Tuesday, November 25, 2014

I'm Engaged



I am blessed to say that I am finally living the life I've always wanted to live, and things keep getting better.  And to top it all off, I can now look at my ring finger and see the fruit of my faith, and I'm just overwhelmed by how wonderful my GOD is; plus, my fiance's a great guy too.  He is GOD-fearing, anointed and he was definitely worth the wait.  It feels so overwhelmingly good to know that GOD loves me so much that HE chose a husband-to-be for me after HIS own heart.

Additionally, I'm glad that I finally stopped doing things in my own strength, and I took a leap of faith by sitting back and letting GOD be GOD.  I stopped trying to interfere with HIS will and HE did something amazing!  HE hid me in HIS will, put a huge ticket of faith on me and declared that the only man who would find me and be able to afford my hand in marriage would be the man HE'S given the map to find me and the faith to afford me.  Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh.....I can't wait to meet him!

Oh wait.  Did you think I meant I was engaged right now?  Well, I am, but I just haven't met the guy yet.  But don't close this blog post yet.  Your curiosity (or nosiness) is about to pay off big.  You're about to be super-blessed...so definitely keep reading.

I am finally living the life I've always wanted to live; everything I said to you was and is true.  It took me a while to finally understand how GOD works in relation to HIS daughters, and when I finally got the understanding I needed, it helped me to not only wait for my GOD-appointed husband, but it helped me to respect the process.  Additionally, I don't think I can really say that I'm waiting (per-SE) for my GOD-appointed husband; I'm simply enjoying life.  When he comes, he comes.  But what was this understanding that GOD gave me?  After all, I dragged you here by the tail of your curiosity, so I know I'd better give you some good news and fast; otherwise, you might try to stone me with Fruity Pebbles.

The lesson is: I am betrothed to my GOD-appointed husband.  Wait....What do I mean by "betrothed"?  The word "betrothed" is defined as: the person to whom one is engaged (Ref: Dictionary.Reference.com).  In other words, GOD has already chosen my husband for me (just as HE has chosen your husband for you), so my challenge isn't with being single.  I actually enjoy being single (probably a little too much), and I've learned to respect the process.  My goal is to not end up at the altar or courthouse (again) with the wrong dude, smiling and carrying on, oblivious to the party going on in hell because of my error.  No thanks.

GOD gave me a powerful message for HIS daughters; one that will stick with me for the rest of my life.  HE taught me that there are three roads that HIS daughters can take in their wait.  Yep, the proverbial fork in the road does exist.  They can choose a man in their own strength (and end up with a right sounding, wrong guy); they can marry an acceptable guy (or the right guy) out of season, or they can wait on HIS perfect will for them and marry Mr. GOD-ordained in the right season.  I don't know about you, but I don't mind waiting.  Anxiousness and the sounds of biological alarm clocks going off in every church has sent so many Christian women into a frenzy.  There are too many "twos becoming one" without the presence of the third-fold: GOD.  In other words, GOD has chosen your husband.  HE knows his name and HE knows when the two of you will meet, but you probably don't know his name or when you'll meet him.  Sadly enough, many women betroth themselves to the wrong men because of impatience, rebellion and a lack of understanding.

Have you ever went to a car lot and saw an expensive car parked there with "Sold" written on the window?  Someone else had already purchased that car, and obviously they weren't in a hurry to get the car; after all, they'd left it on the lot.  You're similar to that car.  You shouldn't be pulling off with the first dude who could afford leasing you for a while; you should be waiting on the man who can afford your hand in marriage.  You're not single; you're sold out for GOD and already married to purpose.  Now, your GOD-appointed husband has to meet you in your wholeness and join his wholeness to yours.  That's why calling yourself single could actually ensnare you to the wrong understanding and cause you to think that you are available, when you're not.  Sure, you're available to do your own thing.  You can definitely go out there and choose every Mr. Wrong you want, but one thing you cannot do is break past the seasons, force GOD'S hand open and get the one HE would have blessed with your hand should you have waited.  You have to know that YOU are the blessing, so stop seeing Mr. Right as some hero who's going to save you from your singleness.  He's not.  You are his blessing!  But you can't be his blessing if you're not blessed!  You can't be a blessing if you refuse to help others!  You can't be his help meet until you're able to help yourself.  You see, GOD has to get so many women out of this mindset that they have, thinking that some man is going to come along and rescue them from their struggles in life.  No.  GOD sends whole men to whole women.

In the biblical days, many of the women were betrothed to their husbands from the time they were born.  Their parents chose their husbands for them, but before they allowed those children to come together in marriage, they first had to grow up.  Now, it's a blessing that we are not still under that system cause had our parents promised us to somebody's son, we probably would've been waking up suicidal.  The same goes for you.  You have to grow up (spiritually) before GOD gives you permission to marry.  There are so many women who marry out of season, and they end up discovering the hard way why GOD wanted them to wait.  It's because babes in CHRIST attract other babes in CHRIST, and will oftentimes attract people who aren't even born again yet.  And it is when a believer sees her husband swinging around on the monkey bars of life that she realizes she's made a huge mistake, and that's when church becomes a popular outing to her.  Every Sunday, she finds herself trying to wrestle a joystick out of her husband's hands and drag him to the sanctuary, hoping that the pastor will cast those demons and that immaturity out of him.  Her wait is over...somewhat.  Her wait for a husband is over, but now, she has a new and even more excruciating wait on her hands.  Now, she's waiting on her husband to change, and judging by his ways, there is nothing in his forecast that even indicates that he will change soon.  From there, she begins to look out of her life's window at the women who are truly waiting for their spouses, wishing she could be one of them.  If she could only break that window pane and take the knowledge she has now and apply it as a single woman, she knows that she would be far more patient than before.  She'd enjoy single life and stop sitting on the bench waiting to be called into the game.  Instead, she'd get out and enjoy the life that GOD has given her.  I was that woman!  And I promised GOD that if HE would only free me one more time (cause I was twice bitten), I would finally respect the process and wait for my GOD-appointed husband.  I'd reject any other man who tried to apply for my hand in marriage because I knew that he wouldn't be able to properly cover, protect and provide for me.  Additionally, the wrong man would not understand my purpose or my walk.  I remember thinking how so many single women were wishing to be in my place (married) and they had no clue that I was wishing to be in their place (single).  And I told GOD that I would warn HIS daughters if HE would only give me at least one more chance, and HE did.  So now...I'm warning you.  Wait for your GOD-appointed husband.  You are engaged right now; just don't engage yourself to any random man who tickles your understanding.  In order for you to be found by the husband GOD has appointed for you, you have to be grown up in accordance with the height of your husband (spiritually) and the weight of the assignment on your lives.  Marriage isn't about you!  Marriage is ministry...period.  If you don't believe me, ask any married woman how much work she's had to put in and how much closer to GOD she has had to get in order to stay with her husband.  Marriage is two imperfect people being sealed together by a perfect GOD.  Marriage is not unlimited sex, paid bills and block parties; marriage is ministry and it requires a lot of casting out of demons from your home, repeated deliverance, a constant renewing of your minds and a deeper understanding of the WORD of GOD.  When you get married for your own selfish desires, you'll come running out of that marriage the minute your husband proves that he's flawed and those flaws don't evaporate when you point them out.  Those flaws mock you day after day until you learn to live with them, pray for your husband and love his imperfect self the way GOD loves your imperfect self.

Yes, you can choose your own guy and not be in sin, as long as he's in the LORD, but the two of you are going to have to find some way to merge your lives and purposes because you simply can't stop being who you are just because you've married some man who wasn't designed for you.  All the same, he can't stop being who he is just because you're still craving the covering that Mr. GOD-ordained would have provided.  Yep, you can get out there and marry a believing man, but what you can't do is enter a marriage just to see if it'll work and then run to the nearest divorce attorney when you realize that you're having trouble cleaving to the man you chose for yourself.  Remember this: What GOD has joined together, let no man put asunder.  The key word is: What GOD has joined together.  Now, anything you put together is going to bear your imperfections and be tested and tried, and if GOD isn't in it, it'll be like the straw house that Mr. Piggy built.

Yep.  I'm engaged.  I'm engaged to purpose.  I'm engaged to my GOD-appointed husband, and because I'm engaged, I refuse to entertain any man who's not my husband.  After all, I have to be faithful to him now if I want to please GOD and ever meet him.  I have a fiance and he's really a great guy.  I just haven't met him yet, but I know GOD wouldn't send me a fool.  I look at my ring finger and know I'm blessed.  How so?  GOD gave me yet another opportunity to do things HIS way.  At one point in time, that same finger had a ring on it, but that ring represented my disobedience.  Now, I can look at my empty ring finger and thank the LORD with all my might that HE gave me another chance, and I definitely won't take it for granted.  What about you?  Will you choose a decent guy and marry him or will you wait for your GOD-ordained husband?  The choice is yours.  Wait on GOD for your husband.  You will be thankful that you did.

P.S. I ran across the photo below while searching for an image for this post.  In the photo, the woman is wearing an engagement ring and sporting a pregnant belly.  I laughed....I sooooooo wanted to use that photo and name this post I'm Engaged and Expecting, but in all my humor, I can't let my good be evil spoken of.  Had I done so, many people would have saw the title and not read the post, and from there, I'd be labeled a harlot.
But I am expecting....I am expecting a blessing.


16 comments:

  1. Wow! Speechless.... So timely...thank you sister

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  2. So beautifully said, thank you for fearlessly sharing your story so others may live!

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  3. Sister Tiff, you are just one bundle of joy and goodness, I can't just bless God enough for having a wonderful sister like you.

    www.facebook.com/chamberlainlewis

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  4. Congratulations!! to God be the glory!! :)

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  5. Sister Tiffany! To God be the glory! He loves so that he sent you to warn me. I so love your posts and videos! I am à sister from France! God is so good!! Could you even imagine that He would use your story to minister and change the mindset of a sister who lives in France?! But yes He did! Powerful God! Be blessed and thank you so very much for being obedient! Much love :)

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    1. *He loves me so much that he sent you...

      my phone often corrects me the wrong way, because normally I use it in French, sorry for the wrong spellings

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  6. AMEN! I'm waiting on Gods TIMING for my husband.. in the mean time I'm COURTING Jesus. Well said.. and bless msg as always.. lifting u up in PRAYER ;) God BLESS U!

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