for the ladies :)

Context: I wrote this for the ladies at the Honor Academy internship here in Texas (a part of the ministry I work with). They forgo dating for a year in order to pursue their relationship with Jesus and grow in their faith...might make the blog below a little more understandable. Blessings! :)

Your worth is not based on what you do.

It was never meant to be.

Your worth comes from the price of your redemption.

Think about it – who would care about diamonds if they weren’t so expensive, so rare?

The price of a gem demonstrates its worth.

Consider this - “Even while we [you] were yet sinners, Christ died for us [you].” [Romans 5:8]

Your very Creator, your Daddy, your Beloved, your King – determined that you cost everything, and He gave away everything He had and paid His life…to have you.

Do you know what He says about you, now?

“A woman who fears the Lord is worth far more than rubies.”

He considers you the reward of His suffering.

In the same way that you would wear a sparkling engagement ring on your finger with exuberant pride and joy, so too you are like a royal diadem in the hand of your God [check out Isaiah 62].

“Oh, but I don’t deserve this!” I hear you say…

Exactly.

That has always been the point!

Grace earned is not grace.

You were never meant to earn His love, for it is freely given.

Sounds backwards, doesn’t it? Welcome to the Kingdom! J

Let’s transition a bit…

Back in the day, men were expected to pay a “dowry” price for the woman their heart loved. They would give their finest animals, their best crops – they would pay anything.

Is your man willing to pay the price the Lord is asking of him?

Your heavenly Father will not allow you to be “bought” for less than you are worth.

A man unwilling to pay that price does not understand what he is looking at.

A woman who sells herself only believes the voice of the hagglers instead of the voice of her Father.

Understand this – it is not of gold or silver that I speak, but rather of Ephesians 5. Does this man love you to the measure that Jesus Christ has loved you? Has he laid his life down for you? Does he exemplify 1 Corinthians 13:4-7? Does he bear the humility of Isaiah 53?

Being human himself, he will not be the personification of these things…but is he seeking the Lord for the grace to walk in them? Is he dependent on the power of the Holy Spirit, or is he enamored by his own strength?

I promise you this, ladies. If you find a man wrapped up in Jesus Christ, and you too are wrapped up in Christ, your hearts will be guarded, and only Jesus Himself will have the authority (in both your eyes) to allow you to begin to walk a road together. If you cannot look at a man without losing your gaze on Christ, you are not yet ready. J

So, in this season of singleness, remember Matthew 6:33 & 34 – “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you. So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will care for itself…”

In this season, I challenge you to FALL IN LOVE with your Maker. Truly, there is no other love like His! Even the best man’s love [you know…the one you will marry! J] will seem like hate when you hold it up to the love your Father has for you. Don’t miss out on the most important relationship you have in all of eternity in order to find the shadow of it here on earth.

I pray these verses over you ladies, today: “Enlarge my heart, oh Lord, that I may run in the way of Your commandments! Draw me after You, and let us run together!” [ps. 119:32 & song of songs 1:4]

Trust your Beloved, and RUN after Him!