A very wise man, by the name of Jason Mayo, once taught a group of teenagers, including myself, about the"gift" of singleness. He told us "being single does NOT mean that you have the plague." Now at the time, I had a boyfriend so I was able to silently "amen" and move on like I had one hundred percent agreed with him. Now I really may have agreed with what he had said but I didn't fully comprehend what he had meant. I didn't realize how much that would mean to me fast forward about 4 years later. I can confidently say now that he was right on the target. Now it may seem odd coming from a young 20 year old like myself, but with a lot of my peers around me either dating, engaged, married, or even married with a kid, it's a pretty big deal to be single. In church you hear the cliche statements like, "that one person, who was made JUST for you, is out there" and the ever so present "guard your heart and he will come at the right time." Now I'm not saying these cannot be true in some circumstances, but I definitely do not think that this advice can be applied in ALL circumstances. Telling yourself there is ONE person out there for you can be unhealthy because it can set you up to think that that "perfect" Christian guy/girl you date is your future spouse and can end up wrecking you and ripping you apart slowly when it doesn't work out, for whatever reason. I know too many people, whom I care about dearly, who were in a Godly relationship, both short term and long term. They were set on marrying this other person, and for whatever reason things didn't work out and they were left there to try and pick up the pieces. They got angry with God so as a result, they distanced themselves and started to back off and try to protect themselves in an unhealthy way. They read articles or listened to friends and were told to "guard your heart." This is another problem that presents itself heavily to my generation. This can be very popular among the church in particular. Coming from a girl who has a tattoo resembling this saying, trust me when I say, guarding your heart can absolutely be a good thing. It's when guarding turns into building walls, and building turns into heart hardening from bitterness and being impatient when outcomes aren't meant in a certain timely manner. Telling a young girl, or even a young man that guarding your heart will bring "that person" is a dangerous thing to be doing for two reasons in particular.
1. That causes a person to be spending their time and effort into "guarding their heart" when they could be using that time to focus on God and TRUSTING that He will take care of them.
2. That puts God in a box of when He will bring that person into your life. Saying He WILL come when YOU guard your heart is demanding God of something that He can do all on His own.
1 Corinthians 7:32-34
"I want you to be free from anxieties. The unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord. But the married man is anxious about worldly things, how to please his wife, and his interests are divided. And the unmarried or betrothed woman is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to be holy in body and spirit. But the married woman is anxious about worldly things, how to please her husband."
SINGLE MEN AND WOMEN!! WE ARE BLESSED TO BE SINGLE!!!
We are told in 1 Corinthians that our main attention and interest should only be in the Lord while we are single. We don't have to worry about pleasing our spouse(just yet,) which means that we can fully give our ALL to the One who created us FOR HIM. There will come a day that our attention will be divided. We will have to juggle our time with the Lord and our spouse. BUT FOR NOW, we can revel in the love Our Father has for us and bask in His unconditional grace and mercies. If that doesn't make you stoked, I don't know what does? Now obviously relationships are still things God has established(for some) and will be blessed by Him, but we do not have to carry any pressure of trying to figure out when that time will come for us. He has it all figured out, taken care of, and has your best interest in mind.
Proverbs 19:21
"Many are the plans in the mind of man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand."
Let's be a generation that gives way to God's beautifully orchestrated purpose for our lives over our own self-seeking plans. Let's trust He knows what He's doing. Let's give God our full attention and not grow anxious or weary about our future. AND LET US LET OUR TIME OF SINGLENESS BE THE MOST BLESSED TIME IN OUR LIVES. ♥
1. That causes a person to be spending their time and effort into "guarding their heart" when they could be using that time to focus on God and TRUSTING that He will take care of them.
2. That puts God in a box of when He will bring that person into your life. Saying He WILL come when YOU guard your heart is demanding God of something that He can do all on His own.
1 Corinthians 7:32-34
"I want you to be free from anxieties. The unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord. But the married man is anxious about worldly things, how to please his wife, and his interests are divided. And the unmarried or betrothed woman is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to be holy in body and spirit. But the married woman is anxious about worldly things, how to please her husband."
SINGLE MEN AND WOMEN!! WE ARE BLESSED TO BE SINGLE!!!
We are told in 1 Corinthians that our main attention and interest should only be in the Lord while we are single. We don't have to worry about pleasing our spouse(just yet,) which means that we can fully give our ALL to the One who created us FOR HIM. There will come a day that our attention will be divided. We will have to juggle our time with the Lord and our spouse. BUT FOR NOW, we can revel in the love Our Father has for us and bask in His unconditional grace and mercies. If that doesn't make you stoked, I don't know what does? Now obviously relationships are still things God has established(for some) and will be blessed by Him, but we do not have to carry any pressure of trying to figure out when that time will come for us. He has it all figured out, taken care of, and has your best interest in mind.
Proverbs 19:21
"Many are the plans in the mind of man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand."
Let's be a generation that gives way to God's beautifully orchestrated purpose for our lives over our own self-seeking plans. Let's trust He knows what He's doing. Let's give God our full attention and not grow anxious or weary about our future. AND LET US LET OUR TIME OF SINGLENESS BE THE MOST BLESSED TIME IN OUR LIVES. ♥