Contributed by VBC Second Year student Sabrina Phillips.
First thing first, we are here in Bible College for God. And if someone can love God faithfully and with all their heart then you can know that they will love you faithfully and with all their heart, this is the kind of person you want to keep your eyes open for;) As a student here at VBC, I wanted to share some things I’ve learned about relationships while in Bible School.
Let’s start the conversation by saying this, there are always people who pull the GOD CARD while at Bible college. Ladies, just because a guy says that “God is putting us together”, DOESN’T mean it’s true! Unfortunately, ladies can be guilty of this as well! Remember that God will reveal things to ALL parties involved!
TIMING is the next important thing to keep in mind. You need to know the power and importance of timing, especially the fellas because you guys are the main initiators. Don’t rush the things of God! Honestly, I believe God wants to reveal SO much to us but the question is “Can He Trust Us”? You need to be present in the season that you’re in and become the man or woman that you need to be. If He opens your eyes to your future spouse, can He trust you to wait in the present season that you need to be in without going ahead? David was anointed to be king of Israel years before He became king and there were times when it looked like it wasn’t going to happen, but David didn’t give up and waited patiently for the time to come.
While we’re on the subject of trust, we have to learn to TRUST God in all areas of our lives.For some of us it is easier to trust God as Provider, or Healer, or Redeemer, or Teacher than it is to trust him with this area. If we can trust God for our salvation, then we can trust Him in ALL areas and that He has someone just for us!
Let’s also remember to LET ADAM SLEEP ! In Genesis 2:21-22, isn’t it interesting that when God created, perfected, molded and formed Eve the first woman, he put Adam into a DEEP SLEEP first? Songs of Solomon:7, don’t awaken love until the right time. Ladies, we need to become the women of God that we need to be and let God form us and mold us during the season of singleness so when the time is right then we will be ready. So ladies, let Adam sleep and let God work in you until the right time !
A couple weeks ago 3D had a dating series and I would like to touch on one of the topics we discussed: INITIATION. This topic had to do with ladies considering being the ones who steps up and initiates relationship with the christian man. First off, I want to say that I did not grow up as a christian or with some of the christian values so what I’m about to say comes from my own opinion. Why is it that woman are attracted to bad guys? My view on that is because they are leaders, whether for bad and good. Woman want a strong man, it is in our make-up, and we want to follow someone. So Christian men, be confident! We are attracted to that and remember I didn’t say weird or cocky, but confident. I think this is why christian woman sometimes start looking to worldly men, because they need and want boldness!
I’ve been saved now for four years now and I had not dated as a christian until four months ago. I want to share some of my experience because I have a feeling that I’m not the only one who has dealt with this. My now boyfriend and I were just good friends at the time and I knew that I was coming to a fork in the road where feelings were developing and I knew I had to make a decision to see if we would go forward or stay friends. Due to bad past experiences, I was scared to death to go forward and date. I felt like as a Christian, if I started dating then I was agreeing to marriage! Ha! But then I realized that it was a COMMITMENT issue and that it didn’t mean that we had to get married the next month ! Dating was a way for us to get to know one another on another level and see if this is what God intends for us. As Bible school students, we can be too serious and even overly spiritual about a guy just wanting to get to know a girl he admires!
Lastly, don’t be CLOSE-MINDED about who God has for you! Pray and ask God to open your eyes because sometimes they are closed without you knowing it! Sometimes in life we have this awesome memorable experience with God and then we look for Him to come in that exact way but He usually does not. God is so big yet we have to keep watch because often He comes in ways we don’t expect. I can tell you from personal experience that when you open yourself to Him, then He truly does exceedingly, abundantly above all that we can ask or think!