The world has painted a Hollywood, cinema-style
picture of what "true love" is supposed to look like. So what if you feel like you don't measure up to that? Do you feel bad about your "lack of boyfriend" status?
We must remember: Love isn’t defined by Hollywood, by this worldly culture we live in, or by the
card makers at Hallmark.
Let’s return to the true definition
of love. We can only find pure, holy, perfect love in the eyes of Jesus. He is
the Author of every good and heavenly love story. The kind of love that He
gives, isn’t even worth comparing with a box of chocolates or a bouquet of
flowers.
You are loved by the King of Kings!
Whether you’re single, dating, engaged, or happily married, the love that Jesus
desires to pour out upon your heart this season, cannot be compared with the
love of man! The love song that He sings over us is so much sweeter than
anything even the most talented, romantic songwriter could compose.
I invite you to return to your roots. Let’s take a
journey back to Genesis, and relive the love story of Rebekah and Isaac. There
is so much we can learn from their story, with powerful principles and unfading
truths that we can apply to our lives.
The classic story opens up with
Abraham sending out his most trusted servant on a very important assignment: to
find a bride for his son, Isaac! Abraham’s servant sets out on his journey, and
has no idea what kinds of girls he’s going to meet along the way. How will he
know whom God has chosen as Isaac’s future wife? Will his journey be successful?
Abraham’s servant prayed a very
detailed prayer, asking that the Lord would highlight Isaac’s future bride, by having
her offer him and his camels some water.
When we first meet Rebekah, we find her at the well. She was
just an average girl, living an average life, doing her average everyday
chores. She didn’t know that offering this man a drink of water, then going the
extra mile to water his camels also, was going to qualify her for this role! Abraham
was a very wealthy man, and he raised his son Isaac to be a prince of sorts. Rebekah
was chosen to be his princess bride, in the midst of her daily mundane life. Rebekah
was simply being faithful with her daily tasks. When she woke up that morning,
she had no idea that her life was going to change forever.
What if Rebekah wouldn't have shown up at the well? What if she despised her
daily routine and said, "That's it! I'm not going to that stupid well
anymore! My arms are tired of hauling the water. What’s the point of going
there day after day, if I’m going to need more water again tomorrow?"
I doubt that Rebekah understood the significance and beauty that radiated from
her faithfulness. The same is true for us. We don't know what God is doing
behind the scenes, and what kind of lovely story He's going to tell in our
lives when we simply show up, press on, and stay faithful.
I love that Rebekah's life changed when she went to the well, because our lives
change every time we go to the well.
The well of God's Word!
Jesus said, "But whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst.
Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up
to eternal life." (John 4:14)
He also said, "Let anyone who is thirsty come to Me and drink." (John
7:34)
And Ephesians 5:26 says, "to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing
with water through the Word..."
Every day that we choose to take a journey to the well of Jesus, and drink in
the pure, holy, heavenly water of His presence and His Word, we are washed
clean all over again. Washing in God's Word is a beautiful part of our
preparation process, to be the bride of Christ.
Are there days in your life that you feel like skipping your time with God?
Maybe you're super exhausted, and your flesh says that watching Netflix will be
much more rewarding than spending time in the Word and prayer. But skipping out
on your daily trip to the well can be detrimental. Why? Because you never know what you might miss out on!
If Rebekah hadn’t shown up that day, her breakthrough wouldn't have come.
Yikes. She would've had to wait much longer for her dreams of being a wife and
mother to come true. She wouldn't have been part of this amazing story. We
surely don't want that to happen!
Skipping our time with Jesus is something we simply cannot afford to do. Can
you go a day without food or water? Ptsh, that's crazy! So then, why do we go
for days without feeding our spirits the bread of heaven and drinking in the
waters of Jesus’ abundant love?
No matter what our relationship status is, we must be determined
not to become spiritually anorexic.
Single sisters, we have so much to learn from Rebekah's story.
Rebekah wasn't out dating around, searching for the perfect guy. She was in the
middle of nowhere, doing boring old chores, chilling with her family. The world
would look at a girl like Rebekah and say, "How is she ever going to find
a guy?!"
But she didn't have to find anyone.
And neither do you. Because the right guy will come out and find you.
He will seek you out as the precious treasure that you are. You
do not have to put yourself on display and shout, "Look at me, look at me!" Like my
friend Natalee says, "Ruth wasn't twerking, she was working!" Boaz
found her. She didn't have to scheme up ways to get his attention, hop on
Christian Mingle, and "put herself out there." Rebekah trusted that
the Matchmaker would do his job! (And let me tell you, our heavenly Matchmaker,
God the Father, is so much better than any earthly matchmaker or online dating
site could ever be!)
Song of Solomon 8:4 says, "Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge
you, do not arouse or awaken love before it's time."
God has a perfect timing for everything. We have to trust Him, and allow our
hearts to rest in that truth.
When it was Rebekah's time for love to be awakened, things moved really fast!
It was a season of SUDDENLY, and next thing she knew, she was proposed to, said
goodbye to her parents, and rode off to marry her husband! When God's perfect
timing unfolds, everything changes in the blink of an eye. I've seen many of my
single friends, totally content to spend time with Jesus at the well, suddenly
get the news that their Isaac has arrived! Then, in a scurry of excitement and
holy chaos, he pops out a ring, wedding bells sing, and everything has changed!
If you're still sitting by the well, waiting for your prince charming to
arrive, stop worrying. Fix your eyes
upon Jesus, and embrace the time that you have with Him, your family, your
friends, and the abundant amount of time that you can focus on your career,
ministry, and things that you care about! Sister, you are so blessed! These
single years are sacred. Embrace them. Because when the time comes for you to
change your last name, the swift change will leave you breathless!
In the same way that Abraham sent out his servant to find a
bride for his son, our Heavenly Father has done the same thing! God the Father
desires a pure, spotless, suitable companion, and glorious bride for King
Jesus! The most mind-blowing thing about this whole arrangement, is the girl
that He picked for the marriage. He picked YOU. Are you just as shocked as I
am?! How can we; messy, broken, imperfect people, be the Bride of Christ?! He
told us,
"I will betroth you to Me forever; yes I will betroth you to Me in
righteousness and in justice, in lovingkindness and in compassion, and I will
betroth you to Me in faithfulness..." (Hosea 2:19-20)
He says, "Your Maker is your husband, the Lord Almighty is His
name..." (Isaiah 54:5)
Sister, you're the girl that He wants. The glass slipper fits your foot. You
are His chosen Cinderella Bride! Just like with Rebekah, the invitation to this
marriage has been offered before we even see our Bridegroom’s face. Rebekah's
family asked her, "Will you go with this man?" She said, "I will
go."
We have the same choice. The world thinks we are crazy to run off and marry a
God that we have never even met! "How can you believe in Jesus when you've
never seen Him? Why would you choose to give your life to Him?" they ask.
But oh, we have caught a glimpse of His love for us. We have experienced a
revelation of what happened on the cross, and how His love ran red through His
blood. We've felt the whisper of His voice and undeniable comforting in the
midst of life’s greatest storms. Even though we've never seen Him face to face,
we love Him! Just like Rebekah, we say "YES! We will go!"
"Listen O daughter, give attention and incline your ear. Forget your
people and your father's house. The King desires your beauty, because He is
your Lord, bow down to Him..." (Psalm 45:10)
We have said goodbye to every other lover. Every idol. Every sin. Everything
that holds us back from loving our King Jesus. We are engaged to be in a
committed, covenant marriage relationship with Him; and even when we are
faithless, He is still faithful! His wings of perfection and grace cover up all
of our shortcomings, and we are perfect and blameless in His sight. How could
we not love Him enough to go?
At the well, Rebekah was given a gold nose ring, and two bracelets. These were
treasured gifts that were an outward symbol of the inward devotion to her
Isaac. In the Bible, Isaac was a prophetic picture of what Christ would be
like.
In our relationship with our Isaac (Jesus!) we have been given gifts from Heaven
that express the fact that we are His bride. We've been given the Holy Spirit,
the mind of Christ, the very nature and DNA of Christ, the fruit of the Spirit,
and the gifts of the Spirit. He has lavished SO much upon us. Rebekah was given
other gifts as well. In the same way that a glowing fiancé proudly wears her
engagement ring, God has given gifts that prove the evidence of His Spirit being
at work in our lives. If nobody knows that you're a Christian, then why aren't
you wearing your engagement ring? Why are you keeping your love for Jesus a
secret? There are so many ways that you can express symbols of your affection
for Him, such as choosing to love others when you get super angry, saying “no”
to sin, speaking words of encouragement rather than gossiping, living out the
ten commandments in front of your friends, forgiveness, praying for the sick,
witnessing, choosing purity, modesty, or giving your funds away to the poor and
needy. All of these outward expressions are like a sparkly diamond on your ring
finger. They beautifully proclaim, "I am my Beloveds and He is
mine!"
Just before Rebekah left her home and headed out to meet her
groom, her family gave her a blessing. This is so beautiful. And extremely
powerful! They told her, "Our sister, may you increase to thousands upon
thousands. May your offspring possess the gates of the enemy."
They were speaking fruitfulness, life and multiplication over her! Jesus told
us to bear much fruit, but He said that we can only do that by remaining in the
vine, and abiding in His love. Apart from Him, we can do nothing! He wants our
love to multiply, ignite, and change the lives of thousands upon thousands!
"May your offspring possess the gates of the enemy." This blessing
wasn't just a sweet parting gift. It was stamped with a battle cry of justice.
Sisters, Jesus didn't just save us so that we could be princesses, wear pretty
dresses, and get our nails done in the palace. He wants us to change this
world. He has commanded us to go out into all the world, and make disciples
(multiply!). He told us to be an army of love, speak up for those who cannot
speak for themselves, fight for the weak, redeem the lost and dying, strengthen
the feeble hands, possess the gates of the enemy, and occupy until He returns!
Our union with Christ isn't just about lovey-dovey feelings. It's about
returning to the original battle plan of the Bible, putting on our boots, and joining
Jesus in His mission to change this world through LOVE. You are His bride. He
wants to do this WITH you. You are predestined to be a co-heir with Christ.
You've got a huge calling on your life, but Jesus has promised to see you
through it. Together, the two of you are unstoppable.