Decision vs. Deception

"The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?" Jeremiah 17:9

I've been thinking... which is what I do a lot... and one thing that has been hitting me hard is the fact that we don't know anything when it comes to being able to find the right person for ourselves. We are complete idiots. I've had so many conversations with people about why they thought it was a good idea to be with someone and in the end, I come to the conclusion that it would be so much better if someone so much wiser than ourselves just made the decision for us.

I'm talking about a Divine Matchmaker.

"I the LORD search the heart and examine the mind, to reward each person according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve.” Jeremiah 17:10

How often do we try to take matters into our own hands? I know I'm guilty of it. I've seen many people rush in and out of relationships, make excuses based on worldly points of view, selfish reasons, and in the end realize it was a total waste of time or wish they could take it back. Some may not necessarily want to take it back but wish they could have realized things earlier and not been so blind.

God has been speaking to me about something that I feel I need to share. I believe God opens up doors for us to come across potential marital partners and if we don't pay attention to His voice, we will not realize how much He wants to bless us with someone better than who we think we would like to be with.

Being a guy, I see beautiful women all the time. There are days when I wish I could be with this or that woman but even with my self preservation and limited wisdom in wanting to be with a Godly woman, I know I can try to reason with myself (my deceiving heart) and attempt to reason with God,  He knows better than I do.

Something I wanted to bring to everyones attention is that even though we need to guard our hearts, we also need to be careful in not letting it take control. We can get so caught up in the moment, the hype, the wanting to be loved feeling, the emotional and passionate rush that we forget to be rational in who we are choosing to get close to. Our heart is the place where we combine passion and reason. If we are not careful to keep Christ at the center, we will lean on our own understanding and make decisions that we think is best.

"He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the LORD." Proverbs 18:22

"A wife of noble character, who can find? She is worth far more than rubies." Proverbs 31:10

“The LORD, the God of heaven, who brought me out of my father’s household and my native land and who spoke to me and promised me on oath, saying, ‘To your offspring I will give this land’—he will send his angel before you so that you can get a wife for my son from there." Genesis 24:7

I think of the references where God tells certain biblical figures to "find a wife" or "get a wife."

What does that mean? How is that done? What does that entail? Are there moments when a man must take matters into his own hands? Or does God make it obvious to the point where it's unavoidable that "she" is the one to be with?

I'm sure it's the same way for you ladies who can often be more passionate about the marriage ceremony than men. I know I look forward to marriage and always have. We all want to be loved. We all want to know that the person we choose to be with will help us as we go on in life. Not someone who will control us or bring us down but do the complete opposite. Even God realized that it was not good for man to be alone (Genesis 2:18).

I will not claim to be the expert on this subject, God is. But I do believe that something we need to do is first surrender ourselves to Him. We need to make sure that we are not deceiving ourselves on our own selfish desires and thinking we know better than Him before we invest in making any decision closer to being with someone else that will impact the rest of our lives.

We must know that Christ is the center of our reason and emotions. Men can tend to think more on reason and women can think more on emotion. But when Christ is the focus on both and when a man and woman come together with that principle in mind, they are truly a new amazing creation. That is what I look forward to. That's what I think those of us who love God, should keep in mind and look forward to as well.