I wrote this on my personal blog about a year ago during a season of singleness, and it is just as true to my life today as it was then, even as I enter into a season of marriage. Marriage is so very wonderful and I am so blessed to be marrying such an AMAZING man of God. But, at the end of the day my heart should be devoted to being the bride of Christ over the wife of my wonderful man. Whether you are single, engaged, or married, becoming the bride of Christ should be a daily priority.
Alright this post is mainly for the ladies. It's time for some real talk. I am going to do my best to be very transparent with you in this discussion because I want this to minister to you in a personal way.
As a young girl I watched many Disney movies (alright I will be honest, I still watch them haha). In almost every one of those movies there is a beautiful princess who ends up with her perfect prince charming. The movie always ends with, "and they lived happily ever after." The Prince gets the girl, and all is well. I don't know about you, but even after the fairy-tale was over, I pictured myself as the princess in everyday life. "Who would be my perfect Prince charming, coming to save the day? When would my happily ever after come to life?" Of course, as I got older, I moved on from fairy-tales to innocent love stories and watching movies like "A Walk to Remember". And so, my heart continued to long for a beautiful love story to unfold. The more time I spent with guys, the more I realized expecting perfect Prince Charming qualities from them was a bust and rightfully so...they are only human.
As I began to deepen my relationship with Christ I found that my knight in shining armor was in front of me all along. His love for me is even better than any fairy-tale story or Prince charming ending. I had found a love that always pursued me and never broke my heart. But, since I had (without even knowing it) idolized marriage and love for so long, tearing that idol down was and is no easy task. Time, and time again, I would look for love in a man and realize it wasn't satisfying. Why was this cycle continually happening to me? It was painful and tiring.
"You shall have no other gods before me." Exodus 20:3. Wow. Had I made marriage a god in my life?
"Anything I put before my God is an idol. Anything I want with all my heart is an idol. Anything I can't stop thinking of is an idol. Anything that I give all my love is an idol." - Clear the Stage by Jimmy Needham.
Don't get me wrong, marriage is a beautiful gift from God, but it is not meant to satisfy our deepest hunger. When I came to the realization that marriage was sitting on God's throne in my life, I became furious. "God I place you on the throne high above anything or anyone. I will put my sacrifices on the altar (even relationships...yes, even marriage) where they belong, and I will place you back on the throne where you belong." Instantly God began to show me how to be his bride first and foremost.
God desires for us to be totally satisfied. We can't be satisfied if we settle for false gods or the lie that anything or anyone can satisfy the deepest thirst of our souls.
"Realizing that God desires for us to find genuine satisfaction in Him helps us discover [one of the] primary obstacles on our road to freedom: settling for satisfaction with anything else. God gave this practice a name I was unprepared to hear: idolatry. After serious meditation, I realized the label made perfect sense no matter how harsh it seemed. Anything we try to put in a place where God belongs is an idol. God created us so that He alone fits our deepest needs. Each of us have succumbed to idolatry at times. Before you hang your head in shame, remember the Holy Spirit does not convict us of sin to condemn us. Rather, He convicts us of sin so we'll become aware, seek forgiveness, and be set free!"(Beth Moore, Breaking Free, page 66).
If something is trying to steal God's throne in your life whether it's a relationship/marriage, a job, popularity, or anything else, dethrone that sucker and ask God to take His place as the true and ONLY one that can satisfy your soul. Isaiah 45:21-22 says, "Pay attention, O Jacob, for you are my servant, O Israel. I, the Lord, made you, and I will not forget you. I have swept away your sins like a cloud. I have scattered your offenses like the morning mist. Oh return to me, for I have paid the price to set you free." The Lord offers restoration to Jerusalem after they had foolishly worshiped idols (see Isaiah 44:6-20). The Lord reveals these things so that He can set you free from bondage. He wants to set you free and destroy any idols in your life, so that you can live in abundant satisfaction with Him. It was for freedom that Christ set us free!
I see now that becoming the bride of Christ must happen before and above becoming the wife of a man. It has to be a continual process even after you are married. Jesus must become and remain seated high and lifted up far above anything or anyone, even if that someone is Prince charming himself. In order to become a woman, I don't need a man I just need the man, Jesus. After I have placed God on the throne and become his bride, then God will make me a wife in his perfect timing. Jesus must become and remain my highest treasure, and the love of my life. The cool thing about being the bride of Christ is that I get to say "I do" everyday to a love that is eternal, and that my friends is indeed a happily ever after.
This article is originally from my personal blog: www.callimayhey.wordpress.com
