i almost do.

James 1:5- 8

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways..

I really believe that 99% of the world are in a situation where they are interested in someone romantically….  ok, well over a certain age - I’d like to say that age is like 12 or something but my 6 year old has had a crush on Johnny Kettelle for years. So, it is my hypothesis that most of us have a crush on someone (if you're married make sure that person you have a crush on is your spouse and things will go well for you). So, we all argue and say we don’t have a crush on someone…  but c’mon, just be honest.  

So think about that person you have the crush on… fast forward and all the sudden you find yourself at the alter with that awesome person… they are dazzling! A radiant bride in the perfect dress she took forever to pick out, or a flawless groom that even clipped his fingernails for this occasion! They look deep into your eyes and say this:

 I ___(insert crush here)____ , promise you that I will love you forever, I will always be faithful and true, in any sickness that is not contagious, life threatening, causing you to gain weight or have diarrhea, or anything that lands you in the hospital for more then 4 days, I promise that I will provide for you as long as we have a solid income coming in, and you don’t waste my money, and our investments keep gaining, and our house is worth more money then we owe on it….   I will only have eyes for you as long as your measurements don't change by more then 2 inches in any direction, and as long as there is not someone in a bikini in front of me, I mean - it’s a bikini, you can’t blame me for that. I promise to forgive anything you do that does not fall into the categories of lying, gossiping, and cheating on me- those things annoy me…  I will help you raise our children from 8:00am - 11:00pm, I will do up to and including 10 diapers a week and I will take 2 night shifts per month to watch kids. If one gets sick I will drive them to the doctor no more then 1 time per 6 weeks. I will listen to you as long as I am interested in what you are saying and I will remain faithful to you as long as we have sex 4 times a week and I don't get any better offers. But taking all of that into consideration - I am yours forever…   or as long as this is still working out for us.

Not very romantic huh? With divorce rates over 50% a large amount of people are choosing to sign “prenuptial agreements” before marriage since they assume this marriage won’t last forever.

I have been happily married for 8 years, 11 months and 18 days. My wife has been happily married for about 8 years, 4 months and a few days…  (ok, I didn’t ask her for a number - I was scared she might actually give me one)…  but being married to me can’t be easy - I know that. Still she chooses to stay.. because every day is perfect? No. Because she knows I am the best guy out there and the best offer she could get? No Way! It is because we made a commitment to each other (and God) and we decided that failure was not an option. If we had left room for failure to be an option - she may have taken that option by now, and if I haven't done anything yet to tempt her I am sure I will do something dumb in the future. The reason I know we will be together till the end - we don’t have a backup plan, we wont let failure be an option.

How many times do we “Pre-Nup” God? Like “Hey God, I trust you, but just in case I’m gonna ….” ; “God, I know this request is really huge and I don’t expect you to be able to do it, but …” We do that to God all the time. We ask him “in faith” but really we are doubting all the way. Who wants a relationship like that that is built with doubt as an option? God sure doesn’t want that. He wants you to believe in Faith, no doubts, just Faith.

Answer This:

1.  What are you praying about that you just believe is still too big for God?

2.  Who treated you like that, saying they believe in you but keeping a backup plan just in case?

3.  But let him ask in ________, with no doubting, for the one who _______ is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.

4. Take a minute and journal about what you read.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Written by Jeff Harkins