When it comes to marriage, the Lord is "joyfully serious" about seeing His Kingdom plan for our lives come to pass. A good Father cares about more than we can see or feel. If He cares about the smallest detail and wants to lead us and guide us ever so gently in all areas of life, surely the marriage connection for each of us is very important to Him. Of course it would be....marriage is God's idea..He's the ultimate romantic! He also cares about our ultimate Kingdom destiny and will move Heaven and earth to accomplish His best for our lives as well as His Kingdom being established on earth, as we partner with Him. They go hand in hand. They're not separate in God's eyes.
There may be some Christians and Christian leaders who dictate and enforce legalistic demands about marriage on themselves or people they lead. This is very harmful and not God's heart as it leads people into law-based living. That's the opposite of grace-based living, and not pleasing to God. When grace is extended and enjoyed in Christians' lives, the ultimate manifestation of freedom is released in a person's life. Joy, peace, and righteousness in the Holy Ghost are blessings that define the heart that is free and led by the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17). Freedom to choose anything or anyone, under the influence of the Holy Spirit, is God's heart. He offers that influence to us (which involves a sold-out relational connection) but we choose to accept or decline. A heart that is deeply connected with and encounters the Holy Spirit in every aspect of life is a heart that is free of fear. He doesn't make it hard. Our God is supernatural and loves to speak to us, guide us, and love us into fullness. He is looking for those whose hearts are completely His (loyal to Him and His ways), and to those He shows Himself strong (2 Chronicles 16:9). He may choose to do this in a number of ways and we are wise to surrender our hearts and lives fully to Him....to do anything, go anywhere, live in the fullest way to release His glory. That includes marriage. When we are postured to live life that way crazy things happen! We are postured for the supernatural, the miraculous, the wild...."how did THAT happen, God?" kind of living.
He may speak audibly, give prophetic words, dreams, visions, songs, thoughts, etc. Asking Him to communicate His very best for our lives, especially when it comes to marriage, sounds pretty wise. After all, He knows everything. On top of that, the Lord enables us to be emotionally charged by and attracted to the amazing person we want to marry! When He's involved (from a love perspective and not a law perspective), there is never force. There is FREEDOM!
There are many examples of the Lord connecting people together "supernaturally". He did it in my life when He brought Pastor Bill to me. It's a great testimony....ask me and I will share it with you! There are many who have been divinely led to their mates as they waited and trusted the Lord for direction. There are countless marriages that have come together with inner impressions, words, pictures, visions, and more. It's important to give the Lord glory for His connecting work in any situation, but especially in marriage. It can become a solid anchor of "knowing" that you made the best choice. What a good God we have!
Here's another example of the Lord's involvement in marriage: Heidi Baker gave her entire life to God at an early age. She was (and still is) sold out for the Master's purposes, and is radically in love with Him. She is lost without Him and listens to His voice above any other. She wears the brown robe of humility and embraces His Word and His ways. She is in love with Jesus and will obey His voice at all cost. Before she married Rolland Baker, she was in love (and ready to marry) someone else. Yes, Heidi Baker. The Lord was so concerned for her best that He spoke to her and told her to lay that relationship down. That meant that she would not marry someone she was in love with and would wait. Heidi had a choice, and she chose to pay attention to the Lord's loving voice and direction, believing that He had something better for her, even though she didn't see that "best" at the time. It's hard to believe that was an easy thing for her to do. Sounds like there may have been a cost involved. Soon after she broke off the relationship, the Lord brought Rolland Baker on the scene and Heidi married him within 6 months. The rest is the history of a divine love match! God chose to invade Heidi's heart and help her see what He saw for the future; He had a plan and Heidi wanted to be part of it. She was not forced. She obviously chose well because she knew the voice of her First Love well. She heard the voice of the Lord. Be assured that the Holy Spirit is very close and very personal, and cares more about our future than anyone. God can move in a variety of ways, for sure, but be confident that as we co-labor with Him, He will give us the desires of our hearts....as we desire Him. He might even step in and help us see what we aren't even totally looking for at the moment (as He did with Heidi). No Christian is forced to live this way (dependent on the Lord); this is a Kingdom option that is offered to all believers, but never demanded by God. We can marry anyone we want or invite Him into the process and connect with His heart. It's all about connecting with Him, which is totally optional. The choice is up to us.
Him becoming our ultimate desire, our first love, is His very best for us. But, that is a choice too. Isn't He so good to us, and isn't that so freeing! He's always blessing, always giving! The Lord may speak to each person differently about a future mate, but know that He desires and offers to be involved in the process, which means He loves to work with us (He knows our feelings, thoughts, desires, preferences, etc.)! He will if we "let Him" and He will lead us to the very best for our lives. The "letting" just happens when we are on-fire and sold out for Him (led by the Spirit). It's all relational and really becomes easy when He's #1 in our life. When He asks "what do you want?", your answer will match the best for you when you are intimate with Him. That's a win win situation always! That's a good God!
Thank you, Lord, for caring that much about the details of our lives! Living for You, Lord, is the highest privilege and honor.....and ensures freedom on all fronts.
Here's a write up about Heidi's life and a bit about her encounter with God pertaining to her marriage.
http://sternfieldthoughts.blogspot.com/2011/11/heidi-baker-1959.html
There may be some Christians and Christian leaders who dictate and enforce legalistic demands about marriage on themselves or people they lead. This is very harmful and not God's heart as it leads people into law-based living. That's the opposite of grace-based living, and not pleasing to God. When grace is extended and enjoyed in Christians' lives, the ultimate manifestation of freedom is released in a person's life. Joy, peace, and righteousness in the Holy Ghost are blessings that define the heart that is free and led by the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17). Freedom to choose anything or anyone, under the influence of the Holy Spirit, is God's heart. He offers that influence to us (which involves a sold-out relational connection) but we choose to accept or decline. A heart that is deeply connected with and encounters the Holy Spirit in every aspect of life is a heart that is free of fear. He doesn't make it hard. Our God is supernatural and loves to speak to us, guide us, and love us into fullness. He is looking for those whose hearts are completely His (loyal to Him and His ways), and to those He shows Himself strong (2 Chronicles 16:9). He may choose to do this in a number of ways and we are wise to surrender our hearts and lives fully to Him....to do anything, go anywhere, live in the fullest way to release His glory. That includes marriage. When we are postured to live life that way crazy things happen! We are postured for the supernatural, the miraculous, the wild...."how did THAT happen, God?" kind of living.
He may speak audibly, give prophetic words, dreams, visions, songs, thoughts, etc. Asking Him to communicate His very best for our lives, especially when it comes to marriage, sounds pretty wise. After all, He knows everything. On top of that, the Lord enables us to be emotionally charged by and attracted to the amazing person we want to marry! When He's involved (from a love perspective and not a law perspective), there is never force. There is FREEDOM!
There are many examples of the Lord connecting people together "supernaturally". He did it in my life when He brought Pastor Bill to me. It's a great testimony....ask me and I will share it with you! There are many who have been divinely led to their mates as they waited and trusted the Lord for direction. There are countless marriages that have come together with inner impressions, words, pictures, visions, and more. It's important to give the Lord glory for His connecting work in any situation, but especially in marriage. It can become a solid anchor of "knowing" that you made the best choice. What a good God we have!
Here's another example of the Lord's involvement in marriage: Heidi Baker gave her entire life to God at an early age. She was (and still is) sold out for the Master's purposes, and is radically in love with Him. She is lost without Him and listens to His voice above any other. She wears the brown robe of humility and embraces His Word and His ways. She is in love with Jesus and will obey His voice at all cost. Before she married Rolland Baker, she was in love (and ready to marry) someone else. Yes, Heidi Baker. The Lord was so concerned for her best that He spoke to her and told her to lay that relationship down. That meant that she would not marry someone she was in love with and would wait. Heidi had a choice, and she chose to pay attention to the Lord's loving voice and direction, believing that He had something better for her, even though she didn't see that "best" at the time. It's hard to believe that was an easy thing for her to do. Sounds like there may have been a cost involved. Soon after she broke off the relationship, the Lord brought Rolland Baker on the scene and Heidi married him within 6 months. The rest is the history of a divine love match! God chose to invade Heidi's heart and help her see what He saw for the future; He had a plan and Heidi wanted to be part of it. She was not forced. She obviously chose well because she knew the voice of her First Love well. She heard the voice of the Lord. Be assured that the Holy Spirit is very close and very personal, and cares more about our future than anyone. God can move in a variety of ways, for sure, but be confident that as we co-labor with Him, He will give us the desires of our hearts....as we desire Him. He might even step in and help us see what we aren't even totally looking for at the moment (as He did with Heidi). No Christian is forced to live this way (dependent on the Lord); this is a Kingdom option that is offered to all believers, but never demanded by God. We can marry anyone we want or invite Him into the process and connect with His heart. It's all about connecting with Him, which is totally optional. The choice is up to us.
Him becoming our ultimate desire, our first love, is His very best for us. But, that is a choice too. Isn't He so good to us, and isn't that so freeing! He's always blessing, always giving! The Lord may speak to each person differently about a future mate, but know that He desires and offers to be involved in the process, which means He loves to work with us (He knows our feelings, thoughts, desires, preferences, etc.)! He will if we "let Him" and He will lead us to the very best for our lives. The "letting" just happens when we are on-fire and sold out for Him (led by the Spirit). It's all relational and really becomes easy when He's #1 in our life. When He asks "what do you want?", your answer will match the best for you when you are intimate with Him. That's a win win situation always! That's a good God!
Thank you, Lord, for caring that much about the details of our lives! Living for You, Lord, is the highest privilege and honor.....and ensures freedom on all fronts.
Here's a write up about Heidi's life and a bit about her encounter with God pertaining to her marriage.
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