Girl Guard Your Heart

Transcript

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Tonight we're diving into something real, something that so many of us need to hear and talk about openly guarding your heart, waiting on God's timing, and dating with a purpose, not just for fun. This episode is for very young women who's felt pressured to settle, who's been burned by moving too fast, or who wants to know. How to recognize the right relationship when it comes along. So let's get into it. Proverbs chapter four, verse 23. If you turn with your Bibles with me, I want you to picture your heart as a beautiful, well tended garden, a place growth and beauty. You wouldn't just let anyone trample through it. You wouldn't let weeds take over or allow someone to set it on fire. But sometimes in dating, that's exactly what we do. We throw open the gate to our heart because we're lonely or we want validation, or we're scared to wait. We forget to guard it. This episode is about locking that gate until the right time and the right person. I'll be real with you. There was a time I rushed into dating someone because I felt like my clock was ticking. He seemed charming, fun, attentive at first, but I ignored the red flags. He didn't respect my boundaries. He was inconsistent. He didn't share my faith in any meaningful way. I wanted so badly for it to work that I handed my heart over without making sure he deserved it, and it ended in pain. Looking back, God was telling me to wait, but I didn't want to. I learned the hard way that waiting on God's timing is not punishment, it's protection. Here's something we need to say plainly. Dating is not for entertainment. It's not a game. It is a preparation for marriage. If you're not in a place where marriage is even a goal. Why open your heart to someone's influence. Amos chapter three, verse three says, gimme a moment while I turn into my Bible and I apologize. I can two walk together accept. They be agreed. If you and your partner don't agree on faith, purpose, values, vision for the future, you will constantly be in conflict. So asking yourself, before dating, am I ready to be equally yoked? Do I know what I want in a spouse? Is my life aligned with God's will first. So let's look at Genesis chapter 24, verse 27. I will give you a moment while you turn in your Bibles and he said, blessed be the Lord of my master Abraham, who has not left destitute. My master of his mercy and his truth, I being in the way. The Lord led me to the house of my master's brethren Abraham. Abraham sent his servant to find a wife for Isaac. Not just any woman, but the right woman. The servant prayed for God's guidance and God orchestrated every detail. If you are in the way. Yeah, walking in obedience, God will lead you too. They didn't swipe right. They didn't rush. They waited on divine timing. That's our model. Now, let's get practical. Here are some red flags you need to know before you're too emotionally invested. Disrespect for your boundaries. Inconsistent words and actions. Disregard for your faith or spiritual life, anger issues or controlling behavior, lack of honesty or transparency. Unwillingness to commit or define the relationship who you date will shape you. Don't ignore signs because you're lonely. We don't want to just settle because settling is going to bring a lot of heartache. You don't want to settle. And you wanna make sure that you find someone that you're equally yoked with. Proverbs chapter 22, verse 24 and 25 says, make no friendship with an angry man and with a furious man thou shot. Now go lest thou learn his ways and get a snare to thy soul. So the Bible warns us of these things. Waiting is hard, but it is worth it. I know waiting feels impossible sometimes, but God's timing is always going to be, is the right timing not our timing? Sometimes we think our timing is right, but God's timing is always perfect. If you look at Isaiah chapter 40, verse 31, but they that way upon the Lord renew their strength. They shall melt up with wings as eagles. They shall run and not be weary, and they shall walk and not faint. Waiting on God is not passive. It's active trust. It's preparing your own life. It's saying, God, I trust you. I trust your plan more than I trust my own timeline. If you're single, work on your goals. Work on your education. Work on growing in your faith. Build healthy friendships, heal from past hurts, I think. I think that's one of the most important things is allowing yourself to heal from past hurts so that you'll be readily available when God brings the right person for you in your life. Then when the right person comes, you'll recognize them and you'll be ready. Another time after our heartbreak, I told God I was done dating. I poured myself into my faith, my calling, my friends, my purpose. Two years later, someone came along two years, ladies, two years, someone came along who respected my boundaries and encouraged me to grow because I'd done the work to guard my heart. I could see clearly who he was. I didn't have to compromise, and that's what I want for you. Be that woman. A woman who guards her heart, fears the Lord and waits on his timing mean. In my other episodes, I speak about the Proverbs 31 woman. Becoming a Proverbs 31 woman, being a Proverbs 31 woman while we're married. Proverbs 31 30 says, favor is deceitful and beauty is vain. But a woman that feared the Lord, she shall be praised. Before we go, I want to leave you with a prayer. Heavenly Father, help us guard our hearts with D with all diligence. Lord, teach us to wait on your perfect timing. Give us discernment to see red flags and the courage to walk away when something isn't your will. Prepare us to be the kind of woman who honor you in every relationship. In Jesus' name I pray, amen. If this episode spoke to you, share it with a friend who needs to hear it. Let's build each other up to be women who don't settle, who don't rush but trust God's fully. Thank you for listening to She Speaks Truth. Until next time, guard your heart. God's timing is worth the wait.