by a Sister in Christ
“O LORD of hosts,
blessed is the man that trusteth in thee.”
{Psalm 84:12}
The morning rays illumine the pages of the letter a young lady is writing to her dear friend…
Dearest friend,
Good morning! It was such a delight to visit with you last week and hear how the Lord is teaching you. I am always encouraged by our visits and just wanted to let you know that you are in my prayers as you walk in faithfulness during this season as a daughter. The Lord has you right where you are today for a reason and has a purpose for each day ahead. May He teach you to daily serve Him joyfully and contentedly, for there is never reason to allow doubts to creep in and wonder if He has made a mistake in not bringing a godly husband into your life yet. I am so thankful that our God makes no mistakes and He is sovereign! Although I know this truth in my mind, I still lack faith at times. Why do I ever doubt if this is reallywhere God wants me today? Why do I ever wonder if God can bring a godly man along? God can do all things and sovereignly knows right now the very date of my marriage, death, and everything that will occur in between! “How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them!” (Psalm 139:17) I pray that I will learn to immediately conquer my doubts and bring to mind God’s many promises to those who trust Him…
“They that know thy name will put their trust in thee:
for thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.”
{Psalm 9:10}
“Oh how great is thy goodness,
which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee;
which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee
before the sons of men!”
{Psalm 31:19}
“He shall cover thee with his feathers,
and under his wings shalt thou trust:
his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.”
{Psalm 91:4}
The Lord has been convicting my heart lately, about not “waiting” on Him in the sense that I am living in constant expectation for Him to “rescue” me out of my singleness – but rather serving joyfully in this “PLAN A” place that God has me in today. This season of singleness is not “Plan B.” This is the perfect will of God and He has a mission for me to accomplish today as I walk in obedience and joyfully serve my family. To find my all in all in Christ alone. It is so much more joy-filled and fulfilling to be perfectly content in Christ and all He is to me, rather than wishing some thing or some event or some one will fill my desires. That can never happen. Christ must be my all and my full satisfaction. “For He satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness” (Psalm 107:9). Jesus is the only One Who will never fail or forsake me. Isn’t this just an incredible promise to meditate on?!
“He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper,
and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.”
{Hebrews 13:5-6}
I believe that every child of God is tested and tried at some point in life, and He uses these times to point their eyes to Him and teach them to trust Him. John Newton once said, “God chooses for His people better than they could choose for themselves. If they are in heaviness, there is a need-be for it, and He withholds nothing from them but what, upon the whole, it is better they should be without.” God is currently teaching you and I, as unmarried women, to trust Him through our fears, doubts, and emotions in our desire for marriage. What a merciful God we have Who desires to teach us such priceless lessons. He is using these tests to refine us, purify our hearts and our devotion to Him, and teach us to cling to Him. I think of how my struggles and weaknesses have forced me to go directly to the Lord and cast my burden upon Him alone. Ultimately, no one else can help or solve my struggles nor forgive my sinful doubts. “Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved” (Psalm 55:22). This is such an important time to seek a deeper relationship with our Lord and Savior, isn’t it?! It is not a time of “waiting.” It is a season of growing and seeking, one full of purpose and growth!
Thank you for sharing your thought-provoking question with me, “What if this is the last family we ever have to serve and bless? Would we serve them with more joy and love if we knew we would not have our own family one day?” I’ve been pondering this and it certainly gives a new outlook, especially when I think of how my siblings are growing up so fast and one day they will be mothers and fathers to the next generation. Am I pouring out everything I can into their lives while we live together, or am I distracted? Do I think I would serve “my own” family better and more tenderly one day? I certainly will not do so then if I will not now! I desire to grow in this area and serve more joyfully and wholeheartedly.
Dear friend, how grateful I am that the Lord has allowed us to walk through this journey together and to share in His faithfulness. May we go forward with vigor and faith, trusting Him Who guides us by the hand. I look forward to seeing Him work in your life and bless your faith. Every single prayer and burden we cast upon the Lord now, will one day be answered far more incredibly than we can even imagine (and we girls are quite good at imagining things, aren’t we?!). I’m keeping you in my prayers! Let’s joyfully press on, “For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly!” (Psalm 84:11)
Resting in the Lord,
Your sister in Christ
NOTE: Summer can be a special but irregular time of year. In the midst of the varied schedules and activities it can be easy to let our time with the Lord become shortened each day. We encourage you to read about the Summer Pursuit (hosted by Loving the Lord Ministries) which begins today. It is a special challenge to keep us diligently studying God’s Word together. We encourage you to do the pursuit with your own sisters (and/or brothers/friends).
Dear Ladies in Waiting,
I just wanted to encourage you that the wait is worth it. Take from someone who pridefully “thought she knew better” than the Lord. Thankfully my decisions were not permanent and God causes ALL things to work for His good (for those who love Him and are called according to HIS purposes). When I was still single I repented for making marriage an idol in my life; it was what I wanted most. It had been a dream in my heart since I was a little girl. Having that heart’s desire can be godly but when it consumes your thoughts and brings the sins of doubt, fear, etc. you know you have heart issues to deal with. I was in my 20s when this came up. (If your response is fear that you may have to wait “that long,” it is time to spend some heart time with the Lord surrendering your will so that it reflects His will.) It was 4 years later that in God’s timing I married my best friend. We were both older than what “I had planned.” He was 28 and I was 27. Our first kiss was at the altar – also worth waiting for. We now have 4 children.
My husband is the pastor of our church ministering to college students, where I have had many, many opportunities to share my testimony of surrender and waiting on the Lord. What a precious time this can be to learn those lessons you mentioned earlier. They can be learned at any stage: waiting for marriage, waiting for baby (multiple times!), waiting for spiritual breakthroughs in you or your children. What a precious lesson to learn to be content in all things. It is better to learn the lessons God has for you now. How I wish I would have been sensitive to the Lord and learned them at your age! My heart is to encourage you in this sweet time of loving the Lord and waiting on Him and His perfect timing.
I have been learning about what it means to joyfully serve the LORD. I am learning that day dreaming does not help and it distracts from Gods work for you.
Surrendering everything to the Lord means everything. You can’t just keep little things that you like when they are idols. If you allow surrender every little bitty thing to the Lord, He will work through you and mold you, shape you and make you into the person He wants you to be!
Ouch! The part about investing in your siblings really touched me. I have recently tried my best to look at each of my siblings with new glasses. I try to look at them as a child of another family that we know. I would never yell at a little 4 year old neighbor girl! If I would not do that to someone I don’t really know, how much more so than to treat my own siblings, that God has placed in my family for a purpose.
Ever His Servant,
Madeline