Many Christians believe that being outside of God’s timing is tantamount to being outside of His will. And when you’re operating outside God’s will for your life, things may not go smoothly for you. A classic Biblical example is Abraham and Sarah. They had waited a pretty long time to have a child, and even after God had promised them a son, Sarah got impatient. She gave her maidservant Hagar to Abraham and Hagar bore him a son. If you’re familiar with the Bible, you’ll know the story. Otherwise, look it up in Genesis 16 and 21.

Abraham and Sarah tried to do things their own way to bring about what God had promised, but it backfired. The scary thing is that God allowed it, even though He knew what the outcome would be. Sometimes God will allow us to go ahead and make mistakes when we decide that we want to be in the driving seat. And just like the decision Abraham and Sarah made led to significant consequences for generations to come, our decisions to take our lives into our own hands can have ramifications we never dreamed of.

So, before you embark on a relationship or rush into marriage, ask yourself if the timing is right. Are both of you ready? Are you ready mentally, spiritually, emotionally and financially? Have you taken the time to get to know each other? Or are you just bowing to pressure?

I heard about a young Christian couple that got married and less than a year into the marriage, they were having an argument and the young man blurted out something along the lines of ‘you forced me into this, I wasn’t ready to get married!’ This came as a surprise to the young lady because she thought marriage was what they both wanted. I can only imagine that this young man went along with it because he thought that was what was expected of him. This is especially true for Christian couples that have been dating for a little while.

Sometimes well-meaning friends and family, and even church members unknowingly put pressure on a couple by dropping hints and even outright asking a particular couple when they’re getting married. This is not very helpful and we need to let people work out for themselves when to take their relationship to the next level if that’s what they want to do.

It is always good to know that your relationship is heading somewhere but trying to rush things is never a good idea. We have to get the timing right. Entering into a relationship or marriage with the right person at the wrong time can be just as bad as entering one with the wrong person. Don’t give in to pressure. Take the time to talk, pray and let God’s Holy Spirit guide you into His perfect will for your life.