4 Relationship Truths You Can’t Afford to Ignore

When it comes to relationships and choosing the right partner it can be awfully easy to ignore the red flags in the early stages of dating. Sometimes we get so caught up in the moment and in our feelings of infatuation and attraction for a person that we can mistake a distraction sent from the enemy as a blessing from God – until we eventually notice how far off course we’ve gotten. This is why it is so important to examine the direction the relationship is going in so you don’t end up stuck in toxic cycles, wasting valuable time and drifting further away from God.

So here are 4 Relationship truths you simply cannot afford to ignore:

1. Who You Entertain Shows How Much Value You Place On Your Walk With God

I’ll just let this one sink in for a moment…

Who you choose to do life with matters. Wrong picks create cycles.

If you are entertaining someone who is content with having one foot in the world and one foot in with God then that means you are willing to make compromises in your walk with God. You see, if you truly place significant value on the relationship between you and Jesus then you wouldn’t risk entertaining someone who can cause for you to drift away.

Do not be mismatched with unbelievers; for what do righteousness and lawlessness share together, or what does light have in common with darkness?

2 Corinthians 6:14

God designed for us to be in equally yoked relationships. This means both partners are putting God first and seeking Him diligently – not just with lip service, but by their actions. Both partners may call themselves believers, but that doesn’t automatically make them equally yoked. Two people that are truly walking in the same direction will do their best to honor God by the way they choose to live. Of course nobody is perfect and we all will make mistakes, but it’s about making the conscious effort and having a desire to please God. If you know your partner isn’t doing this and quite frankly has no desire to and you choose to remain in such a relationship, well, that reveals how much value you are placing on your own walk with God.

2. It’s NOT God’s Will If You Have to Compromise On Your Biblical Convictions

Anything you have to compromise to get, you’re going to have to continue compromising to keep. Remember, God loves you too much to send you someone that is going to try and have you compromise on your Biblical convictions. The person God has for you should be able to edify and strengthen you spiritually – not be a hindrance to your spiritual growth! A good sign that someone is not a God-sent is when they try to push your boundaries or pressure you to do something you don’t feel is right in God’s eyes, then, when you confront them, they in turn become angry or upset with you.

It’s another major red flag if they threaten to break things off over you standing firm on your boundaries and convictions. You should be in a state of mind like: “If this person is willing to end things over me refusing to compromise what I feel led by God to do, then this person must not be essential to the purpose God has for me.” When you trust God enough to remove the wrong people in your life, you can rest assured that He will replace them with the right people that will add real value and purpose.

3. Don’t Be Fooled: You Can Get Pulled Back to What God Delivered You From

1 Corinthians 15:33 makes it very clear:

“Do not be misled: ‘bad company ruins good character'”

Of course, this verse isn’t only referring to our partner or spouse, this is true for any person we allow to have a close part in our life. Most of us have all heard the quote: “Show me your friends, and I’ll show you your future” and there is a tremendous truth in that statement.

Proverbs 13:20 tells us “The one who walks with the wise will become wise, but a companion of fools will suffer harm”. You see, it is completely possible that God delivers you from something you have been battling with or struggling to overcome, but I guarantee that if you stay around the wrong person (or people) long enough, don’t be surprised when you get pulled back into it!

Ask yourself: How bad do I want this? How bad do I want victory over sexual lust? How bad do I want freedom over being a slave to alcohol, partying and drugs?

How bad do I want to overcome ____? Fill in the blank.

I’m not going to tell you it’s going to be easy, it’s not, BUT God is faithful. He sees your efforts, He sees your desire to live a life that is pleasing to Him, He sees you. God wants to help you, God wants healing for you, God wants you to feel secure in your identity in Him, He wants you to be delivered from any addictions, bad habits and whatever is standing in the way of you having a close relationship with Him – but you have to understand that who you surround yourself with matters. The people you give most of your time and energy to should be the ones adding value to your life, helping you reach your God given calling and most importantly encouraging your walk with Christ. This is why the Bible tells us many times to “Guard our hearts” because if we’re not being intentional about who we give our time to and allow close to us, then even the strongest believer will eventually begin to waver in their faith which will have an adverse affect in their walk with Christ and their witness to the world.

4. Standards Only Scare Off the People That Aren’t Meant For You

If your standards and morals are causing someone to turn away from you, to put you down, or even leave – congratulations, you just saved yourself time and energy you would have spent entertaining someone that is not meant for you.

The best thing you can do is to be open, completely honest and direct with the person you are interested in from the beginning about who you really are, what you want and any expectations. Pretending to be someone you are not is only going to cause you to end up in a relationship with someone you don’t belong with. Never make the mistake of lowering your Godly standards to “keep” anyone. Losing someone that doesn’t appreciate or value the person you are isn’t really a loss, it’s a gain.

It takes a strong person to remain single in a world that is accustomed to settling with anything, just to say they have something

Lastly…

There is no man or woman on this Earth that will be able to satisfy your soul, only God can do that. When we are able to feel complete and whole in Christ, then we won’t put unreasonable expectations on others to try and fill this void in our life that only God can fill. God doesn’t want you to settle for just anyone, a Christ centered relationship is always worth the wait.

My prayer for you:

Lord, I pray that you’re able to help us find the strength through Jesus to walk away from any relationships that are not healthy or good for us. Lord, open our eyes to see the difference between someone that is sent from you and someone that is only a distraction. Help us embrace the patience that is necessary for us to receive the blessing you have prepared for us. Amen.