Let's Talk About Love

Love on your mind?

Many young people, even in the youth group, spend most of their time wondering, ‘When is the right time to start dating? How do I know so and so is the right person for me? What do I do if I like someone?’ etc. They only have love on their minds.

I get emails everyday from youths who’re unsure, confused and anxious about what to do in their love lives. And despite the advice they receive, they can’t help but look around for a boy/girlfriend and when they see someone they get along with, their heart races out of control and they quickly rush a relationship with that person.

And that’s the problem - not that they like someone, but that they rush. They don’t even consult God in their decision... and regret it later on.

I’m sure you’ve already heard that the decision we make today determines the blessing we’ll get tomorrow. Well, the same applies to our love life. As the most important thing after your relationship with God, your love life is something you have to take care of and not rush into. The key to success in this area of your life is trust; when you place your love life in God’s hands you not only save yourself from disappointments but avoid the heartache that many spend years trying to get over.

"And that’s the problem - not that they like someone, but that they rush. They don’t even consult God in their decision... and regret it later on."

In the book of Genesis, we see Jacob and Rachel (Genesis 30:1-22) and Isaac and Rebekah (Genesis 25:20-21), two couples both living in the same time, believing in the same God and facing the same problem - both couples wanted children but both wives were unable to conceive.

Jacob and Rachel dealt with it by emotion. Jacob was angry with his wife’s constant complaining and because of Rachel’s anxiety to have a child, she was prepared to even let her husband sleep with another woman (something which in those days was acceptable) to see this happen.

Though the maid conceived, the result they originally intended did not materialise because at the end of the day, Rachel still didn’t give birth to her own son. It wasn’t until much later that"…God remembered Rachel, and God listened to her and opened her womb." (Genesis 30.22)

In contrast, faced with the same problem, "Isaac pleaded with the LORD for his wife, because she was barren; and the LORD granted his plea, and Rebekah his wife conceived." (Genesis 25.21)

Though the scenario may be different, the same principal applies. You can either be like Jacob and Rachel when it comes to your love life and follow your heart, which by the way is deceitful above all things, or you can trust in God like Isaac and Rebekah.

Remember, the decision you make in your love life today is what will determine the blessing tomorrow. So don’t be anxious, place your love life in God’s hands.