Go Get Engaged.......

Engagement, it is an event most girls dream of. A life altering moment in time when a man pledges his love, faithfulness, and life to the one he has asked to become his wife. This arrangement signifies an amazing transformation in the lives and relationship of the couple who seal the exclusive pledge between themselves through the giving and receiving of a ring. In an instant, a young woman's status changes from single to unavailable as she is thrust into a flurry of preparation for the day her promise becomes reality and she joins heart, soul, and body with the man she loves. While the change in status from single to engaged can take mere minutes, the process of “engagement” starts long before the question is “popped” and the ring is placed onto the finger of the “Bride-to-be.”

As I think about engagement, one thing that stands out is the process two people go through to get to the point where they are willing to “forsake all others.” When a woman proudly takes up the title of “Engaged”, bestowing upon her lover exclusive future rights to every aspect of her life, she become both a servant to and master of the other. As I approached my 28th birthday, very single and very much alone, I would have given all I had to taste the joy and wonder of a love as compelling as this. If you are a young lady and find yourself in the same shoes I did at 27, I want to encourage you with the challenge to “Engage your heart” in the one and only place where you will experience the love, joy, and peace you soul truly seeks and desires. Marriage might be right around the corner for you, or it may be years away, but regardless of the “when”, “right now” there is one seeking to woe your heart and your affections.

Jeremiah 30:21b says,
“I will cause him to draw near,
and he shall approach unit me;
for who is this that engaged his heart to approach unto me?
Saith the Lord.

And ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.”

I want to draw your attention to the initiator of this amazingly divine and sacred dance between the God of heaven and the one he passionately loves and pursues, you! Lord states “I will cause him to draw near.” Do you feel unlovely, alone, worthless? Stop and quiet your heart and listen! In the stillness of your aching and troubled heart, do you hear his voice? Can you feel him pursuing you driven by a passion deeper than any ocean, unfathomable, unmeasurable? He is there whispering your name. Don't let the world's perception of love and your desire to find earthly love drowned out the voice of one who seeks your love, affection, and devotion.
How does the Lord cause us to draw near? By revealing the source of the aching void in our heart and soul, quenchable only through his pure and holy love. He reveals this void and need through testings and trials which burn away the dross leaving very little for us to hang on to or glory in. Stripped bare and exposed by our weaknesses, with little to glory in or become proud of we become acutely mindful of our desperate need for a love relationship with him.

As you travel the path the Lord has called you to, realize that the trials and difficulties you face as a single woman are one of many ways the Lord will reveal his love and power, compelling you to draw near to him. He desires to, and is at work bringing you to a place where you not only recognize your need to “engage your heart to him”, but are also filled with a driving desire and passion to seek, find, and experience the transforming and fulfilling wonder of the love of Jesus Christ in your life.

In the next few weeks I want to focus on “engaging our hearts to draw near to God”, and how exactly God seeks to capture and win our affection and what our responses should be to our suitor, the God of Heaven.

Please read Jeremiah 30:21b and look for other verses regarding the Lord as a lover pursuing us.

I would like to leave you with a thought and some questions:
*Would you pledge your life to a man you did not know or would you inter into a relationship with someone you knew nothing about?

*Do you truly know and understand who the Lord is?

*Is he a familiar friend or a distant stranger?

*What do you know/understand of His name and nature?

*If you are finding your relationship with him distant and strained, and if so,is it because you do not truly know or understand him?

This might date me, but imagine you were on “The Married Couple”, a popular TV game show where couples are asked questions about their significant other and then given points based on their answers which reveal how well they know each other. If it was you and God on that show together, how well would you do? Would your answers be correct? Would they be lifeless and canned, based on what you read or what your pastor or parents taught you about God? Could you give answers gleaned from personal experience and an active relationship with Him? Would your answers be uttered with the love and devotion of one who had a true understanding of who your God was?

Where is your heart right now? Who has your heart?