We have covered a range of different topics in this “Dating Vs. Waiting” series. If you look back at the series, you will see that the constant thread throughout the whole blog series concentrates on an honest reflection of the intent of the heart and the question of whether we are seeking to please God or not in our potential love life.
The whole Dating vs. Waiting ideal, debate, or whatever you want to call it is not an ideal of rules and regulations, but an ideal that should make readers examine the intents and motives of their heart.
The word of God says that all things are lawful to us to do, but all things are not beneficial for us to do (1 Corinthians 10:23). The only way that we will know the difference is if we set our wills aside for the will of God. Are we dating to fill a void, just to fit in, because we don’t trust God, to satisfy our sinful nature, or are we seeking the will of God at the core?
Neither has this series been for people to look at it and pride themselves on doing everything right. We all fall short, and we all learn and grow from our short-comings, but the ideal is in the end to have a heart centered dead at Jesus Christ. Out of that heart, will come everything that we could have ever desired or needed because that is God’s word, and God’s word cannot come back void.
The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing. Psalms 34:10 (NIV)
Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all things will be added unto us. Matthew 6:33 (KJV)
Jesus corrected some religious people in the below scriptures who appeared to do everything right by the book, but inside their hearts were not toward the Lord:
“Are you still so dull?” Jesus asked them. 17 “Don’t you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? 18 But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them. 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. 20 These are what defile a person; but eating with unwashed hands does not defile them.”
In the above scripture, Jesus answers the question of the Pharisees and teachers who asked Jesus why his disciples broke tradition and did not wash their hands before they ate. He further proved that he was not concerned about an outward show of adhering to strict rules, but he was more concerned about the posture of the heart. It is the posture of our hearts that cause us to make wrong choices in dating and cause us to become impatient in waiting. It is a heart posture that causes us to obey God during the hard times. Posturing our heart toward God in humility and intentionally spending time with him is what gives us that heart that we need to thrive in Christ.
He wants our hearts to be all the way toward him. He wants to be the center of our worlds and to sit in the seat of our hearts. It is only then that we will truly be righteous and our ways will be easily directed because we are not depending on ourselves or our abilities, but on Christ. We won’t have to worry about getting off or trying to figure out what to do because the Holy Spirit will teach us and we will be open enough to hear him.
The more that we lean in, trust in, rely on, and depend on Christ as singles and married, the easier and more effortless it will become for us to do what is right. At that point, we may naturally do what is right without even noticing it because we are just that close to God. God’s will is that we know him intimately, and closely, to the point of loving him. And the scripture says that if we love him; we will then keep his commandments.
If we are careful to listen to him, and follow him, we will not have a problem figuring out what to do next, who to marry, who to court, and who to leave alone. Everything that we need is in him alone. That is the sum total of the, “Dating vs. Waiting” series if you did not get anything else out of it.
It is also the sum total of Intercession For A Generation, which has as it’s foundation, “To Teach A Generation the Heart of God and the Way of the Lord.” If the Lord places it on your heart to refrain from dating for a season, then do it. If God calls you into a season where he calls you to court, then do that. Allow the Lord to deal with your heart in order to do the things that line up with his own will for you. We are not our own. We have been bought with a price purchased by the precious blood of Christ Jesus.
Let’s not seek to do the norms of the culture that we live in, but the norms of the kingdom of God centering our lives, hearts, souls, and decisions around our intimate relationship with Jesus Christ—allowing God to turn the compass of our hearts wherever he desires for it to go.
Below are some things that the interviewees have learned thus far in their dating experience:
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