Bethany’s Betrothal

Bethany Olsen, age twenty-two, desires nothing more than to be happily married. After having faced three heartbreaks, things aren’t looking so good. Realizing she can no longer endure the pain of rejection, Bethany promptly turns her back on courtship and leaves the choice of her mate entirely up to God. Not until she truly learns to put her full faith and trust in God, is Bethany granted the Divine betrothal she has been prayerfully seeking.----Sarah Lynn Shade 

Fist off let me say, that as an Independent fundamental Baptist, it is a great blessing to find books that are written by people of like faith, it produces a sense of security and enjoyment for me as I read. This is one of those books.

This is where it all began for me. I had never heard of Divine Betrothal, but somehow in my heart I always knew it existed. Even before I was saved I just believed that there was one person for me. I never felt like wasting my time with someone who wasn't the one I was going to marry. After I got saved and over time I just grew to accept what is commonly called "courtship". 

By courtship I mean the idea that you think this could be the one so you enter a relationship. This relationship has rules like no touching or kissing or being alone, but it is mostly designed to see if the couple is compatible. If they are, they progress to an engagement if not they break up and seek another relationship with someone else. In my experience "courtship" is nothing more then "Christian dating". And in most cases leads to heartbreak. Its a traumatic event to spend any time with some one that you think might be the one, to give pieces of your heart to them, only to find out that one or both feel its not right. 

I was listening to the vice-president of a Bible college preach and he said that "these young people (speaking of the students) are at least four people removed from who they will marry." I got to thinking about that. That means that at the best, there will be 6 broken hearts for every successful dating/courting relationship that ends in marriage. In my heart I was grieved and said "there has to be a better way". Anyone who has had a broken heart will sympathise and recognize how painful of a statistic that is. God never designed for us to have to date around to find the one that He created for us.

We have a dangerous combination, that of loneliness and courting/dating, and all it is producing is a lot of young people who are missing the perfect will of God for their lives, and causing many young people to live in depression and heart break. Instead of young people focusing on God and preparing for their future they are caught up in the boyfriend/girlfriend game.

 I know the feeling of loneliness. I know what it is like. I used to go to the mall and see all the "happy couples". It seemed like everyone had someone, and I had no one. When that feeling sets in, it can be very easy to seek a relationship for the very sake of companionship. In fact most boy/girl friendships end in a relationship because both have that desire to be loved and cared for. You might be in Bible college right now and you see all the "happy couples" and you think, "When Lord, when will my special someone come along." Im here to tell you, that if you leave the choice up to Him, He knows who that person is, He knows where they are, and He is preparing you for each other. The perfect will of God is alive right now somewhere, pray for them, prepare for them, and wait for them. If you are not 100% sure this person is God's will for your life, then wait, pray and seek the guidance of your parents and pastor. In fact I will go so far as to say that getting your authorities permission is a key to making sure you are doing it God's way.

Gen 2:22

And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.

God impressed upon my heart one day, after nights of Bible study and reading several books most specifically Bethany's Betrothal, that if God made one woman for Adam (Eve) and brought that one woman to Adam in his perfect timing then God would surly do that for this Adam (Me). God used this thought. "Adam how can you believe I will save your soul and take you to heaven when you die, but you can't believe that I will bring you the one I have created for you, to you in my time."  I pondered that thought over and over and decided to surrender to that truth.

I invite you to read the book that helped me finally trust God.  It is part of a series of books and even though it is listed under ladies, it has been very helpful. In fact 3 of the series of books is written from the man's perspective.

I invite you to do a little light reading and explore the world of Bethany's Betrothal. This book can be found at http://lcbplansing.org/Books/Ladies.

I suggest that you read them in order. And make sure to save the last book for the end.

You wil never regret doing things God's way. Keep checking back regularly as I continue to expand on what the Lord has taught me. God's way is the best way!