"If it's meant to be it will be" Your thoughts on this saying?

[Seektruth]

What are your thoughts on the expression "If it's meant to be it will be" specifically referring to a relationship with another person. Can a person blow their chance with a person God has put in their life, and will God give them a second chance at that relationship?

[fccool]

1) Welcome to the forum

2) I don't think that God would "place" a partner in your life, like popular traditional colloquial belief would go. You find a person based on your geo-location, availability, your personal preferences, and their willingness to engage in a relationship.

To attribute all of these to God would essentially mean that God, from the very beginning, and disregarding your personal free will pre-arranged events solely so you can meet that person. That would in fact disregard free-will decisions of other people who may wanted to choose otherwise, but decided to push you in the direction of that meeting because of God's influence.

It sort of the same ideology that praying to God will help to influence an employer to get you a job, or have a girl fall in love with you . It's a very narcissistic approach to reality IMO, which puts you in the center with events strictly created to serve you.

3) If you "blown your chance", and you want another one... what are you waiting for? The chance is only restricted by your willingness to go after it. God will not give you any chances that you will not willingly act out :)

[Woody]

To be fair to the Great Controversy -

It is my personal belief that God's interventions on this earth are far less than most Christians want to believe.

[Gail]

I hope it's not you who this has happened to!

If you are praying "thy will be done" as Jesus gave us as an example of how to pray, then you are praying according to God's will already.

If you believe what you just prayed (if it is for God's will to be done), then you can rest in that. God is faithful

I don't know about second chances of this nature. I really don't. But God is trustworthy AND merciful. Through Him all things work together to the good of them that are the called...

How many times have I blown it? I will never know until I meet Jesus face to face and can ask Him. But he's worked with heathens even and has made His will to be fulfilled (thinking about prophecy). So your hope can still be in Him.

I hope it all goes well with the situation you presented!

[fccool]

I think that "thy will be done" is hopeful recognition of necessary conformity, and not a statement of involved enforcement. If such would be the case, then there wouldn't be any cancer, or hunger epidemics. "God's will" is an expression of recognition and conformity.

[Woody]

God's Will is to let the Great Controversy play out and so people can see the results of evil.

[LynnDel]

It has been my experience that with some people, you only have one chance, and if you blow it, it is finished. That is usually very early in a getting-to-know-you phase. If you, deep in thought, don't smile back when they smiled; if you appear to turn a cold shoulder when they tried to get to know you, certain personalities lose any interest they may have had originally.

If you unintentionally "turn off" someone later on in a relationship, after you already know each other, then you have a better chance of talking it over and possibly repairing the breach.

BUT if God wants you to be together, He won't let a human bungle stop it.

It can't hurt (after prayer) to let the person know of your interest. No hints. Just out-and-out say it. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Disclaimer: The above words of wisdom (ahem) are based on nonextensive research, subject to human subjectivity.

LD

PS - How does a person know that God has his hand in the "matchmaking" process? A local matchmaker woke up one Sabbath morning, inspired to pair me with a person she knew at work. Knowing the man, I would have agreed with her, but I said, "I'm waiting for God to tell him the same thing He's told you." And then.... a different male friend told me God told him I was the one for him--but God said nothing about it to ME, so I didn't agree. I'm inclined to lean slightly in the direction Woody voiced: God lets events play out, lets us make our choices. However, I do believe that a constant connection with Him will keep a person from making very bad choices. What remains are a lot of good, medium good, so-so, and just about tolerable choices. He lets a person weigh the pros and cons on their own, and whatever choice they make will come to be a growing experience, in one way or another.

[LifeHiscost]

Putting my faith in God for making a decision for me when I had already experienced failure after going it on my own, led to 35 years of unbroken happy married life with one whom the "experts" expressed various degrees of disapproval before the ceremony. I will admit God didn't bring it to pass until I readily admitted my immaturity and His wisdom as far exceeding any competency of my own.

Not to suggest this is a good solution for others, but when God made the choice, I knew of His position within six weeks, whereas when I was on my own, it took ten years to come up with nothing satisfying.

Surprising sometimes, how long it takes individuals to recognize that God can be trusted.

" Up to this time you have not asked a [single] thing in My Name [as presenting all that I Am]; but now ask and keep on asking and you will receive, so that your joy (gladness, delight) may be full and complete."

John 16:24 AMP brackets parenthesis theirs LHC

God blesses!

[LynnDel]

So, LHC, how did you know God had made the choice?

LD

[LifeHiscost]

So, LHC, how did you know God had made the choice?

LD

First applying this rule,

"Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?"

2 Corinthians 6:14 NKJV

Then looking for the indications that made it clear we were both led of the same Spirit.

While I don't believe God asks us to check our brains at the door when there is a door of opportunity He provides for us to step through, if it weren't for His grace which revealed we were both on the same page during our courtship, to have concluded we weren't meant for each other would have been like tearing the pages out of the middle of a story book, that without would have made the end of the story totally unintelligible. As it proved itself to be without question, a decision we both found great joy in, the concluding years have just been corroborative evidence that we read God's purposes for our lives, without question to be His choice first and ours second.

God blesses!

[LifeHiscost]

Just to add an addendum needed in the last post. I married someone whose main desire was to please me, as well as be a faithful follower of Christ as she understood Him. At the time when we first met, I had already suffered in the school of hard knocks, enough to recognize that it was more important to be the right person than it was to find the right person. When those two(three) principles are practiced by both parties, one of the scenarios described by a Christion I trust, comes to pass.

"

What is it to be a Christian? It is to be Christ-like; it is to do the works of Christ. Some fail on one point, some on another. Some are naturally impatient. Satan understands their weakness, and manages to overcome them again and again. But let none be discouraged by this. Whenever little annoyances and trials arise, ask God in silent prayer to give you strength and grace to bear them patiently. There is a power in silence; do not speak a word until you have sent up your petition to the God of heaven. If you will always do this, you will soon overcome your hasty temper, and you will have a little heaven here to go to heaven in."

Historical Sketches of the Foreign Missions of the Seventh-day Adventists, Page 158 underlined bold mine LHC

God blesses!

[Woody]

Quote:

it was more important to be the right person than it was to find the right person

Thanks LHC

[LifeHiscost]

My pleasure, Woody. Let God be praised!

Have a joyful day.

God blesses!

[Gail]

Thanks, LHC, for sharing that little tidbit AND for your testimony! There is no better witness to a great marriage than an example of one!

[LifeHiscost]

Quote:

It is my personal belief that God's interventions on this earth are far less than most Christians want to believe.

I remember this statement by a well known military individual some years ago.

Quote:

There has never been a weapon of warfare developed by man that he hasn't evntually used.

We have weapons of mass destruction that are powerful enough to kill the population of the world 50 times over. We have innumerable individuals in power who believe they are called of their god to kill other human beings in their god's name, that their ideology might prevail worldwide. If God were to release His hand of control over the events of the world, we, the human race, would annihilate ourselves overnight. If God were to permit it to happen, the demons that control numerous people in human society are prevalent enough for that to happen today.

"For you will be expelled from the synagogues, and the time is coming when those who kill you will think they are doing a holy service for God." John 16:2 ASV

"For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work."James 3:16 KJV

God blesses!

[LifeHiscost]

Quote:

There is no better witness to a great marriage than an example of one!

Surely it is of the Lord as I've needed many years to see Him develop what I once did not know existed literally.

"We know that we have passed over out of death into Life by the fact that we love the brethren (our fellow Christians). "1 John 3:14 AMP

God blesses!

[Gail]

Quote:

There is no better witness to a great marriage than an example of one!

Surely it is of the Lord as I've needed many years to see Him develop what I once did not know existed literally.

Beautiful :)