Do you think it’s a good idea to contact an old boyfriend just to say hello? This is what a sister-friend did recently, and she’s starting to regret she ever made that decision. Initially, she thought it’d be okay since the two of them ended their relationship on good terms. Their last conversation had been pleasant, and she thought it wouldn’t hurt to check in. Anyone that’s ever been lonely knows that it can mess with your head sometimes. But even so, we should never let anything persuade us to try and make dead things be useful. It hardly ever works, but loneliness can trick us into throwing wisdom out the door, and we find all kinds of excuses to justify doing so. My sister-friend said to me, “Kim, God is not going to do for me what I can do for myself.” This way of thinking was the permission she gave herself to text him.
Like my friend, many single women can’t imagine continuing to wait for companionship. Most believers understand that God is delighted to bless His people. Romans 8:32(NLT) says, “Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else?” Psalm 84:11 affirms God’s sovereignty and light. It tells us that He is our sun and shield, that He is generous in His gifts and glory, and He will not withhold any good thing from those that live righteously before Him. This is wonderful assurance and comfort to us as believers.
God wants us to have faith in Him, and to trust the Words of our Master Jesus when he taught us in Mark 10:27 that with God all things are possible. Our faith must be firmly anchored in God through Christ, and of this there can be no doubt, but Heavenly Father wants us to know the difference between standing in faith and doing things to get ahead of it.
Spiritual maturity in Christ requires that we know that our boundaries and timing are set by the Father. He appointed the time of our births, and He knows our days upon this earth. Nothing about us escapes our Heavenly Father. He knows every detail of our existences, and He never misses a beat. We are not an island to ourselves. We are not on our own. All that we are is in Christ and we can’t do anything without him. If God’s Will is our motivation in life, the proof of our heart’s motivation will be our desire to link only with those God has ordain.
Jesus Christ said in John 8:29(NLT), “And the one who sent me is with me—he has not deserted me. For I always do what pleases him.” Jesus Christ only did those things that pleased God. The logical question for you and me is “how did he know?” How did Jesus Christ know what pleased God? The answer to this question is that he read and studied God’s Word, and he was in constant prayer and communion with Heavenly Father through the Holy Spirit. Jesus came to the earth to show us how to do this. Through his life and ministry, he taught us how to cling to God and walk in fellowship with Him so that we have confidence that our moves are ones the Father would have us to make.
Jesus Christ also said in John 5:19(NLT), “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does.” Jesus Christ is providing a window for us to see what it looks like to move by the impetus of the Holy Spirit. If he, the only begotten Son of the Living God, said that he can’t do anything by himself, then certainly we ought to know we can’t do anything by ourselves either. Jesus did what he saw the Father doing. If He didn’t see the Father doing it, he didn’t do it. This is the level of commitment that God must see in us.
We can’t say that we have faith God will bless us with a good and Godly spouse and then not have faith that He will show us when, how, and what to do to move in alignment with what He has ordained. When it comes to something as important to our lives as a compatible and worthy partner to walk with us through life, God would not leave it to chance. My friend didn’t place her faith in the reality of this truth. After speaking with her ex-boyfriend, she felt relieved that he didn’t meet her with opposition, but he also didn’t give her any indication that he was happy that she reached out to him. She ended the conversation with him the same way she started it—taking ten steps backwards instead of moving forward. She came away feeling rejected because her ex didn’t respond to her other texts. This kind of situation can always be avoided.
Understand that Heavenly Father wants us to move from blessing to blessing, with the abundance of overflow in every area of our lives. God only wants what is best for us, and He made provision for all His children long before any of us were born. There is no doubt that we have been pressing in to receive the great desires of our hearts, but our prayers must come in alignment with what GOD has planned. He is faithful and He cannot fail. Pray that He will establish within you everything that is required for your own spiritual growth and maturity. If you allow Him, He will ready you for what He has in store, so that your gifts and abilities are sharpened. When you let HIM prosper you, everything will fall beautifully in place. ■
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
“Taking Ten Steps Backward Instead of Forward”, written by Kim Times, edited by Reverend Fran Mack, for Sundie Morning Sistas ©2021. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord! SMS is dedicated to inspiring and encouraging Christian Women through the Word of God.