Hi Ladies,
If your situation seems to be going endlessly around, whether you’re awaiting marriage or another request made to the Lord, remember that our Father has other areas He wants you to focus on in your life. We’ve been considering Jesus’ parable of the tares (Matthew 13: 25-40) because people and situations that look like the real thing not always are. And even when the wheat and tares matured, the sower could only tell the difference if he was thoroughly familiar with wheat, and its appearance and attributes.
Weeds come in innumerable varieties, but only wheat looks and functions like wheat. It would have been a waste of time for the farmer to try to identify every type of corrupt plant springing up in his field. All he had to do was be able to recognize the good crop. We too must recognize the goodness, the blessings, the Wheat in our lives that must be cultivated and encouraged to flourish, no matter what we are waiting on God for. This is the key to tare detection for all the choices we face.
WHEAT:
Salvation. It is a requirement that your husband-to-be must be a genuinely saved follower of Jesus Christ, as you yourself are also a redeemed member of His Body. A potential husband may look like wheat and smell like a rose, but if he doesn’t have a personal relationship with the Lord, that appearance is deceptive. What you have instead is a thorny bush designed to do you harm.
Faith. Hebrews 11: 6 – “Without faith it is impossible to please God.”; 2 Corinthians 5: 7 – “For we walk by faith, not by sight.”; Hebrews 11: 1 – “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”; Romans 5: 2 – “We have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”
Prayer. Having a strong prayer foundation is essential for learning to discern wheat. I Thessalonians 5: 17 instructs us to “Pray without ceasing.” The intention here is not that you walk around all day distractedly muttering prayers under your breath. Instead, the goal is to cultivate a constant awareness of God’s presence. Through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, He is always with you, not just when a problem arises. You are to be so immersed in our Lord that He is your first thought in any situation. And it is He who’ll provide the discernment you need about a marital partner.
Gratefulness. Regardless of marital status, and no matter what is going on in any area of your life, gratitude will bring far more joy than sulking or complaining ever will. Being grateful for your blessings, instead of focusing on what you haven’t yet received, will keep your thoughts directed on God. Rather than concentrating on problems you perceive, you’re instructed to appreciate everything that He has already done. A grateful happy heart allows you to hear His voice much more clearly, and makes identification of tares far simpler.
Right Focus. Almighty God, our Lord and Savior is our right focus. Ephesians 6: 7 advises that we “with goodwill render service, as to the Lord, and not to men.” which means that everything you do should be for His glory. Don’t be swayed by the reactions or opinions of others from always giving your very best efforts to whatever endeavors the Creator has appointed to you.
But although you may truly believe that God “causes all things to work together for good…” (Romans 8: 28), in distressing situations, you might sometimes forget this. Like the Israelites in the wilderness, we often cry out in dismay when facing trials, without recalling that our challenges are not challenging to the Lord who has rescued us from troubles many times before. He has not changed, and He can still handle every concern that arises. When you keep your focus on our Father and not on circumstances, you’ll be able to detect any tares being sown by the voices of discouragement, anxiety and doubt.
Continuing next week…Joy and Shalom!
jo lynne pool - Love in The Book.org 