Marry Me!

The first of my brothers just got married. Woo hoo! I’ve waited on this wedding for quite a while. I had said to my brothers several times over the years, that it wouldn’t matter to me if I liked their wives or not, as long as they made my brothers happy. But you know what? He found himself a cute young woman who loves him for him. What more could any big sis ask? God is faithful! He truly is! 

Theirs was a pretty big wedding, and the usual craziness  that goes with every big event surely played out that day. With over a thousand guests, both the church and reception overflowed in a cacophony of activities. Ever heard of 'organized chaos'? Lol. Everyone needed special attention it seemed, and each person was intent on getting it. I’m so glad I can laugh about that now, as it certainly was nowhere near amusing on that day. I was totally worn out at the end of it all, but……. the strong, silent embrace from my brother at the end of the day was more than worth it! He was happy! He was fulfilled! And my newest of sister’s? She just positively glowed! She was a truly beautiful bride, I must say. It is my prayer upon them both that theirs shall be a unique story; that they shall grow in love and unity; that they shall be fruitful in all things; and that the Lord will set them up as examples of His favor, in Jesus mighty name, Amen.

As always, events around me lead me to reflection mode and and as I looked over some of the pictures of the wedding, a few things struck me quite strongly in my spirit. I could quite clearly see the correlation between the wedding to our salvation experience. Think about it! There you were trying to deal with life as you think you know it, then slowly but surely He comes into your life and things are never quite the same. Sometimes its love at first sight, but more often than not, He has to woo you. You hear His Word from just about everywhere, it seems. You keep thinking about Him. He shows up very strongly when your heart is weak; and you eventually realize that without Him, your life will never be complete. You know that in Him is your fullness, and you willingly come to the place of 'I do". 

Just like a new bride also, your wedding day is full of uncertainties. You love and are in love with The Lord, but you really just don't know how it will all play out. What you do know is that you are on a journey of faith, a journey of trust, and a journey of positive expectation. A new bride looks unto her husband with a heart that is full of hope and conviction that he will honor her, he will protect her, he will love her, he will provide for her, he will help her to reach her full potentials as a woman. A new bride knows in her heart that she is leaving a whole other life behind, but she trusts that that which is ahead is greater than that which she is familiar with. She has faith that with him she will be fruitful and fulfilled......the same set of convictions as when we come to the place of knowing The Lord. 

Beyond the wedding day and honeymoon period however comes the realities of married life. Over the months and years, day-to-day life begins to play out. If we are not careful, the love is still there yes, but there is a 'getting-used-to', a certain 'normalcy' that begins to become the order of the day. Our imperfections begin to play up - selfishness (the 'Me' factor), impatience, unforgiveness, anger, inadequacies and insecurities, busyness and lack of prioritization, careless words, emotional unfaithfulness..... Dare I go on? 

The hard truth is that in the middle of being the 'who' that we came into the marriage as, there is also a struggle to determine the 'who' that we need to be now that we are married. As with every process, there will be the smooth times and the rough times.... the extent of each being determined by the intentionality by which both parties to a marriage work at it. The end result of a focused effort with God in the middle of it, is a 'marriage made in heaven'. The end result of trying to go it in your own strength or wisdom is confusion, frustrations, hurt, bitterness. 

But here is what ministered most strongly to me and I leave you with this today.   All the above stem from an analysis of the physical marriage on earth, where the husband is a man..... as imperfect, as fallible, as insecure, as gullible, as weak as any other human - male or female. Our salvation involves saying 'I do' to the King of  Kings and The Lord of Lords. Our marriage walk is with the ultimate Being.... The I AM! He is perfection itself, sis. No better husband than Him, that I assure you!

In coming into a personal relationship with God the Father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit our helper, counsellor, intercessor; we can rest assured that our faith and hopes and expectations in Him will never be cut short. He it is that loves us most thoroughly and unconditionally. He is not unmindful of our imperfections, but He is able to separate His love for us as His brides from His love for the lives that we live. When we are at our weakest, He is our strength. When we fall, He gently lifts us up. When we need it, He lovingly chastises us and sets us back into right thinking, doing and being. He never speaks evil against us. He will never forsake us. He always provides for us. He continually protects us. He does not need us to validate him..... He is 'all that' just by Himself; rather, He validates us when we are insecure. When we pull away, He stands fast; and when we come back, He does not consider our past errors. 

God is husband extraordinaire! He puts His ring not just around our fingers, but around our hearts, our lives, all that concern us. He never keeps malice with us, not even when we have done something to hurt Him. No, He is constantly speaking.... lovingly leading us into the right path by His counsel, always working to shape us into the image of His glory. He is a trusted partner and friend. He is jealous not of us, but for us. `In this jealousy, He hovers over all that is ours - our earthly husband's, our children, the works of our hands, our peace, our finances, our health. He is never too tired to listen, rather wishing we would talk to Him even more. He is unselfish to the core, always pandering to our deepest of desires...... in His wisdom, loving us enough to refuse us those things that He knows will not be good for us. His sole agenda is to help us grow, to ensure we will be with Him unto the very end. He is God! He is love! He is all! 

Knowing this, seeing this even more clearly sis, I ask that you do some deep thinking if you do not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Today, The Lord is before you on bended knee. He is pouring out of His abundance of love and saying to you: 'Marry Me!'.  His arms are open wide, sis. His ready embrace is the only wedding ring that you truly need. He is waiting in hope and in expectation that you will finally give up on trying to be made whole and complete in your fellow man, and come to the true place of fulfillment.....  Come to Him now, open your heart to Him and say 'I do, Lord! I do!'

If you have already come to Christ, then this is a call to examine your relationship with The Lord and ask yourself if you are living fully as His bride. He says again to you and I,  'Marry Me. Marry Me afresh! Marry Me in total commitment once again. I am still your husband, I still want to be all here for you. Come away once again from the place of trying to do things on your strength. Come back fully with your heart, body, soul and spirit. Say 'I do' once again and lets walk this beautiful walk unto the end.'

The Lord Loves you sis. He loves Me! How totally awesome is that? By His grace, I am reaching down once again to say 'I do, Lord'. Once again, I receive Your love and I walk into Your open arms. Father, thank You for loving me enough to call me into this love walk with You. Marry me totally and completely Lord. Thank You for the privilege of being Your bride'. 

What will be YOUR response to His call today sis? I pray that the Spirit   will draw you out, and that not only will your response be 'I do" but you will truly mean it with every fibre of your being. 

The Lord will help you sis! He will help me. 

Be blessed..... for you surely are!

The Lord Loves you sis. He loves Me! How totally awesome is that. By His grace, I am reaching down once again to say 'I do, Lord'. Once again, I receive Your love and I walk into Your open arms. Father, thank You for loving me enough to call me into this love walk with You. Marry me totally and completely Lord. Thank You for the privilege of being Your bride'. 

What will be your response to His call today sis? I pray that the Spirit   will draw you out, and that not only will your response be 'I do" but you will truly mean it with every fibre of your being. 

The Lord will help you sis! He will help me. 

Be blessed..... for you surely are!