ARE YOU READY?

Naturally, most women have this unspoken desire to one day get married and build a family. As natural as this desire is, it has caused many to rush into marriages without being knowledgeable...without being ready. Causing much hurt, disappointment, and unhappiness instead of the joy and bliss that entertainment depicts. My question to you today is, "ARE YOU READY?"

This year in August, I will celebrate 21 years of marriage. Sounds awesome, huh? It is, but it comes with a great price. My husband and I married very young, so we've had to experience a lot of things that typically, most marriages don't survive. A lot of our experience came from "lack of knowledge" and "lack of preparation". We were NOT READY to be married. We were so "in-love", so happy, so free. It was us against the world. And on top of it all, we now could be the companions to each other that we've always longed for. The best part of it all...we could have sex as much as we wanted, with no guilt behind it. Little did we know that our "lack of preparation" would put us on a really rough road. Little did we know that "love" had little to do with it.

Many of you single ladies are "waiting" to be married. Let's take an deeper look at this word. To wait means to stay in place in expectation of. But it also means to be READY (prepared for immediate use) and available. When something is prepared, it has been made READY beforehand. In Revelations 19:7 it says, "...and His wife hath made herself ready." This particular passage was a part of the vision that John had concerning the marriage of the Lamb (Jesus Christ) to His wife (the church). There is such a profound principle in this one scripture: if you're not READY, then you're not wife material. Christ is not coming back for a church who is thinking about getting READY, He's coming back for those that are READY. A man is not looking for someone who wants to be a wife, or who has this dream of being a wife. He's looking for someone who is a wife. Proverbs 18:22 says, "Whoso findeth a wife, findeth a good thing..." You see that? Findeth a "wife", meaning, she is already prepared for immediate use; she is already READY!

Being a pastor, I hear so many single women desiring to be married, but they have yet to become a wife. You can't wait to say "I do" to become a wife. You must already be prepared to be a wife. Preparation is what should be taking place in your waiting. Not anxiety, frustration, and weariness. Your waiting period is a time of getting READY. When Esther wanted to be King Ahasuerus' wife, she had to go through a long period of preparation. The king would have it no other way. So it is with a man. A man is looking for a "good" thing, a prepared thing. What are you doing to become that good thing?

You need to be prepared mentally and physically. Your state of mind has to be right. Your affairs must be in order. Proverbs 19:14 says, "...a prudent wife is from the Lord." You must also understand the role of a wife according to the Word of God, not according to the standards of society. The Word of God tells the wives that they have to submit to their husbands. Submission...oh-oh! (Ephesians 5) The Word of God tells the wives that they no longer have sole authority over their own bodies, but the husband does too. WHAT?!? (1 Corinthians 7) That means that your mind is already being conditioned to accept that "I can't do what I want to do, when I want to do, how I want to do" without my husband being in agreement. Being READY means that accountability becomes a part of who you are. Being READY means that managing your finances and keeping your home well has become a part of who you are. ARE YOU READY?

Don't get me wrong, marriage is WONDERFUL. It just requires a lifetime of investing into it. It truly is "til' death do us part". That's another thing, marriage is forever, so don't take your preparation lightly. You don't want to be stuck in a mess! Don't get so overwhelmed with the dream of marriage and neglect to "count up the cost" of marriage. Let's be real now.

I was totally not READY to be married, even though I wanted so badly to get married. But I believe that God purposed that for my life so that I could help educate and instruct other women to be READY.

Being READY is not just looking cute on the outside, but more importantly, being beautiful on the inside. Because when it's all said and done, what's inside is what's going to matter the most. And the reality is, most of us are jacked-up on the inside. ARE YOU READY? If not, stop talking about it, praying about it, thinking about it, wishing on it...get READY! And if you feel like "this is just too much", take Paul's advice, "I say therefore to the unmarried and widows, It is good for them if they abide even as I": single. Don't allow society to put the pressure of "being married" on you. More than anything, make sure that you have mastered being content with "being you". Without that key element, you won't be "good" for any man anyway1

REMEMBER: Marriage is not your source of happiness, you are (through Christ). Marriage is not your source of contentment, you are (through Christ).

I pray this posting has enlightened you and given you a fresh perspective on your "waiting". Waiting is not just about expecting, it's about preparation. ARE YOU READY?

Pastor Renee Roberts