ISO

     About a month ago I remember telling my daughter to start looking for a car. She had been hired for a new job and I did not have a way to get her to work. She stepped out in faith and began her search. I started noticing a slew of cars coming to me via text. All of them were the same make and model, however they were different colors. Mazda she said. “That’s my DREAM CAR”.   I personally don’t like Mazda’s. I’m a Chevy girl by heart (but driving a Nissan at the moment.)
     Anyhoo, as I started looking at the cars, I asked her a very important question.  “Are there any other makes and models that you like besides a Mazda?”  I think you know her answer.  But as beautiful as the cars were, they didn’t fit within the budget she was looking for or had too many miles, but never the less, the search wasn’t over. (She’s a pretty determined young lady.)   After going to 3 dealerships and no approvals, my heart began to sink because I knew she desperately needed a car. At the fourth place we went to, we were tired from the Texas heat and to be honest, we just needed to find a car.  We found a beat-up Toyota, scratched up in the front, dented in the back, (manual roll down windows) however, it was only $5k and she figured it would just have to work.
     I know by now you’re wondering, “what does car shopping have anything to do with finding your spouse?”  (I’m totally going somewhere with this.)  As we spoke to the salesman about the $5k car, I turned to look at my daughter. Her eyes filled with sadness but she was willing to settle because at the end of the day, she needed a car for work.  The salesman looked at me and said something profound; He said: “If you really want this car, please let me know because I’m really gonna have to pull some strings with the finance guy” I was thinking “WHAT???”  Pull some strings for a used, beat up, dented, roll your own windows down, dirty blue car??”  “I very politely smiled and told him that we’d think about it and get back with him on Monday.
     Fast-Forward a few hours and a good friend of mine mentioned to go to a certain dealership that had a great reputation. We filled out the application, passed, and the salesman started showing my daughter “other kinds of cars”.  All within her budget, all very nice colors. They had low miles, electric windows no dents, no scratches and best of all, guess what?  They were not Mazda’s. I was like wait… There’s other cars out there than can fit what’s on your list and they’re not what YOU thought you needed or wanted?
     So, needless to say, after a very long grueling day, my daughter finally found her car Praise God.  He provided her with a car she could afford.  She fell in love with the color! It is great on gas, 2015, low miles and guess what it was? Yep it was a Chevy Cruze (emphasis on the Chevy; wink wink) 
      Moral of this story is yes God provided. He knew her needs and desires. He understood how important it was for my daughter and my grandson to have a reliable car that would be within her budget. But most of all He knew exactly what car would fit her personality. She was glowing from ear to ear!
 So for those out there that are believing for your spouse, let me leave you with 3 nuggets that the Lord showed me during this process of finding the right car.

1. Don’t put God in a box. - God wants you to have the best. However, He also knows what you need before you even ask him.  (Matt 6:8)  So, before you make your list of what you want, put God in the mix because He’s looking for the perfect fit for you and for your future spouse.
2. Don’t limit God!  We put limits on Him when we began to tell him, I only want this kind of spouse- Black, White, Hispanic, Asian etc. I only want a man and/or woman that looks like this or shaped like that.  Again; He knows your heart and He’s not going to give you someone that you shouldn’t have. However, He can’t move if limits are placed on Him either.  I didn’t say He wouldn’t move, I said He couldn’t move.
3. Write down your Silhouette. – This one is hard for most people (including myself in the past) What I mean by write down your Silhouette is- describe what you want in a spouse instead of what you want your spouse to “look like”. In other words, stop praying the outward part and start believing for the inward parts.

Examples:

1. Loves Jesus (this one has to be the first; period)
2. Giving & Kind
3. Understanding and sympathetic
4. Funny
5. Hard worker
6. Loves family (or loves dogs if you’re a dog lover)
7. Has a heart for ministry
8. Supportive
9. Loves to travel or entertain

     Your list could go on but this is an example of your Silhouette.  If you bring this before the Lord, He will bring you what is going to “complement” you, NOT “complicate” you.
     Now before I continue, I know there’s going to be people out there that will say, “Well if people would just concentrate on loving Jesus instead of looking for their mate, maybe they would be better off”.   Now I said that because there are so many people out there that are telling single people this all the time!
     This kind of talk isn’t encouraging singles, its causing singles to feel condemned. When they feel condemned, they are more prone to settle and be lured away because they don’t feel they are being spiritual enough. Because of this kind of preaching, it has caused so many singles to fall away from the church, but more than that, fall away from their relationship with the Lord and falling back into sexual sin.
   Come on, let’s be real. It is VERY important to love Jesus and follow Him. We definitely need to be living pure and lastly, we should be content in our season of singleness. However, there’s nothing wrong with praying and believing God for your spouse.  Do not let the Pharisees of this age put you in a religious box and make you feel guilty when God knew that it was not good for man to be alone. (Gen 2:18)
     So while you are waiting, continue to live your life with joy!  Serve, mentor, give, pray, be active in your church or local community. Continue to show the love of Jesus to others but don’t throw your desire for marriage by the wayside. Write down your Silhouette and trust God that in His perfect timing, you will find the spouse He's ordained you to be with.  Don't let the Mazda mentality stop you from your Chevy blessing ;)
 
~Broken Beautiful Ministries