I Am Through with Dating!!!

I read this today and it TOTALLY confirmed everything the Lord has been speaking to me through His Word, prayers and other godly resources, regarding dating, or lack thereof.

Tell Dating to Go to Hell

I am no longer a part of this dating/hook up culture. I'm done! My journey is to allow God to reveal my own heart to me and mold me into a woman and wife that would be pleasing to him and a blessing to my husband. That's it. I don't have to go on countless dates to discover a mate. I don’t need to go online, doll up & insert myself in any clubs, go speed dating, ask to be hooked up, etc. God’s got me! I’ve seen Him do it before and I know He shows no favoritism! (Acts 10:34)

I believe that God's paradigm for relationships is this:

1. Service-be associated with people of both genders in all purity (1 Timothy 5), pray for them, dwell with them according to the fruits of the Spirit. This is the time to discover marriage traits in a person of the opposite sex, from afar and without emotional involvement. I read somewhere that you can glean 75 percent of what you need to know about a person (the things that really matter to God for marriage) just by being associated with them. Upon further reflection, I find this to be true.

2. Friendship- with spoken and understood intent of marriage. This is the appropriate point to share a wee bit more emotional intimacy, and get to know the person on a slightly deeper level. This is NOT the time to discover everything about the person to see if they are what we want to marry. During this time you’ll get the other 10-15 percent of what you need to know about a person prior to marriage.

3. Covenant-After we marry then and only then should we discover each other sexually and give of our selves over fully in emotional and physical intimacy.

As we graduate from one level to the next we never leave the principles of the last level behind. We only add to them. We are always to be in service and it's best to be in covenant with someone that you've grown to know and love as a friend. I think the world culture tries to get it right by saying things like "be friends first, date your best friend," etc. But I believe where we fall short is the order of things. Most "friends" that are dating in the world, are also having sex outside of the covenant of marriage and the people in the relationship think it's about them and getting their needs met and we forget about truly serving the other person. The difference with God's plan is that it's done in decency and in order and in the right timing.

GOD KNOWS WHAT HE IS DOING! If nothing else He's way smarter than me and what I've done in the past has not worked!!! I've decided to trust HIM instead...