Preparing While You Wait

Opportunities are often missed because of lack of preparation. Often times when it looks to you like nothing is happening in your life, is actually when everything is happening. It’s behind the scenes where God is changing you and shaping you slowly. If you have made the decision to honor God with your body by remaining celibate until marriage, you’re probably thinking “what now?” Now is the time to prepare. I know waiting seems so hard to do when marriage seems so far off. You may be thinking I don’t even have any prospects…it will be a while. Don’t be dismayed. If you allow God to lead you in this process, it will go by faster than you think. Whether you realize it or not, in the “waiting-phase,” you cannot afford to be simply sitting around wishing you had a man. You have plenty to do. My mentor always tells me, “The time to be ready is not the time to get ready!” Ephesians 5:15-16 says, “Therefore be careful how you walk not as unwise men but as wise men, making the most of your time because the days are evil.” Don’t miss out on your opportunity for preparation. Pray and ask God to remove anything and anyone that is not like Him. If you want God to provide you with a king, you must be willing to be a queen as well. God doesn’t give His good-godly men to women who aren’t prepared to love them correctly.  So many of us spend too much time worrying about whether or not we will ever get married. When what we really need to be concerned with is how we will manage to maintain a healthy life-long marriage (when that day comes) if we don’t have a right relationship with God.

Ladies, before we can devote any of our time to perfectly loving a man, we must first be committed to perfectly loving God! Luke 10:27 NIV declares, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind.” Are you doing this? Do your daily actions show that you love God in this way? Often, as single women, we’re so concerned about dating a man, that we’ve never tried dating God. Think about your spiritual walk. Do you set aside daily quiet-time with God? Is the time that you spend with Him quality-focused; getting acquainted with Him through His Word or telling Him about your day? Or, are you only concerned with what you want to do? How you want to spend your time? Remember, God is the most perfect love you can ever have. He will never lie to you, betray you, or be inconsiderate to your feelings. But, if you don’t take the time to genuinely love Him well, how do you propose to love another?

God loves marriage. It was His idea. Still, we cannot ask God to give us something we are not willing to prepare for. If you met the man you are praying for today, besides your beauty or charm, would he have sufficient cause to marry you? If the answer to this question makes you pause, then you have some work to do. God is going to do his part.  But you also have to do yours! What do you need to change about yourself so that you can be the spouse you are asking for; fully exhibiting everything you want God to give you in a mate? Is it your thought-life? Is it your appearance? Is it the way you speak to people? In terms of your marital-preparedness, are you a suitable helpmate?  Are you organized? Are you domesticated and business-minded? Can you establish and maintain a household? Instead of hoping for the right man to come along quickly and sweep you out of your singleness, pray and ask God to show you what you need to work on while you wait so you can be ready whenever he comes.