVED Rachel. He saw the fire in her eyes and knew that she was going to be his wife from the first moment he saw her. He pursued her! And guess what is even more amazing... She waited for him for 7 years. She had to endure the fact that Leah was also connected to him... She had to remain in servitude to her father for 14 years just so her and Jacob could be together...

Doesn't this exemplify how relationships should be? Rachel didn't give Jacob her phone number, dress provocatively, pursue Jacob, have pre-marital sex with him... NO! She waited for him. She let him work for her and win her hand. She kept herself modest, chaste, and WORTHY. She waited for what God had planned for her, even though it took awhile.

There are so many verses in the Bible that talk about how a man leaves his family and takes on his wife, that marriage is when two become one.. So what is this dating game that we play? I don't know about you, but I'm taking the examples of Biblical relationships to base my relations with the opposite sex on because I know God's way is fool proof.

I will be the first to tell you that I have made mistakes in my lifetime, I have sinned, and I haven't done it God's way. But I have learned that there is nothing you can do that will succeed unless God is the center of it. I understand that for anything to work, it must be in the Word and driven by the Lord. That is especially true for relationships!

Ladies- Wait for you man! Don't give up the goods! Not even emotionally. How awful is it that you might have to tell your future spouse one day, the one that God has had planned for you that there is someone else, or multiple people, that know you in the most intimate ways. Whether that be emotionally or physically as well, you are not allowing yourself 100% of the happiness that God has in store by taking matters into your own hands. Trust me, if you encounter a young man who you think is cute, and funny, and a man of God, pray about it! Psalm 37:4 says "Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart." Like I have said earlier, the Bible is an instruction book, and God clearly gives not only examples of the happiness one can feel when you follow God's plan, but it also gives the instructions! Plain as a sunny day in Galveston.

Gentlemen- All I can really say is that women of God are waiting for their knight and shining armor. Women of God are praying for you just as fervently as you are for them. If you meet a godly young women and think "she could be my wife and mother to my children," then pray about it! Ask God to lead you every step of the way. Don't pursue her unless you're ready to be a husband and provider. Talk to mentors and friends and just get to know one another in groups. Have high standards for yourself!

When Abraham's servant was sent to look for Isaac's Rebekah, the standards were high. When Jacob went to look for his Rachel, the standards were high. Have high standards! Write down what you need in a spouse, but also what you want. Pray to God. Pray for your future spouse everyday. Don't settle for less. God loves you SO much. He would never give you anything less than what you deserve, so why should you become complacent and desperate? Trust in the Lord.

Those who needing healing through Jesus had the faith to just touch his robe and knew they would be healed. We need to have that faith that God knows what is best for us and the best timing, and it will work out!

Alright, that wasn't that short...

Praise God!

God Bless,
Lauren