ApplyGodsWord.com/Mark Ballenger

God Is Testing You If This Connection Is Giving You the Opportunity to Choose Obedience Over Desire

Perhaps the clearest sign God is testing you through a person is when the relationship forces you to choose between your longing for romance and your loyalty to God.

This is what happened with Abraham in Genesis 22 when asked to sacrifice Isaac. Though the context is completely different, the principle is timeless: God sometimes asks us to surrender something deeply precious so he can strengthen our faith and reward our obedience.

In the realm of Christian singleness, this “Isaac moment” often takes the form of a relationship that feels meaningful and emotionally significant, but in time God makes it clear that it must be laid on the altar.

Hebrews 11:17-19 teaches that Abraham’s test was not to punish him but to reward him:

"By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, of whom it was said, ‘Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.’ He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.”

Every relational test offers you the chance to align with God’s will and reap the blessings that come through faithfulness.

Full Article: applygodsword.com/3-signs-god-is-testing-you-with-…

4 days ago | [YT] | 239

ApplyGodsWord.com/Mark Ballenger

God Is Testing You If Someone’s Presence Is Exposing Your Heart’s True Condition

Whenever God asks us a question, it’s never because he doesn’t already know the answer. Rather, God wants us to become aware of the answer. Sometimes this is why God sends someone into your life. This person becomes a question from God to you, and the answer you give will help you realize where your heart really is.

Many singles think they are healed, strong, and spiritually ready for marriage; but then God allows them to go through something to highlight an area of concern that would never have been addressed without this test.

In Genesis 3:9, God asked Adam, “Where are you?” He didn’t ask this because he didn’t know. Rather, he wanted Adam to reflect and realize where he was. Adam was hiding from God. And only by coming out of the shadows and back into God’s presence could God help him. When God asked Adam that question, I imagine Adam coming to his senses, realizing how far he had fallen, and then asking himself in remorse, “How did I get here? What have I done?”

Likewise, if a test is exposing some area of weakness in you, don’t hide from God in fear. He allowed all this to happen so you would come to him. He wants to heal you and mature you for the future plans he has for you.

Similarly, when Jesus asked Philip how they would feed the five thousand, John 6:6 states, “He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do.” Jesus already knew the answer. He wanted Philip to know where his faith actually stood.

Likewise, God sometimes allows someone to enter your life romantically so that—through the tension, uncertainty, or disappointment—they reveal the true condition of your heart.

Many of us realize how deeply we need to grow only after the test is over. And without this person, we never would have seen ourselves clearly.

Full Article: applygodsword.com/3-signs-god-is-testing-you-with-…

5 days ago | [YT] | 192

ApplyGodsWord.com/Mark Ballenger

There are two easy mistakes many people make when they experience a relationship disappointment. The first mistake is that they get stuck in depression and hopelessness. They take months or years to recover, only to be disappointed again and to then spiral into another long season of grieving and hopelessness.

The other mistake many make is that they don’t grieve the disappointment at all and try to rush their healing, which in the process only prolongs their healing. They deny their need to grieve and they think they can just push past the pain. But in reality, they are not experiencing healing; rather, they are just burying their wounds deeper and deeper, making it that much harder to experience true healing in the future.

Therefore, when you experience a relationship disappointment, the Lord is usually leading you to take an appropriate amount of time to grieve while also then pushing you forward so you don’t get stuck in the past.

There are no cookie-cutter formulas here. Some will need to slow down and grieve the disappointment, while others need to stop grieving and start moving forward with the Lord. The key, again, is to refocus on God and fully submit to his guidance for you.

As Psalm 138:8 states, “The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands.”

6 days ago | [YT] | 216

ApplyGodsWord.com/Mark Ballenger

Who said this? "Behold, I am the servant[f] of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.”

1 week ago | [YT] | 261

ApplyGodsWord.com/Mark Ballenger

If You Just Went Through a Relationship Disappointment, God Is Saying, “Keep Pursuing Me Above All Things”

If you want God’s best, you must also give him your best. We are not earning the good things God wants to give us, but when we withhold ourselves from the Lord, we will miss out on the good things he wants to give us.

Thus, whether you want someone back in your life who is no longer there, or you are simply longing to meet the future spouse the Lord has for you, the key is to fully give your heart to Jesus. As Proverbs 3:5-6 states, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”

Notice it does not say you can give him some of your heart. You must trust him with all of your heart. Only when you are totally committed to him can you ensure that you will experience his will for your life.

1 week ago | [YT] | 215

ApplyGodsWord.com/Mark Ballenger

God May Be Testing You If a Romantic Disappointment Is Increasing Your Dependence and Joy in Christ

God made romance and the desire for a relationship. And yet, in sin, we can turn anything good into an idol. Thus, in order for us to experience the true joy of a relationship as God intended, we first have to let go of idolizing romance. When we want a spouse to fill our hearts with the joy only Christ can give, we not only miss out on Christ’s joy, but we also miss out on the joy we could experience from a biblical spouse.

Sometimes God allows a relationship that does not work out to deepen your dependence on him. When you begin developing feelings for someone—especially someone who genuinely seems godly—it is normal to feel hopeful. But what happens when that interest doesn’t move forward? When the person is inconsistent? When the situation is unclear? When the relationship remains stuck in confusion, no matter how much potential you saw?

For many Christian singles, God uses exactly this type of situation as a test of faith. In moments like this, you can either shake your fist at God for not doing what you wanted, or you can open your fist, turn your palms up, and surrender your life to God, no matter what he does or does not allow.

You could say, “God, why would you let me have feelings for someone who isn’t choosing me? Why let this happen?” Or, you could say, “Even though this hurts, I’m grateful you’re with me. I trust you. You are still good.” 1 Peter 1:6-7 states

"In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

Similarly, for many singles, God uses romantic disappointment to reveal where their hope truly rests. When a relationship you wanted falls through but your praise remains intact—when your worship increases instead of decreases—this is often a sign God is testing and strengthening you.

In fact, many Christians experience a massive transformation in life only after they experience a painful relationship letdown. In the pain, God changes you. If a relational test is causing you to cling to God with deeper sincerity, that’s a sign he is using this relationship to refine you.

Full Article: applygodsword.com/3-signs-god-is-testing-you-with-…

1 week ago | [YT] | 178

ApplyGodsWord.com/Mark Ballenger

If You Just Went Through a Relationship Disappointment, God Is Saying, “I’ve Not Forgotten the Desires of Your Heart”

Disappointment is the distance between our expectations and reality. The greater the difference, the more the disappointment. For example, maybe you expected to be married by your early 20s, but now you are in your 30s and still single. Or perhaps you joined an online dating app, met someone you really liked, talked to them nonstop for a few days, but then they just ghosted you. Or maybe you finally worked up the courage to express your feelings for that person you’ve liked for a long time, but they then confessed that they only see you as a really good friend, not as a romantic partner.

In moments like these, the disappointment occurs because there is a massive disconnect between what you imagined and what just happened. But here’s the thing. We only see the past and present. God, however, sees the future. He stands with us in our pain, comforting us through it all. But he’s not ever let down by an unmet hope because he already knows what will happen.

God knows he has a good plan for you. He knows how he will use this current pain for his glory and your good. He knows the blessings he has in store for you. The key, therefore, is to take your eyes off your circumstances and place them back onto God.

After the Lord lovingly rebuked Job for questioning his good plan, even though he had to endure suffering, Job came back to his senses and confessed, “I know that you can do anything, and no one can stop you. You asked, ‘Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorance?’ It is I—and I was talking about things I knew nothing about, things far too wonderful for me” (Job 42:2-3, NLT)

Job 42:12 (NLT) then states, “So the Lord blessed Job in the second half of his life even more than in the beginning.”

Read the full article:

1 week ago | [YT] | 144

ApplyGodsWord.com/Mark Ballenger

While this new video is for men, the principles relate to everyone!
God bless,
-Mark

1 week ago | [YT] | 22

ApplyGodsWord.com/Mark Ballenger

Psalm 77:14, "You are the God who works wonders; you have made known your might among the peoples."

1 week ago | [YT] | 203

ApplyGodsWord.com/Mark Ballenger

Who helped the Israelite spies in Joshua 2?

1 week ago | [YT] | 247