the blog.
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"But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord God my refuge, that I may tell of all your works."
Psalms 73:28 |
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Nov. 12 / 4 min read  
Heyy!! Today I wanted to share an analogy God gave me months ago that helped me further see that marriage isn't the end goal. And...it's a driving story 🥴. Earlier this year, I started realizing that I wasn't as on top of my driving as I used to be when I first started. I kept coming close to rear-ending cars (though I never actually did, praise God !! And my driving has improved a lot since then so don't worry hehe). I was concentrating on driving and I couldn't figure out why I kept stopping so close to them when previously I had never had that issue. One day, when I came really close to rear-ending a car, my whole body tensed up as I suddenly became deeply aware that I needed to be really intentional about driving well, as it was so easy to drift quietly into bad habits. And that's when I realized the problem with my driving, too: I was so focused on the car in front of me that I had forgotten to look ten seconds ahead. My driving instructor had always told me to be sure to do the ten-seconds-ahead check so that I would be aware if there were red lights ahead, etc. But as my driving went a bit downhill, I started focusing more on the car in front of me and forgetting to look beyond it. Because I was mostly focusing on the car, I kept almost running into it because I wasn't aware of the red light that was also ahead of me! Once I started looking beyond the car in front of me (but also still being aware of it), my driving DRASTICALLY improved. Before I get into the analogy, I want to mention one thing - when I started driving a few years ago, I was focused and careful. But as time went on, I got comfortable, and I got a bit cocky, and my driving suffered. This also happens in our faith !! No one drifts towards God, as my pastor likes to say. We have to be intentional and active in our pursuit of God as He pursues us. And praise God that He is also good at humbling us and setting us back on track when we go astray :). But let us also be on guard! The devil is prowling like a roaring lion and is doing whatever he can to get you off track and make you more focused on marriage than on God (1 Peter 5:8). Alrighty, here's the analogy God showed me: I think we do this with marriage and our goals in life. I know I do! It is SO easy for me to get so so focused on the goal of getting married that I put all my focus and energy into that one thing - like me focusing on the car in front of me. Then I get stressed out because I'm feeling like I'm not getting it, and I focus even more on it and worry and end up even more stressed! It's like me focusing so much on the car in front of me, thinking that'll make it better when really it's making the problem worse. We weren't meant to make marriage our end-all, be-all. That's not our sole focus or purpose in life. And what I needed to realize is that there is something beyond marriage that I need to focus on. After all - in heaven, there won't even BE marriage !!! And the fact that Heaven is gonna be the most AMAZING thing ever, even WITHOUT marriage, must mean that there's something BETTER than marriage there!! Imagine that! Hmm...must be God or something... The goal is to glorify God and to also have closer intimacy with Him. Marriage is just a vehicle, an avenue through which we can glorify God and draw closer to Him. It's a beautiful gift!! But it's not the end of the story. When we make marriage or pretty much ANYTHING other than God the end goal, things, well, go downhill. It becomes an idol, and God in his LOVE for us will not let our hearts become satisfied and at peace while something else is on the throne of our hearts. I'm sure you know that unsettled, uneasy feeling deep down that's telling you something's off...something's missing. God is pursuing you and wants to be first place in your life because that is what's BEST for you! That is the way you were designed to thrive! We need to look BEYOND marriage. Because if getting married is the goal, what are you going to do once you are married? Make another goal? Start the cycle over? I've been asking myself these questions a lot recently, and man, it's convicting and re-grounding to think through. Make closer intimacy with God your goal. Make glorifying Jesus your highest calling. It IS your highest calling !!! What greater or more honorable role could you have? My college pastor talks about how we're all on different vehicles of growth. I was talking to one of my close friends a while back about this and we remarked that I was sitting in a wheelbarrow (or something similar to it)...waiting for a boyfriend/husband to come and pull me along in my faith :o. That was an eye-opener! I'm so grateful to God for how He's been really growing me to depend on Him to grow in my faith, not on other human beings or the "ideal circumstance". Are you sitting in a wheelbarrow right now? Are you waiting for something or someone to come and push you along in your faith and your obedience to God? Are you waiting for the fill in the blank -- "Once I _________, then I'll start obeying God"? God has ALREADY made you sufficient to be a minister of the Gospel (2 Cor. 3:5-6), and that's all you need - I mean, woww !! GOD is the one who completes you and makes you sufficient ?! That's willddd. And He's given you EVERYTHING you need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3) !!! Wow!! Here's another way to think of the vehicles of growth thing. What if you let singleness be a vehicle of growth - something you ride on that takes you to a closer relationship with the Lord? A vehicle that carries you to serve other people more... a vehicle that brings you to the feet of Jesus again and again because singleness can be so so hard! And then, one day, if that's in God's will for you -- let marriage be a vehicle of growth for you too :). It's not the destination - most people don't get in their cars and then announce, "I'm here!". No, they get in and then they drive...and for you, let the marriage vehicle of growth carry and drive you closer and closer to God's heart and be a gift and tool you use to bring Him maximum glory. Those who look to the Lord are radiant...their faces shall never be ashamed (Psalm 34:5). Look to Jesus. Put all of your hope in Him. Put all your energies toward following and loving Him as you receive the steadfast love He has for YOU! And keep on trusting Him all the way through. He's got this. He makes beautiful stories and will make yours beautiful in its time, too :)
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