Here are five dating tips for surviving the dating process as shared by Pastor Steven Furtick of Elevation Church.
Dating is a crucial stage of one’s life that should be taken seriously especially if you are a believer. If done outside God’s guidance it can lead to a destructive path and heartache.
However, when dating is done in a Godly way, it can be a joyful experience on the way to a successful marriage. Dating was designed by God to help us find the right life partner. It is how you get to know a potential spouse in a deeper way.
But how can you be prepared for dating? Here are five helpful things to bear in mind.
1. Another person can’t complete you
No one else can complete you, only God can. If you enter into a relationship incomplete, the chances are you are going to make a mess of things. Only enter into a relationship once you have allowed God to make you whole.
2. Dating is dangerous if you aren’t ready for it
Dating is risky because you can become connected to someone emotionally, spiritually and physically and God has set clear boundaries not to be joined together until marriage. Unless you are ready for dating, there’s a huge possibility that you may go beyond God’s boundaries too soon.
3. Look for the right qualities in a person
Date someone you would like to marry. Know the right qualities you want to find in a futre partner before entering into a relationship with them. And discover the qualities God wants both of you to have in order to work well in a relationship according to His glory.
4. Ask yourself, is the relationship meeting wrong needs?
If you are going to date someone just because you want to be secure or just because you are looking for intimacy, you should have second thoughts. Dating is not about meeting your personal needs only. Know what God wants to fulfill in your relationship and focus on that.
5. You have to set boundaries
You need to set boundaries for yourself personally as well as within your relationship.
Before you get into a dating relationship, know your value and worth in God. Instead of finding the “right person,” mold yourself to become the right person for your future partner.
Dating is a blessing from God when done rightly and in the context of God’s Word. Moreover, when you enter into a relationship, “seek first the Kingdom of God” and pray earnestly about it. God is the author of your story and that includes your love story. Let God do His work in your life!
