PEOPLE MAY LOOK AT ME AND SAY "LATONYA, YOU CAN DO BETTER. YOU DESERVE BETTER." WHY WOULDN'T THEY, THESE "PEOPLE" THAT CAN BE FAMILY OR FRIENDS? THEY SAID IT WHEN I GOT MY FIRST JOB OUT OF COLLEGE. "YOU CAN DO BETTER".
BETTER IS ALL AROUND US. BETTER JOBS, HOMES, SCHOOLS, CARS, MUTUAL FUNDS, AND INSURANCE RATES. WE CAN ALL DO BETTER. WELL, WHAT I'M ABOUT TO SAY MAY SHOCK YOU. WHEN IT COMES TO LOVE AND MARRIAGE - I DON'T WANT BETTER.
"PEOPLE" ARE RIGHT. I CAN DO BETTER. I DO DESERVE BETTER. BUT BETTER WON'T DO. "BETTER" WOULD BE A STEP DOWN FOR ME. MY PRAYER HAS ALWAYS BEEN THAT I WANT THE BEST. I CAN DO "BETTER." I CAN'T DO "BEST."
YOU SEE, ONLY GOD KNOWS MY NEEDS SO INTIMATELY. ONLY GOD CAN SEE MY ENTIRE LIFE IN HIS HANDS. ONLY GOD KNOWS THE METAL OF THE MAN FOR MY LIFE. ONLY GOD KNOWS "BEST."
I'D LIKE TO THINK THAT I AM WISE AND INTELLIGENT, BUT FACE IT, I'M NOT OMNISCIENT. YES, I'M JUST CRAZY ENOUGH TO TRUST GOD WITH MY LOVE LIFE! I CAN'T AFFORD TO MESS IT UP, BECAUSE I CAN DO "GOOD" AND I CAN DO "BETTER", BUT "BEST" IS WAY OUT OF MY LEAGUE.
I THINK OF 2 BIBLICAL EXAMPLES. JACOB DESIRED A WIFE. HE CHOSE RACHEL. SHE WAS BETTER THAN HER OLDER SISTER, LEAH, IN JACOB'S EYES. JACOB GOT LEAH FIRST. GOD BELSSED LEAH TO BEAR JACOB CHILDREN, AND HE CLOSED RACHEL'S WOMB. THE CONFLICT BETWEEN THE TWO WOMEN WAS GREAT. BECAUSE JACOB DID BETTER, HE DIDN'T EXPERIENCE GOD'S BEST.
LOT CHOSE A LAND THAT WAS BETTER. ABRAHAM ALLOWED HIM TO DO SO. THE LAND THAT LOT CHOSE WAS LATER DESTROYED FOR ITS GREAT SIN. THE LAND WAS BETTER, BUT IT WAS NOT GOD'S BEST.
THERE ARE OTHER CIRCUMSTANCES THAT SURROUND THE DECISIONS THAT THESE MEN MADE, BUT THE POINT IS CLEAR. RELYING ON OUR HUMAN JUDGEMENT AND KNOWLEDGE IS RISKY BUSINESS. FOR THINGS THAT MATTER THE MOST IN OUR LIVES, WE CAN HARDLY AFFORD TO TRUST OURSELVES AND NOT GOD.
LOVE AND MARRIAGE ARE SO IMPORTANT TO ME. I ASKED GOD MANY YEARS AGO TO CHOOSE THAT MAN FOR ME. I KNOW WHO I WOULD CHOOSE. I WOULD CHOOSE "BETTER", BECAUSE I DON'T HAVE ENOUGH KNOWLEDGE TO CHOOSE "BEST".
DON'T MISUNDERSTAND WHAT I'M SAYING. IN GOD'S DIVINE WILL, THINGS CAN AND DO GET BETTER. HE CAN TAKE US FROM GLORY TO GLORY AND FAITH TO FAITH. BUT HE CAN ONLY DO THAT WITHIN HIS PERFECT WILL. I DON'T WANT "BETTER". I WANT GOD'S "BEST". I DESERVE BETTER, BUT GOD IS GRACIOUS ENOUGH TO GIVE ME HIS "BEST".
-- MINISTER LATONYA HENRY
