How ironic that the absolute worst day in Jesus’ life is known to us as “Good Friday”. Mind you, I’m grateful that from our perspective it is a “good” day. Jesus took MY place that day so I would never have to face the rightful judgment that MY sins deserve. That is “good” for ME.
As I go through life, I’m finding as I grow in Christ I’m setting a higher standard for myself when it comes to dating. No no, not in an arrogant way, but in a way that I know my worth in Christ and I know what He wants for me (His best), and I know what He wants me to look for as far as characteristics. Why would I not want to accept the standard He has set for me, His child? Although the Bible doesn’t really talk about “Christian dating” in a direct way, we can look at God’s word and discern how we should approach “dating” in today’s world.
Have you ever been so mentally exhausted that you just didn’t have the emotional energy to be around people, places or things? Just so much going on in life, you just didn’t need ONE MORE THING? I’m not talking about diagnosed depression or anxiety (that’s something entirely different), but just the emotional energy that can get sucked right out of you from time to time.
Have you ever had a non-Godly distraction in life that was counter-acted by a literal diversion from God? I experienced something earlier this year that once the smoke cleared, I could undoubtedly see God’s hand at work.
Earlier this year when I began dating again, two new guys unexpectedly entered my life nearly at the same time, but the first guy (in my opinion, when looking back) was definitely a wolf in sheep’s clothing. He was a really nice guy, but the more I got to know of him, the more I realized he was not acting in any way, shape or form like the Christian he professed to be. Maybe he WAS a Christian, I just didn’t see the fruits of his Christianity and his actions were not something that screamed “Christian”, but admittedly I found myself intrigued by his charm. I gave him the benefit of the doubt, but as I did, I found myself getting sucked into the shiny newness, but I could feel and hear God giving me a clear “Red Flag” warning – almost like a finger snap in my ear – to beware. (I must add – it wasn’t a beware as in “safety” for me, it was a beware as in a “this is not something good for you”). For a bit, I still ignored God’s voice, but it became louder and louder – but the distraction of this person (which I still believe was the enemy at work through him – I’m sure without him even knowing) continued.
This other guy entered my life just a few short days later. Now, when he (another professed Christian) showed up, I could see the fruits he had in the past and was currently cultivating. So, then I felt myself gravitating toward him because I knew he was a Godly man, and that’s my most important requirement when dating now – that whoever I date has a past with God, a current relationship with God, and is running after God. All the while, God was reiterating to me how the other guy was just not someone who met my most important requirement. Based on how everything happened, I truly feel this second man was sent to me by God to create a diversion to push me to cease contact with the first one. I did – right away… and it felt amazing. I was fully trusting God with something He’d asked me to do and it just felt amazing.
Many times in my life, people have been positioned at the exact moment(s) to create these diversions, or to lead me closer to God and toward where I needed to be. These diversions are imperative to keep me on the right path God has for me to follow. Isn’t that insane to think about? All I know is that my attention on the first man began to fade quickly – the shiny newness just fell away and it was like my eyes were opened that the situation there was not something I needed, nor should I be moving toward. I really do feel that God provided this diversion with this second person coming into my life for me to see my path more clearly – and it was up to me to take the correct path. As I stated above, I did. I know that was what God wanted me to do, and I think if it were a test, I passed it!
I’m finding it amazing how God can have someone enter my life simply to counter-act something the enemy was trying to do in my life with someone else. I’m so thankful that God uses diversions when we get distracted from Him to pull us back the right way. Yes, we can surely ignore them, like I did at first, but I’m so thankful that He keeps knocking and keeps letting us know when something isn’t right. I love knowing that if I begin to go astray, my Father in Heaven will gently reach down and guide me back to the path He has for me. I get an image in my head of a child and a dad, where the dad just positions his child the right way, and then gently pushes the child in that direction. I feel that’s what God did for me. I’m so thankful that I heeded the warning so quickly, as I’ve also found in life that if I don’t guide easily back toward where God is calling me, I’ve been known in the past to nearly get hit upside the head by a 2×4 from God – so I’m definitely thinking it’s best to heed His first calling and do it the easier way than the harder way – but hey, both ways are effective!
Things like this just solidify and strengthen my faith in God. Seeing how things play out in my life are so amazing when I’m able to look back over something that happened and realize how the enemy tried to get the best of me, but God safely guided me away from something that wasn’t good for me. I’m a proponent of saying “God wants to give me His best”, and it’s times like these that I’m reminded how true that statement is. I’m finding that consistency in my prayer, consistency in my walk with God and consistency in my involvement with my church and Christian brothers and sisters are helping me stay closer to God where I’m able to hear His still small voice. When things like this happen, it’s just solidifies how much God loves me and the lengths He’s willing to take when my path starts to go astray, swiftly leading me back to where I belong. The path where I belong is so important to Him, and He definitely goes out of His way to make sure I stay the course – even if He has to use that 2×4!
With God rooted in my life, and the more experience I get by walking with Him, I’m realizing how I can simply follow the peace of God so He can present to me His plan for my life. Nothing that I face today (or ever) is out of His control.