You Don't Have to Wait to Love Your Future Spouse

You don’t have to wait until you meet your future husband to love him and be faithful to him. Epic love transcends time and space. I don’t think I have met my future husband yet, but I can already love him and practice loyalty in my present decisions. In Braveheart, William Wallace says that he has only loved one woman and that has always stuck with me and inspired me that I only want to love one man sexually. This is my purity ring that I have had since I was 14 and … never actually wear, because it’s too big for me. Also, I always thought purity is a matter of the heart, and that I don’t need a ring to remind me not to have sex. But, as I get older, what this ring symbolizes means more and more to me, especially as the world continues to mock purity and celebrate cheap sex. If you have decided to stay pure until marriage or have decided to stay pure “from now on,” I am so excited for you, but I am also going to warn you.

           At 25, I am still saving myself for marriage, and I understand that it is solely because of GOD’s hand in keeping me. Giving my husband my purity ring on our wedding night is probably going to be one of the most emotional and joyful things in my life, because it has cost so much and has taken so long.  I know it’s going to be so worth it, also because it is my way of telling him that I have loved him and fought for him my whole life. But, I’m not going to sugar coat the reality of waiting. If you want to trust God and obey Him in this area, I can guarantee that you will experience some, if not all, of the following: you will be mocked, insulted, ignored, lonely at times, told you are too uptight, made to feel like something is wrong with you, and straight up rejected by guys who won’t date you because you won’t make out with them or sleep with them. So don’t believe all those lies. Jesus is your husband, and His approval is all you need. And one day, there will be a man of God who will treasure your decision to wait for him (whether it’s been for always or “from now on”), and he will think your love for Jesus is hot. Wait for a man who loves Jesus first and who treats you like you like you are the only girl for him.

 Even though my testimony has been one of physical purity, my heart and mind have failed in this area at times. To God, it is all the same sin. I have seen Him restore virgin hearts to girls who have lost it physically. God’s grace can make all things new. I have seen God’s grace transform some women with sexual pasts into some of the most dignified, humble, beautiful, pure, and sweet vessels for God to pour His grace through. Purity is ultimately a matter of the heart. I wanted to write to encourage any younger women that your fight for your man and God’s glory is going to be SOO worth it. It can be done no matter how old you are, by the grace of God. Don’t wait until you are in a moment of temptation to decide if you will stay pure. You have to purpose it in your heart now, before a situation ever comes your way.

“But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself” – Daniel 1:8

Story of the Resurrected Bird

The other day, a little bird flew full speed into a window at my house. After impact, the bird was disillusioned and so immediately slammed into the window again. Then it fell to the ground dead. My sister called me to the window to show me what happened. She wanted to see if we could help the bird. However, when I looked out the window, I saw a tiny, lifeless bird lying on its back with its feet up. The bird was stiff and dead. We kept watching it to see if it might move or breathe, but it remained stiff and dead. I told my sister it was too late and the bird was dead - there was nothing we could do.

I went back to my room. A while later, my sister burst into my room and declared that the bird is alive. She told me that she started to pray for it. While she was praying the little bird began to breathe. She prayed more. Then the little bird got onto its feet, started hopping, and flew away.

I've been sharing this story, because I think it speaks about God's resurrecting power in a seemingly small, yet miraculous way. No matter how hopeless a situation seems, God can resurrect anything. The bird was dead and so tiny that it is a miracle it flew away alive. Abraham and Sarah were past child bearing age. Yet, God waited until all hope was lost in human efforts to bring his promise of a son to pass. Sometimes, God does the same thing in our lives (okay, probably often). Sometimes He waits until all visual or physical hope is gone - when there is no longer any chance for human strength or resources to bring the promise to pass. The person you've been praying for seems so lost and hopeless - so far away from God; the marriage you are praying for seems irreparable; His promise to you seems like it will never happen. Yet, after all hope is gone and you have given up that God will ever come through, God can bring to life what has even died. He can restore what has been destroyed past recognition. I think He does this because He wants to wait until our trust is only in God and not in our own sight, strength, or resources. Maybe He waits until we have died to the desire and are at peace and contentment with having God alone. He does this to perfect this verse in our lives:

"for we walk by faith, not by sight." - 2 Cor. 5:7

Before this miracle happened, however, I think God was also showing me that some things do need to stay dead in our lives. It could be a person, a relationship, or a plan that he has taken away or changed. But if He has done this, then He has a new thing in mind and a plan at work.When God calls us to die to something by letting it go, it is one of the greatest tests of faith. We let the thing or person go into God's hands. I have found this to be one of the most difficult things to do in life. But, I am comforted and have confidence remembering that God can resurrect anything - even what is dead and past hope. What God chooses to resurrect in our lives is His decision and He knows best. So when you come to that place or situation where you realize, "there is nothing I can do about this" - then you can just let it go and trust with prayer, because God always acts in perfect faithfulness.

Some of the most powerful verses in the Bible

These are definitely some of the most powerful verses in the Bible to me. No matter what you are going through, if you belong to Christ, you can say and believe these verses with confidence.

"For I know that my Redeemer lives,
And He shall stand at last on the earth; 
 And after my skin is destroyed, this I know,
That in my flesh I shall see God, 
 Whom I shall see for myself,
And my eyes shall behold, and not another.
How my heart yearns within me!" (19:25-27)

Nothing compares to this and nothing is worth trading it for.  This definitely makes me excited and encouraged. Even through all the hard choices and denials, the journey of following Jesus is so worth it - for this life and for the next.

Perfect Faithfulness

God acts in "perfect faithfulness"- something I want to think about today and believe.

"Yahweh, You are my God; I will exalt You. I will praise Your name, for You have accomplished wonders, plans formed long ago, with perfect faithfulness"- Isa. 25:1

Be encouraged for the little things

We can learn a lot from old (dead), wise, and successful men. 

"It is always preferable to go only one hundred steps if you cannot go a mile; it takes you closer to the goal, if you have a goal. But if you insist on getting to the goal in a single stride, in my opinion that is not intelligence. It might even be called downright laziness.
We do not like difficulties; we are not accustomed to advancing one step at a time; we prefer flying to the goal in a single leap or becoming a Regulus [to perish in heroic action]. That is certainly laziness." - G.K. Chesterton

"My circumstances however grew daily easier: my original habits of frugality continuing. And my Father having among his Instructions to me when a Boy, frequently repeated a Proverb of Solomon, 'Seest thou a Man diligent in his calling, he shall stand before Kings, he shall not stand before mean Men.' ... I did not think that I should ever literally stand before Kings, which however has since happened; for I have stood before five, and even had the honor of sitting down with one, the King of Denmark, to Dinner." - Benjamin Franklin