Let God Guide Your Choices

[Let God Guide Your Choices]( Current Teaching Series [You Make Me Crazy]( [Listen to Today's Broadcast]( [Let God Guide Your Choices]( By Rick Warren — 05/21/2021 [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Pinterest]( [Email]( “Can two people walk together without agreeing on the direction?” Amos 3:3 (NLT) If you wait for the perfect wife or the perfect husband, you’ll never find them. Let me tell you why: No one is perfect. We’re all broken. And that’s okay. God loves you, despite your brokenness. But you need to understand that anyone you marry will be broken too. Here’s where you need to be careful. Although everyone is broken, some people have a lot more healing to do. They aren’t ready for a relationship. And you need to avoid them as life partners no matter how good-looking, rich, or nice they are. Before you enter into a long-term relationship, you need to understand the emotional health of your potential partner. Study after study has shown that 80 percent of all separations and divorces happen because one or both of the partners are emotionally unhealthy. Here’s a partial checklist of emotional health factors, drawn from Scripture, to look out for: Whoever you marry must not be nursing uncontrolled anger. Proverbs 22:24 says, “Do not make friends with a hot-tempered person, do not associate with one easily angered” (NIV). Uncontrolled anger reveals deep insecurity and low self-worth. Whoever you marry must not be stuck in an addiction. Proverbs 23:20 says, “Don’t associate with people who drink too much wine or stuff themselves with food” (GNT). Only two things—food and alcohol—are mentioned here, but there are hundreds of ways to get addicted. Whoever you marry must not be harboring bitterness. Bitterness is like a poison. It eats you alive. The Bible says in Hebrews 12:15, “Guard against turning back from the grace of God. Let no one become like a bitter plant that grows up and causes many troubles with its poison” (GNT). Whoever you marry must not be selfish. Proverbs 28:25 says, “Selfishness only causes trouble” (GNT). When it comes down to it, the number one cause of conflict in marriage is selfishness. Whoever you marry must not be greedy. Proverbs 15:27 says, “Greed brings grief to the whole family” (NLT). If you marry a greedy spouse, you will be in debt your entire life. Whoever you marry must be generous and kind. The Bible says, “A generous person will prosper; he who refreshes others will be refreshed” (Proverbs 11:25 NIV). It also says, “Those who are kind benefit themselves, but the cruel bring ruin on themselves” (Proverbs 11:17 NIV). Whoever you marry must tell the truth. Proverbs 20:7 says this: “A righteous person lives on the basis of his integrity. Blessed are his children after he is gone” (GW). Love is based on trust, and trust is based on truth. If you don’t tell me the truth, I can’t trust you. And if I can’t trust you, how can I love you? You might be thinking, “This sure is a long list, Rick. I’m not sure if I’ll ever find anybody who fits this.” But I did. And you can too. When Kay and I got married, Leonard Ravenhill, the great 20th century evangelist and author, sent us a wedding card. I’ve never forgotten what it said: “God always gives his best to those who follow his wisdom.” And God will give you his best as you seek his guidance and follow him in obedience. “Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; he will neither fail you nor abandon you” (Deuteronomy 31:8 NLT) [PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick >>]( Talk It Over - Have you been expecting perfection out of potential life partners or from your close friends and family? How does knowing we’re all broken change your expectations of others? - How have you seen God bring emotional health to you or someone you know? - Did you see yourself in any of the unhealthy emotional traits in today’s Daily Hope? If you did, what’s one step you’ll take today to seek God’s healing? The post [Let God Guide Your Choices]( appeared first on [Pastor Rick's Daily Hope](. [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Pinterest]( [Email]( [Get the You Make Me Crazy Study Kit when you give a gift to support Daily Hope]( You probably have a relationship that could drive you crazy if you let it! Whether it’s a boyfriend, girlfriend, spouse, sibling, parent, or co-worker, a "crazymaker" can really make life difficult. Discover how you can do more than just survive, and actually thrive in these hard relationships with Pastor Rick’s, You Make Me Crazy study kit. This six-session DVD and workbook study shares biblical wisdom to help you navigate the kinds of relationships that drag you down and leave you feeling drained. [LEARN MORE]( [Complete Audio Series (Purchase)]( Includes 8 full-length messages from Pastor Rick's series You Make Me Crazy. [LEARN MORE]( [Series Summary]( Message 1: Six Keys to Peace in Relationships Message 2: Who's Pushing Your Buttons? Message 3: Resolving Conflict Message 4: Finding the Love of Your Life Message 5: Breaking Free from Abuse Message 6: Escaping the People Pleaser Trap Message 7: Keeping the Crazymakers from Making You Crazy Message 8: How to Keep Your Marriage Growing [PLAY TODAY'S BROADCAST]( Pastor Rick Warren [Facebook]( [Instagram]( [Linkedin]( Enjoy today's devotional? Listen to Pastor Rick’s daily audio teaching at [PastorRick.com]( Did someone forward this devotional to you? [Subscribe to Pastor Rick Warren's Daily Devotional.]( As the founding pastor of Saddleback Church with his wife Kay, Dr. Rick Warren leads a 30,000-member congregation in California with campuses in major cities around the world. As an author, his book [The Purpose Driven Life]( is one of the best-selling nonfiction books in publishing history. It has been translated into 74 languages and sold more than 50 million copies in all formats. His book [The Purpose Driven Church]( was named one of the 100 Christian books that changed the century. Rick also founded [The PEACE Plan]( to address five global issues—spiritual emptiness, self-serving leadership, poverty, disease, and illiteracy—through the power of ordinary people in the local church. 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