Hope-less-ness
Sometimes this word seems synonymous with single. So many women come up to me week after week struggling with this emotion.
Sam, does God care about my loneliness?
Does he see my heart’s desire for a relationship?
Does God know I am losing hope?
And I remember those emotions all too well. I struggled with them too. The ache of going to bed alone night after night without a husband is still near to my heart. I wondered if I would ever experience a happy marital relationship again. Would I ever be free from the nagging insecurity of being a single mom?
God broke through my struggle a few years after my divorce. After too many bad experiences to count, I threw up my hands and surrendered my dating life.
Jesus take the dating wheel.
It was a simple but profound decision to let go and let God.
I finally stopped looking for a husband and started focusing more on Christ and His will for my life. I leaned into my calling as a mother, provider and minister of Jesus. And when I eventually put myself back out in the dating realm (many months later), I was a different person.
My focus shifted drastically from a ravenous man-hunt to a thirsty God hunt and I finally felt freedom from the overwhelming ache in my soul.
God wants you to operate in this freedom as a single person and not only that, he wants to use your newfound freedom to build into His kingdom. He has called you and set you apart to serve “regarding the things of the Lord.”
In 1 Cor. 7:34 Paul recognizes the unique opportunity single people have to focus their time, talents and energy on serving the Lord. Now, as a single parent this might mean focusing on more on raising Godly kids or maybe it’s taking the time to serve foster kids.
Either way, God does not want you wasting your precious moments dreaming about your wedding day. He wants to use you AND ALL YOUR GIFTS until he creates your wedding day.
I met my husband working in the church bookstore. Our first conversation was a feisty debate about a seminary book. If I had not pursued the things I felt called too –service and seminary, I never would have met my sweet man.
Ask yourself…
- Do you have a sense of calling and a mission for your life?
- Do you have a passion that motivates you to get out of bed in the morning with a smile?
- Is there an area in your life God is whispering for you to pursue?
Living in freedom is a choice. And HOPE-ful is one dating decision away.
–Samantha
