Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Relationships and Waiting on the Lord

Wednesday, 2:30am – Paranaque City, Pasig, Philippines
My friend’s visit last week brought up a few things. One, about relationships in general with woman or marriage. Two, with a yearning or empty feeling, wanting and being impatient on thinking I am ready for a relationship. God showed me 3 things:
  1. Turn to the Lord with all that we go through or have concerns of
    I think this is the main reason why there are any issues in our lives. To direct us to truth and to learn of a dependence on him, bringing to light that we can’t do anything that lasts forever all on our own
  2. Turn to the Word for answers and insight
    God left us his Word in the form of the Bible so that gain knowledge and gain wisdom by applying the Word. I went to friends, brothers and sisters for help and in doing so, God lead me to the Word
  3. Turn to people of this world that you trust and that are wise
    The operative words are “trust” and “wise”. Don’t just ask anyone, go to those that are wise and have experience. You wouldn’t go to a newcomer in surfing if you wanted to learn how to surf, you would go to a professional or guru. Same thing for your walk in the Christian life. God put people in our lives to help each other, it’s not a one-way street. We learn of God’s love and grow in maturity by our interaction and experiences in love with one another. Reaching out to those that have gone through the same things or have been a Christian for a long time have experience or can point you in the right direction since they may have come across it in their own lives through friends or learning materials.

These things I learned stemmed from beginning to think about who God will line up for a wife for me, or even if he wanted me to have a wife. I started thinking about an ideal wife and yearning to already go through the excitement of meeting someone new and thinking about the experiences and things we would share…it was all so happy and sad at the same time. The thought of moving in this world with a woman that has a similar passion for God is exciting, not to mention the lessons you learn from being in a marriage and raising a child or children. But what I have come to learn is that we need to look to God’s timing and his desires for us. Are we ready for the things he wants to give us? Do we want the things he desires for us?

Just today, I see a woman right now in my life would take me away from the learning and growth I’m going through. I would still be learning, but I see it would be a distraction for these particular things I have learned in the past 3 months and even today. Also, God wants me exactly where I am at to prepare me for whatever he has planned for me. In retrospect, he gave me the ability to race motorcycles so I can learn perseverance, confidence, adaptability, communication and humbleness. In retrospect, God gave me the ability to run my own business for professionalism, networking, accountability, honesty and integrity. These are all important for how he’s guiding me to build a foundation in my faith by his grace, to experience love and gain wisdom by serving the poor communities here in the Philippines and in experiencing love through fellowship with everyone here and people still back in the States. I will be patient and continue to learn everyday and apply all that is being shown to me by the Holy Spirit. I will be fed the Bible daily, pray, be still and let my heart be open for God to guide me on where I need to be and to act through love and grace that he has given and shown me.

Verses that gave insight on waiting were:
1 Samuel 16:19-23 about David not being king yet so that he can learn from King Saul on how to lead a nation. God made David wait so that he could learn what he needed to learn, to prepare him.

Another verse was Genesis 29:20-30, where Jacob served a man named Laban for his daughter for 14 years to get the woman he wanted. From commentary: “The most important goals and desires are worth working and waiting for”. Reflecting on my life so far, this has been the utmost truth in seeking true relationship, full satisfaction and victory.

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