It’s hard to hear, but the truth about us human beings is that some of us believe negative things that injure our ability to build faith. It’s these wrong things that continue to run a program of doubt in our hearts even though our mouths say something completely different. We might make positive confessions, but we don’t believe them in the depths of our hearts. This is why God tells us in Ephesians 4:23 to be renewed in the spirit of our minds. We have to hear the promises of God many times to build our faith and reprogram the wrong believing we might have had about what God is committed to do for His people. So, when it comes to crossing paths with your future marital partner, if you’re not actively engaging the process of renewing your mind, the wrong program will continue running, and you may continue to be disappointed by the wrong results. This can be changed. To receive what’s yours, it MUST be changed.
The hindrance
The spirit of our minds is the attitude of our hearts. The heart is the deepest part of us, and it stores what we believe about God, others, and what we believe about ourselves. A lot of believers have a bad attitude about a variety of things, but this is not a part of a Kingdom mindset. If we have a ‘woes me’, hopeless and helpless mindset, we haven’t renewed our minds, and we are still operating our lives from the program of the old (before salvation) mindset. This is a hindrance, because it is a wrong pattern of believing.
Our attitudes come from our thoughts. It can be a very subtle thing that many of us never check. God is not withholding the blessing of meeting your future spouse from you. He wants you to be ridiculously fulfilled, happy, and living life with all your needs being met. He wants this more for you than you want it for yourself. This is one of those core beliefs that faith hangs its hat on. If there’s something going on internally that is running in the opposite direction of this flow, you have to check yourself.
Check-up and check-out
One of the ways to check-up on what’s in our hearts is to look at what we do with our time. In Luke 18:1, Jesus Christ tells us that we ought to pray always. In 2Timothy 2:15, he tells us to study God’s Word to the point that our standing is approved before God. In Galatians 5:25, he tells us to walk in the Spirit. Jesus Christ understands we have a life to live, and it has obligations that we must attend to. However, EVERYTHING that we do must be done with the love of Christ.
We must demonstrate a habit pattern that we are prioritizing God’s requirement above all others. Our commitment to God cannot be a secondary thought. It most be primary in life. There must be an interruption in the programming we’re used to. We have to change what we hear, think, speak, and practice.
Renewal takes place at the root. Only God’s love and Word can perform this kind of surgery and deliver the medicine we need. There must be a willingness on our parts to give Holy Spirit access by doing the very things that open the door and throw out the welcome mat to him. He will then do exactly what the Lord wants done. He will help us change our hearts so that our commitment to God through Jesus Christ is solid.
We are all works in progress, so this commitment gets lived out in the steps we make to decrease in the flesh and increase through the Spirit. This means we may need to check-out with respect to some of the stuff we’re doing that isn’t benefiting our spiritual walk. Maybe it’s giving up gossiping. For someone else it could be a commitment to abstain from sexual sin, and for another person it might be decreasing social media activity.
Heavenly Father looks at what we do daily, because what we do with our lives matters to His Kingdom. It’s an indicator for how we’ll handle the additional responsibility of ministering to a spouse. Will we violate the commandment of Christ in Matthew 6:33 and erroneously prioritize this person’s wants or needs over our commitment to God? Will we be able to manage matrimonial ministry with all the other things we’ve got going on? If not, are we humble and committed enough to let some relationships, situations, and activities go?
Don’t let anything diminish a Godly, positive attitude about what you want in life. If God says you can have it, do the things that keep you fully persuaded in this reality. If we’re serious about doing marriage God’s way, we must give Jesus Christ the lead. In and of ourselves, we can’t handle the delicate balance that is required for the ministry of a wife, but through Christ we can do all things. Increase your commitment to renew your mind to God’s Word. Be led of the Spirit, then Jesus will guide you in a way that builds your spiritual capacity to love through God’s grace. Do the things that demonstrate you’ve given him the lead in your quest for marriage, and victory will be guaranteed. ■
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
“Let Jesus Christ Lead Your Quest” written by Kim Times, edited by Reverend Fran Mack for Sundie Morning Sistas ©2019. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord! SMS is dedicated to inspiring and encouraging Christian Women through the Word of God.