Wholehearted

“Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we could ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be the glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” Ephesians 3:20-21

Why is it so hard to find the right mate? There was once a young lady talking to her boyfriend and she said, “Why doesn’t your mother like me?” The young man said, “Don’t take that personally. She’s never liked anyone I’ve dated.” The girlfriend said, “Really?” He said, “I dated someone one time that was exactly like my mother in every way you could imagine. She looked like her, talked like her, walked like her, and they even had the same handwriting. It was a disaster!” The girlfriend said, “Wow! What happened?” He said, “My father couldn’t stand her.”

In reality, choosing a mate is no laughing matter. Even if you think you have found the right person they probably are not going to stay the right person because they are going to change…and so are you. The person you thought was perfectly compatible when you married them turns out to be neither perfect nor totally compatible. A leading expert on sociology said this: “We never know whom we marry; we just think we do…The person you are married to today will not be the person you are married to tomorrow.”

This sounds like it belongs on the “List of Reasons to Never Get Married.” But it does not. Instead, it belongs on the “List of Reasons to Seek Christ and Not a Mate.” You see only God can see the end from the beginning. And the good news is that no one desires for you to have a happy, fulfilling marriage more than God. After all, He is the One who designed marriage, to begin with. Who better to bring two people together in marriage than Him?

God wants every couple to live happily ever after. But we must realize that God’s happily ever after does not look like the world’s fairytales. God desires marriages that honor Him, and show the world His character. This will require sacrifice, forgiveness, and humility from both partners. Happily ever after won’t necessarily mean that you will never face issues such as financial problems, dishonesty, profound loss/grief, and even infidelity. But when we surrender ourselves to Christ as husbands and wives, He can do more with our marriages than we could ever ask or imagine. He can heal the deepest wounds, bind the deepest heartbreak, and bring beauty from the most hopeless of ashes. With God, all things are possible.

Wherever you find yourself today, know that God’s desire is that your marriage, or future marriage, be joy-filled and Christ-glorifying. The best way to be blessed in your relationship is to seek Christ with all that you are. It is then that He can turn your marriage into something spectacular.

Dear Jesus, you are all I desire because I believe with all my heart that you want nothing but the best for me. No matter what the world around me is like, I will keep my eyes on you and always remember that you died for me and you stand ready to welcome me on the day I pass from this earth to see you face-to-face.