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.
I love the note about "their holiness is your goal." It's so true. I think about things like that in my marriage, but to be honest, I don't think about that much in my relationships. I SHOULD, though. Just imagining how different friendships would look if that were my goal!
such a thoughtful post, thanks for putting such good inspiration into my day! xo
the well-traveled wife ♥
Amy,
I love your willingness to recognize and listen to conviction! Keep letting God work in your life. 🙂
i just love your heart for Jesus girl! I especially love the quote-"when you love someone their holiness is your goal." that totally resonated with me!
http://mintchocolatechipmoments.blogspot.com/
I love love love this post! I was in a less than desirable relationship before finding my husband and it was obvious we did not bring out the best in eachother and he could care less about my holiness. Once I found my now-husband I realized how messed up that relationship really was. It's not normal to feel like you are compromising things for your partner, it's not normal to feel like you need to be more for your partner…
All of this goes to say, waiting for someone that values you for you, and helps you become a more Godly woman… totally worth it. Super difficult to wait for that person, but worth it.
frankly….i'm glad you wrote this post & that i read it! i have felt this exact same way and it's nice to know that i'm not the only one who has felt this way!
it can be so easy to completely not spur a friend, spouse, coworker on in their walk with Christ and just ignore it. yet that's what we are called to do…is to help spur them to holiness.
such a good reminder! thank you!
p.s. i found you from prayerful bloggers fb group…i also live in SC!
Frankly, I love your long posts. I always actually save them for last, so there's that (and yes, I am the girl who saves the best stuff for last, in case you're wondering). 🙂
Frankly, the whole coincidence thing? Definitely not a coincidence. This past year I've been learning that coincidences are purely God at work. And God's work is never just because, it's always well-planned. 🙂
Frankly, it is so easy for me to overlook some of the characteristics or powers of Christ. Because He is so powerful, so perfect, so everything (if you get what I mean), it's easy to forget that He truly is EVERYthing. And usually we see healer in the ill/sick way, not the emotional or spiritual way so thank you for that reminder!
And the spiritual holiness excerpt from the sermon? AMAZING. Seriously. It's so easy to view relationships as companionship or romance when in reality, it's so much more. It's about pushing each other and building each other up and pursuing Him above all else. Thank you for that, girl.
Oh, and the settling/singleness burnout thing? So get it. Sometimes I feel like I just want to be in a relationship with anyone (well, not ANYone, but you know what I mean) just to be in a relationship, just to have that status, just to have that feeling of knowing someone finds me attractive or whatever (wow, that sounds shallow!). But it's posts like these that remind me that I'm not created to settle for someone who's not for me, who God did not plan for me to be with. Thank you for reminding me that standards are not only good for me, but they're also what's best for me, too. Waiting is hard, but know that I'm waiting with you, Amy!!!
p.s. You teach me so much each and every week. Just thought I'd let you know that you are seriously moving and pushing me to pursue Him more and analyze and reflect on my relationship on Him. Thank you, for that my friend! 🙂
p.s. Do I win for longest comment ever? Seriously, that was one novel of a comment… 🙂
wow. so, so true.
it's amazing how we always seem to (unintentionally) put God in a box. Our minds can hardly comprehend how limitless and powerful and BIG our God is.
this was a great reminder, amy.
There is so much good stuff in this post.
The fact that God is our Healer. YES! So beautiful.
"when you love someone their holiness is your goal." YES! So, SO beautiful and true.
In any relationship, parent-child, friendship, dating, marriage, the goal should be holiness! It's something we so often forget.
Beautiful, encouraging, thought-provoking post, Amy!
God most definitely isn't through yet. 🙂