You hold me now!

I couldn't find the song I wanted to have playing in the background, so ill post the lyrics...

"You Hold Me Now" by hillsong

On that day when I see
All that You have for me
When I see You face to face
There surrounded by Your grace

All my fear is swept away
In the light of your embrace
When Your love is all I need
And forever I am free

Where the streets are made of gold
In Your presence healed and whole
Let the songs of heaven rise to you alone

No weeping, no hurt or pain
No suffering You hold me now
You hold me now
No darkness no sick or lame
No hiding You hold me now, 
You hold me now

In this life I will stand
Through my joy and my pain
Knowing there's a greater day
There's a hope that never fails

When Your name is lifted high
And forever praises rise
For the glory of Your Name
I'm believing for the day

When the wars and violence cease
All creation lives in peace
Let the songs of heaven rise to you alone

No weeping, no hurt or pain
No suffering You hold me now
You hold me now
No darkness, no sick or lame
No hiding You hold me now, 
You hold me now

For eternity
All my heart will give
All the glory to Your name

So I'm going to be more real in this blog, than i have been in any other previous post. These past few days I feel like dating, relationships, and even the act of being pursued, have been brought to mind, and rather than trying to explain it through texts, or even in passing, i really wanted to take time and write out exactly how i feel about dating and what the Lord has led me to believe.

Dating in modern day has been made out to be casual, and i believe it is everything but that.

Let me explain myself a little better, I know you have to date to get to the point of marriage, but if you don't see qualities in him/ her that you would want in your spouse, or they are not pushing you to be a better man of God (And more specifically Girls- Protecting your purity as well as leading you spiritually) then what is the point?

Here are my thoughts...

Guys:

If you see a girl, be aware of why you notice her, is it her looks, or is it more to that? Looks can attract you yes, but is it her heart that draws you close to her, is it the love of the lord that you are attracted to? Because if it isn't, there is no point, nor need to go any further to pursue a relationship with her. 

That's biblical ( 2 cor. 6:14)

Don't "date just to date", and not to "learn as you go" You can learn from the Lord without putting both yours and her heart on the line time and time again.

Girls:

We are called to be pursued, we are not to do the chasing, but to cling to the lord with all that we have knowing in his time, he will bring that man that will pursue YOU.

Notice this puts a lot of weight on the guys, but not really, see they are called to pursue the Lord with all they have as well and when ( and only when) they are at a place that they can lead the two of you in a Christ centered relationship then they are to move forward. As women, we are beautiful, valued, and so special to the Lord. 

Relationships now are so skewed; I have to admit that up until two years ago, i found myself falling for the fairy tale story line and longing for my prince to sweep me off my feet, carry me away, and we would live happily ever after. However as glamorous as that sounds, its not about you at all. The SOLE and primary purpose of a relationship between two believers is to push one another towards our God.  

If the Lord were to take you now, would you be ready? Would you be completely avaliable, or would you hold back? You may think, of course not, I would go now. But ill be the first to say a year ago i would selfishily say, no marriage, no kids no family, surely he would wait until after. See I found myself limiting what a relationship was designed to be. What hollywood has portrayed dating to be, it's not, because the Lord is not in it. My new perspective is in the song above, it says

"For eternity All my heart will give, all the glory to your name!"

The man my soul loves and longs to be with, is waiting, and if that would be his desire to take me now, before my husband could come, so be it, for He who has promised is faithful and although i have a passion to be married one day, I want to do his will.

It is:

When you as a single woman or man have made pursuing the Lord the primary purpose of your life, that the Lord knows he had your heart, and allows another man or woman into your life, to be your "other half" to bring glory to HIM! Though you may say ok hannah, in a perfect world...but this is it, this is what its all about bringing glory to his name. It it is a promise from our sweet and merciful saviour because He loves you!! He longs to give you that man/woman that will love you as he does, but we have to be willing to wait. Waiting means, not settling, not saying "for the time being" or even thinking how else am I going to learn? Waiting means depending on the Lord, allowing him to shape you, and take FULL advantage of your singleness, because one day it will never be the same, don't waste time, don't miss out on what the Lord wants you to see because you are so wrapped up in dating. Rest in the Lords peace and know, He is and will always be MORE than enough!

-Hann