Faithbase

Hi friends, Amber Ginter here with another daily devotional for you. So today's scripture is going to be coming out of Jeremiah 29, verses 12 and 13. And the scripture says, Then you will call on me, and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I love this scripture passage for a couple of reasons. Number one is that it encourages me that when I call on God and when I pray to him, that he's listening to me. It doesn't matter what I'm saying. He's there for me, he hears me, he listens to me. And it also reminds us that we will find him if we seek him with all that we are. All of our heart, our soul, our mind, our strength, everything that we have, that when we seek him in that way, that he will reveal himself to us. Now in a different devotional video, I believe I'm even wearing the same shirt, I slightly mentioned that when we pray to God that we can have confidence knowing that he hears our prayers and that he answers our prayers, even if he doesn't answer them the way that we might think. And so I briefly touched on my husband and I's story of how I prayed for many, many years to be in a relationship. But something that I didn't share with you then that I want to share with you now is this. I was 22 years old before I had ever been on a date, been asked out, any of those things. And so I spent so many countless years from the age of 14 on where I would like a guy and they wouldn't let me back. And I would cry on my floorboard, I would pound my fist until they'd have bruises on them. My tears would roll off of the pages of my journal into my hands and my lap and onto the floor. My Bible is still stained on certain pages from the teardrops that I experienced. And I know numerous times when that would happen. I remember that moment, I would just say, through my tears and through this ugliness of emotion coming out, I would say, God, you know, I'm going to praise you anyways, because you have something better in store for me. And that was really hard. And that was really, really hard to go through. So much of my high school and college where nobody ever asked me out. And I'm just like, well, let me just make it clear that I never felt called to singleness. So I actually had to go five years at college. And I mentioned that before, because they didn't have my degree program. Something crazy, though, is around April of that year, before my fifth year, so it was into my fourth year, I should have been graduating, they didn't have the program, I'm losing all my friends. And I remember I had liked this guy, and he didn't like me back. Again, I was just like, guy number four or whatever. And I remember talking to my friend, God had really started speaking, calling me to a mission trip. But I needed someone to go with me on this mission trip. But at the same time, my friend said, Amber, I feel like God wants you to lay down that desire to be in a relationship, and that you have to be okay, if he calls you to a life of solitude. And that was really like a gut punch, man. Like I was like, am I really okay with that? And I cried so many tears, telling God, you know what, like, if you want me to be single the rest of my life, if that is what you have in store for me that I will never go on a date, I will never experience romantic relationships, then I know it's because you have something better and stronger in store for me and higher purpose. And I kid you not, it was a real emotional tear fest. Went to that friend's house had a really good heart to heart conversation. I was just like, all right, God, like, I'm laying it down. Like that is what I'm doing. And it was not easy, but I did it. About a week later, I met a guy that volunteered to go on this mission trip, because I signed up to go on this mission trip. And number one, all the other female slots were full. Number two, it was an out of the state mission trip. So I didn't feel comfortable going by myself. But number three, they said, Oh, by the way, if you want somebody to go with you, it's gonna have to be a male, because there's no more female slots. And I'm like, well, not flying by myself to out of, you know, the states by myself, and early, you know, out of Ohio and central states. And so I sent out a PSA on the campus, like anybody know ministry majors, that sounds safe. And lo and behold, I meet this guy. And during the trip, I'm writing in my journal, I'm like, Oh, no, I think this guy likes me, like, not happening, Lord. I was like, this trip is for you. I am focused on you. So I told God, yeah, probably don't recommend that. But I told God No, I was like, No, absolutely not. Like, I'm focused on you. Because I really thought like, this is just a distraction. Lo and behold, that actually ended up being Ben. He told me that he liked me almost immediately, when we got back. And a lot of people don't know is that Ben and I dated for a couple months, and then we did break up. And I remember writing in my journal, like, Okay, Lord, like, I got it all wrong, you. Maybe you have something different for me. But apparently, my idea of wanting to date and marry one person was crazy. I should not save my first kiss till I get married. And so I really like threw in that towel, like I wrote in my journal, like I have it all wrong, like, Okay, um, I, I don't understand. Ben and I actually got back together a couple months later, we broke up because we were both just being weird in the situation. We didn't know how to be friends. He presented a different version of himself to me every time that we went on a date. And I was very close minded and close hearted because I'd never been in a relationship. I was scared to hold his hand scared to do anything. And you know, we dated for five years. And then we got married. And like, on our wedding day, that is still one of the most beautiful memories. I hope to share a video with you guys soon. But when I said my vows, and when Ben and I, you know, sealed the deal and had our had our vows said and became Mr. And Mrs. That was God's fulfillment to me. And I know that he listens to those who pray to him. And so even though it took a lot of time, I know that he heard me because I was seeking him with all my heart. And so God didn't think it was silly that I wanted to date and marry one person. He didn't think it was silly that I wanted to save my first kiss till I got married. And you better believe that I know that he heard me because I don't I never saw myself getting back into that relationship and never saw my love story being carried on fulfilled that way. So today, I just want to encourage you that whatever it is, I just pray for you to let it down and to let it go and to, you know, lay it down in his feet and know that when you seek him with all that you are that he's faithful, he will answer you even if it's not when you want it to be. And even when it's not where you want it to be or how you want it to be that he hears you and he loves you dearly. I love you guys. Have a great day.