I think more than anything, God relishes being a father. He has authority to love us, but also to discipline us. “The Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.” Hebrews 12:6

When God created us, he had each of us in mind for a designated purpose: to bring Him glory. I know this truth affects our spiritual walk. But, what about our dating life? Is it even important in the grand scheme of things?

Yes.

We’re all familiar with the story of Samson; he was incredibly strong, bold, and set apart since birth. He led Israel for 20 years. His strength was unparalleled: the kind of man that caught 300 foxes, killed 1,000 men with a donkey’s jawbone, pulled apart iron gates, and killed a lion with his bare hands.

And yet, in the very fabric of his inner being, Samson was fragile. His inner turmoil and weakness for women would eventually bring him terror; his eyes were gouged out and he was made a laughing stock for the Philistines.

Is it not like God, though, to humble a man so high up to the point where he can literally see nothing but the glory of God?

I know many of us have had that moment, too. Like Samson, sometimes we idolize the opposite sex with our eyes. Whatever is pleasing to our sight, we want it. That’s what Samson did with his first wife from Timnah. “She looks good to me,” Samson answered. “Get her for me!”

We seek finding a relationship and finding the one, to the point where we lost sight of the God who created courtship and marriage to be a holy find, not a faulty one.

I think it’s imperative that we understand that God isn’t looking down at us with a fierce anger, spiting us that we sought men and women instead of Him. We need to know that God rather has a jealous and ferocious love for us, in spite of our shortcomings.

He’s stooping down to us, gathering our faces in His hands, telling us to seek Him first with an incomparable adoration. Only then, will everything be added unto us as He said it would be. People simply can’t fill what He can only fill. It would be like draining Lake Michigan and trying to fill it with water by the handful—it’s impossible to fill during our lifetime. We would only be drained by the end of our life and have come short of accomplishing His will for our lives.

For Samson, Delilah would never have been able to fill him, instead, it hurt him. He was stripped of his strength and identity—but here lies the beauty and faithfulness of God. It was only for a little while that Samson suffered. His hair began to grow again. Although Samson didn’t have to fall for the low and hanging fruit and settle for the fleshly, temporary pleasure women gave him, he still had his revival in the end.

More importantly, he accomplished his purpose and brought glory to God. Because of his faith, God restored Samson in one glorious moment.  While there were 3,000 Philistines mocking him, Samson asked to be led to the pillars so he could lean against them.

Then Samson prayed to the Lord, “Sovereign Lord, remember me. Please, God, strengthen me just once more, and let me with one blow get revenge on the Philistines for my two eyes.” Then Samson reached toward the two central pillars on which the temple stood. Bracing himself against them, his right hand on the one and his left hand on the other, Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines!” Then he pushed with all his might, and down came the temple on the rulers and all the people in it. Thus he killed many more when he died than while he lived.” Judges 16:28-30

The story of Samson is not just a story of God’s faithfulness and quickness to save us, it’s a lesson about remaining vigilant in dating and how we respond to the opposite sex—what we reveal, what we do, and how we listen to God during the relationship. Will we attend to our inner struggles and heed His call before it’s too late?

Samson fulfilled his purpose in the end of his life—but for many of us, we can fulfill our purpose, including finding the one, without as much privation that Samson walked through. God is listening. We just have to call out to Him like Samson did. Let’s be unafraid. Let’s not settle and squander God’s intention because of our hasty decisions.

There’s a song by Lauren Daigle called, Trust in You. There’s a rendering truth in the words she sings, “There’s not a place where I’ll go, You’ve not already stood. When You don’t move the mountains I’m needing You to move, when You don’t part the waters I wish I could walk through, when You don’t give the answers as I cry out to You, I will trust, I will trust, I will trust in You.”

May we trust God has our partner already walking towards us. Our purpose is to blaze the trails for Christ—keeping them burning, seeking Him first, praying, and serving others—if it is God’s will, we’ll meet our significant other doing the exact same thing.

So, why does dating matter in the grand scheme of things? Because it matters to God—and if God prepared you for marriage, it’s because He knows you will be better suited to accomplish your purpose with someone rather than apart from that someone.

That is a beautiful thing.

“Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” Matthew 6:33

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