frankly friday…

frankly…                  
                               this is rather lengthy

God has been moving.
i try to ignore it – or pass it off as “wow what a coincidence” – but are there really of those in life? and if i’m honest some things have taken a few or moments to really click and fall into place within my mind and heart.
when we face God’s promptings we often have to face what we’ve been running from.
sometimes its easier to just pretend that the promptings don’t exist.
until you can’t pretend anymore.

i was reading through mark 6: 53-56 the other night and something struck me.

what struck me was something i’ve heard and even preached on hundreds of time.
v. 54 – Jesus was immediately recognized as what?…..

so while i have been looking to Jesus lately – it has been as a forgiver, a sustainer, a rescuer, a redeemer, a savior (and He is all of those things) but i have been missing a key element.

powerful.
so while i may be struggling lately – with sin – Jesus offers me healing.

but i’m getting distracted. i really wanted to share with y’all what kicked me in the face this past Sunday attending church.
the series they are working through is called “Home for the Holidays” and it’s about relationships.
a series on relationships during Christmas?! unheard of really – but when they explained why they were doing it i was floored, broken hearted, but floored. they were going through their prayer requests for weeks and the main one that kept jumping out to them was prayer for marriages. for healing, for redemption, for trust to be restored, for a stronger foundation, etc. so instead of waiting until the new year – they wanted to address it now.

this past sunday was on ephesians 5:21-29 and i’m just going to write out the notes i filled in.

1. husbands are called to servant leadership. (john 13:12-15)
2. husbands are called to spiritual leadership.
  + our family is educated in God’s word. (joshua 24:15)
  + our family is engaged in God’s work.
  + our family is established in God’s grace. (ephesians 1:3-4)
3. husbands are called to loving leadership. (ephesians 5:33; 1 corinthians 13:11)

so beautiful.
as i was sitting there frantically scribbling down the notes and random tid bits i was getting from the sermon – my heart started weighing heavy.

i was broken, tired, and just beat down in this message.
encouraged – yes i was that too – but for a moment i felt the weight of my past.
the weight of my settling.
the weight of saying “no” to God’s best for me.
hmmmm…..
so while i continued to scribble through this weight, Chris, the pastor said something that rocked me to my core and caused me to actually form tears in my eyes.

those nine words were like a sledgehammer on my heart.
i am guilty of not following this.
i started thinking of my past relationships – even my current short comings and i was so incredibly convicted by the Holy Spirit. if i truly love someone – their holiness is my goal.

we talk about being accountable to other believers, to sharing our souls and pushing each other towards Christ. why is that? because we love each other and holiness is our united goal – right?

so why does that often not apply in relationships?
i’m seeing that the older i get, dating and even friendships can become tainted with lust, selfish ambitions, and pushing each other closer to Jesus in the smallest way possible.
instead of really challenging each other and putting holiness above all else we just fall back into our flesh and allow selfishness to reign.

as i’m wrestling through this thought process Chris says something else:

“all of you single women out there – i’m speaking to you right now. when you’re considering a relationship for a potential husband you need to ask yourself two things: 1. can this man lead me? 2. can i submit to him? – do not settle.”

exactly what my heart needed to hear right now.
i’m struggling with settling – with not waiting – with just being burnt out in this singleness.
so hearing this – seeing what scripture calls godly men to be – and godly women to be – it encourages me to wait a little while longer. to keep fighting the fight – to not settle, even when i want to – even when its hard. the Lord tells me it is worth it – and deep within my heart i know it is.

all of this rambling to say – i know God isn’t through with me.
i’m still learning – still fighting – still being encouraged.
hopefully God used this to encourage you to, whether you are married or not.
whether you need to focus on Jesus as a savior – or Jesus as a healer.
He is everything.
& He loves you.

if you’ve posted something frank recently…link up below.