Day 4

Read:

Jeremiah 29:8-9

Dig Deeper:

So, you’ve started to date. If you’ve made it to this stage, congratulations! Now the fun really begins. It’s important at the start of a new relationship to create a healthy and strong foundation. This foundation will set the trajectory for what’s ahead. 

Although there are many pitfalls that can react their ugly heads in relationships, I often find that a core issue (one that causes many others) is fantasy. Ever spent time day dreaming about that guy or girl that you’re into? Maybe you spend a lot of time on TikTok, and your algorithm looks more like an episode of Bridgerton than just those innocent puppy videos that your mom loves to send you. Or, maybe you even picked up your picture of romance from an old Disney cartoon when you were a kid. Either way—these unrealistic pictures of romance and dating are just a few ways that fantasy can infect your relationships.

Don’t be misled, reality is the only firm foundation that can set-up your relationship for success. When we stop living in reality and start experiencing our relationships more in our heads and in our feels than IRL, we create a fake relationship. And fake relationships can never have real success.

From fake relationships come problems like codependency, unhealthy infatuation, sexual deviancy, and so much more. In a relationship firmly rooted in reality, you’re able to build a real foundation around what is really happening in your relationship. In that way, you can use this dating season for what it’s meant for—to evaluate whether this person (hopefully) actually is the right one for you.

Declaration: Say this next statement out loud as a declaration of what you have learned today.

I will think realistically about who I am dating.

Pray:

God, help me to be realistic about my relationship. Show me where I’m not seeing things clearly and reveal to me the things I may be missing. I want to be wise and honest with myself too. Help me to build a good foundation in this relationship, and help us both to put you first. Amen.