I’m Tired of Waiting on the Lord!

woman thinking

 

 

 

 

 

 

As single believers, how many times do you hear this: “Don’t worry, honey, God will bless
you with your mate real soon. Just keep waiting on the Lord.” And then you nod, smile
and say, “Thank you, I receive that,” but on the inside you’re boiling thinking,
“I’ve been ‘waiting on the Lord for eleven years now and I’m tired of waiting
on the Lord!” and for some reason it seems as if the main ones encouraging singles
to keep ‘waiting on the Lord,’ are already married, so then you think, “it’s easy
for you to say that, you married your high school sweetheart and been having sex on
the regular for decades, but when I want it I can’t get it because I’m still ‘waiting
on the Lord.’ So then you leave the room thinking, “God, why are you moving so slowly?
Where is my mate?” and then you begin to meditate on the fact that you’re so tired of
being alone like Al Green.

Then you think back to past relationships, or even prospects you turned down, and you
think, “did I miss God somewhere?” or you wonder if you could just go back five years
ago and say, ‘yes’ to that person you initially said ‘no’ to just because you didn’t
like the hairy mole inside his left ear.

Well one thing we can’t do is go back in time, but one thing we can do is maximize
the moment and stay encouraged while we wait. How do I do that? you might ask – well
I’m glad you asked me :0)

I was reading a particular Scripture the other day and a particular word jumped out at
me. I’ve always believed that as Christians, we are all running in this race called
life, with the ultimate prize being obtaining the high calling of God in Christ Jesus,
which means being all whom God has called us to be in Him, and eventually transitioning
our spirits from inside our bodies to heaven to be forever with the Lord (thank God that
as Christians we will never see death – glory to God Hallelujah! John 8:51).

Well, I’ve always known I was running in a race, but I never realized that I have a
running partner. And, no, I’m not going to say it’s God (even though He is on the
inside giving you the power to run the race with His grace) however this particular
running mate I’m speaking about is patience.

Hebrews 12:1 states:

Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us
lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with
patience the race that is set before us,

The Word of God says here, “…let us run with patience,” so as we’re running our
Christian race, we have to make sure patience is running right beside us.

This Scripture also admonishes us to lay aside every weight. A weight is something that
wears you down, or slows down your race. It can be a heavy load, or a burden –
something that gets you off the focus of your race and off Jesus, but, instead has you
focused more on the burden.

Examples of “weights” can be worry, doubt, fear, observing the wind or circumstance
instead of keeping your eyes on the promise, taking on a care or anxiety instead of
casting your care on Jesus, or walking by sight instead of walking by faith.

Hebrews 12:1 also speaks about the sin which easily besets us, which is also a weight.
Sex outside of marriage slows down your race and, not only that, takes you totally off
course. Not loving your neighbor or coveting another man’s wife are also sins and
weights which can take you off the course of your Christian race and lead you down a
path of destruction.

Once we lay aside the sins and the weights, and grab a hold of patience as our running
partner, then we can run our race with cheerful or hopeful endurance or constancy,
which is the concordance definition of the word, patience.

And while you run, be sure and take your water, which is necessary for any race so that
you can endure without passing out, which for the believer is the Word of God.

Daily, consistent doses of the Word of God will give you the fuel to run your race with
the power of God’s grace, and will keep His patience, which resides in the pit of your
heart, active and alive in you as you run this race called life.

Run at a steady pace now, no need to sprint, and as you’re running, be sure to look
around, enjoy the sunshine and have fun during this season of your life, because the
race is not given to the swift, but to him who can endure ’til the end.

Stay encouraged and call a fellow single friend today and let him or her know that you
appreciate them during this season of waiting with cheerful endurance in the Lord.

Recommended Reading:   (especially
the Chapter on overcoming Impatience)

Complete in Christ

Some singles believe their life is lacking or incomplete
because of the absence of a spouse.

Some may feel God has given them bountiful blessings
in some areas, but when it comes to blessing them with
their mate, God has somehow forgotten or forsaken them.
For this reason, many singles respond hastily by “doing it
themselves” and going out and getting somebody,
anybody, just to say they have someone to call their
own.

And once they get that coveted engagement ring,
they’re ready to run out and tell the world, “Look what
the LORD has done!”

Single believers must realize that your life is complete, right
now, even in the absence of a mate.

Colossians 2:10 states, And ye are complete in him, which is
the head of all principality and power: The him this passage of
Scripture is referring to is Jesus. Notice that it says you are
complete in him, and not just with him.

There is a difference.

In Him you live, move, and have your being. In Him, and in His
presence, is the fullness of joy.

The New Living Translation of Colossians 2:10 reads, So you also
are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over
every ruler and authority.

To be complete because of a union with Christ means to be one
with Christ.

Your heart must be one with God before it can ever be one
with another man.

To be one with Christ means to become more like Him every day.

It means to think like He thinks, speak like He speaks, love what
He loves, and hate what He hates.

This is why it is so important to read the Word of God daily,
because the more you deposit His Word into your spirit, and
the more you speak the words that He speaks in His Word, the
more you become more like Him, and the more you become
one with Him.

You ever notice how a happily married couple who has been married
several years start finishing each others sentences, dressing alike,
and sometimes even looking alike as they begin to look more like
brother and sister rather than husband and wife? It is because that
as they have gotten to know each other, over the years, they have
become more one with each other. Sure, on the day they got married they
became one as they entered a covenant relationship according to God,
however that oneness became more evident and clear to all as they
interact with one another and come to know each other even more
throughout the years.

It can be the same way with a believer.

Once a person gets saved according to Romans 10:8-10, they become
a new creature in Christ Jesus. But he or she has to develop his or
her relationship with God daily in order to grow spiritually, and become
more one with Him. When it comes to the things of God, you’re
either growing spiritually, or decreasing spiritually -there is no
in between.

A lot of times feelings of loneliness, impatience, or fear come from
not spending enough time reading, meditating and believing
God’s Word, praying, worshipping and praising God, and not
spending enough quality time with Him.

Once you receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior into your heart,
your heart belongs to Him.

Once Jesus knocked on the door of your heart and you decided to let
Him in, His Spirit, His Love, His Joy, His Peace, His Happiness,
His Completeness, and His Fullness took up residency in you.

You are not incomplete because you don’t have a man.

You are complete because you HAVE a man, and His Name is Jesus!

He loves you so much.

He wants you to call on Him in your time of need.

He’ll never miss you when you’re away, because wherever you go,

He is always right there, with you and in you, holding your right hand.

He loves you so much that He even watches you while you sleep, and

He has His angels surrounding you 24/7, keeping and protecting you
from harm’s way.

It is time for us, single believers, to walk in true contentment.

The Apostle Paul states in Philippians 4:11, Not that I speak
in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am,
therewith to be content.

It’s a learning and ongoing process, and it starts with a decision.

Speak contentment over yourself -daily if you have to.

Say out loud, right now, “I’m single, I’m content, and I’m complete
in Him!”

Make a daily decision to be and remain content by consistently
abiding in His Word, and by becoming more one with Him each day.

Kim Brooks, author of bestselling novels, She That Findeth, He\'s Fine...But is He Saved? and more. www.kimontheweb.com

Delight in Him and Watch God Move!

A lot of people may be familiar with the following Scripture: Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart (Psalm 37:4) Some singles know this verse by heart, and stand on it as they believe God for a mate. As I sign books across the country, I often inscribe that very Scripture next to my signature. People
shout and praise God about it, because most believe it is saying that as long as we praise God and have joy in Him, then He will give us our heart’s desire. However, this Scripture is saying a lot more than that.

The word, “delight,” in the original Hebrew is anag, which means to be soft or pliable.

 
The definition of the word pliable, according to Webster’s Dictionary 1828 edition means to bend, be flexible,
and to be readily yielding to moral influence. The moral influence that you, as a believer, would yield to in this
passage of Scripture is God.  So delighting yourself in the Lord means more than being happy in Him, it means
being flexible and readily yielding to His authority as you seek the Lord in prayer. As you
obey and serve Him, and allow His will and not your will to be done, then will He bless
you with the desires, or secret petitions of your heart.

Also, the dictionary definition of the word, “give,” in Psalm 37:4 means to transfer,
to grant, and to impart. As you seek God’s face by reading and meditating His Word
(Joshua 1:8), by worshipping Him (John 4:23), and by praying consistently
(1 Thessalonians 5:17), your mind becomes renewed as you become more like Him
everyday as you continue to abide in Him. I believe in doing so, God will transfer,
or impart those desires in you – which are ultimately His desires- as you grow in your
relationship with God and desire what He wants for your life. And He desires to bless
you exceeding abundantly above all you could ever ask or think, according to the power
that worketh in you (Ephesians 3:20)!

 

Springtime Love! Where’s Mine?

It’s springtime! Birds are chirping, the sun is shining, and love is in the air.
Couples are walking hand-in-hand, sharing laughs, and creating memories. Folks are breaking out the shorts as men in clean rides try to holla at sisters walking down the street. In the midst of all the hustle and bustle in this so-called season of love, where does this leave the single saint? Left out?

Alone? Depressed?

Like Homie the Clown used to say on In Living Color, “I don’t think so!” lol

Let me assure you that this season of singleness for your life, notice I said season (Ecclesiastes 3:1) is actually a gift from God. “A gift?” you might ask, “How is being single a gift?” Well, number 1, it allows you to use this time to please God and serve Him exclusively without distraction.

The Apostle Paul states in 1 Corinthians 7:32, But I would have you without carefulness.

He that is unmarried careth for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please
the Lord. But he that is married careth for the things that are of the world, how he
may please his wife. A single believer’s main focus should be to please God. The word,
please, in the original Greek means, aresko, which means (through the idea of exciting
emotion) to be agreeable, or to seek to be so. As a single believer, your goal should
be to live a lifestyle agreeable to His will and His Word. In doing so, God will be
pleased and He will bless you because He is Good and Faithful. Whereas, a married
person’s aim should be to please his or her spouse. In the marital covenant,
pleasing your spouse actually pleases God. Once you’re married, it’s no longer
all about you any more, it’s about whether or not your actions and your words please,
edify, encourage, and excite agreeable emotion within your spouse. This isn’t always
an easy task seeing as though now you’re dealing with two entirely different,
imperfect human beings and two entirely different sets of opinions who may not always
agree. Like my pastor always says, marriage is work.

The Apostle Paul goes on to say in I Cor. 7:35 And this I speak for your own profit;
not that I may cast a snare upon you, but for that which is comely, and that ye may
attend upon the Lord without distraction.

The Word, distraction, in the 1828 Webster’s Dictionary means, “A drawing apart,
separation. Confusion from a multiplicity of objects crowding on the mind and
calling the attention different ways. Confusion on affairs; tumult; disorder.”

God is a God of order.

Anything, or any one in your life who takes your focus away from God and causes your
mind to be cluttered, or any one who has you consistently thinking of ways to please
that other person instead of pleasing God is a distraction, and a hindrance to your
spiritual development. You want whoever you decide to be in a relationship with to
cause you to enhance your relationship with God, and to further propel you to walk
into your purpose and destiny.

God created and designed each and every person with a purpose in mind. Just like
Jeremiah, each person has a divine assignment given by God (Jeremiah 1:5). Those
gifts and talents He has given you are not just for your own profit, but so that
He can be glorified and that others can be blessed.

Another reason this season of singleness is a gift from God is that it allows you
time to pray about and pursue your purpose. Once you know your purpose, and as you
begin to walk in it, you will be able to better recognize the mate that God has for you,
as you discover that the spouse that He has for you will have a compatible calling to
your own -your callings will be in sync, and the two of you will fit together like hand
in glove.

So instead of moping around feeling sad, bad, and disgusted because you don’t have
someone else to take you out for ice cream, accept this season in your life as a gift
from God and embrace it, live to please Him, and find out what He would have you to do
in life and just do it! Once you do, you’ll be blessed and fulfilled in knowing that
the Father is pleased with your life.

How To Leave the Past at the Altar

manprayingWe all make mistakes.

Some of us can look back at past relationships and say, “now THAT was NOT GOD!” or some of us can say, “hmm, that may have been God, if only I had given it a chance.” Once you break up with someone, do you just move on and say, “Next!” in your mind, or do you really evaluate what happened in the relationship?

Take a moment to think about your last relationship.

Ask yourself not only what went wrong, but what you were able to learn from it (even if it means you learned what character traits you definitely don’t want in a mate). However, instead of just focusing on how the other person was so wrong in certain situations, ask yourself where you might have been wrong and where you may have room to improve in certain areas.

We all have room for improvement.

 

The Word of God admonishes us in 2 Corinthians 13:5 to examine ourselves, whereas in
relationships so many of us are quick to only examine the other person’s mistakes and
faults. I know for me, personally, I learn a lot more about myself when I come out of a
relationship. But instead of harping on the past, singing, ‘woe is me,’ and,
‘nobody knows,’ I, instead, pray, make the adjustment, learn from the past, then leave it
at the altar and move on.

Don’t get stuck in a rut or stuck in the past.

Be determined to live your life in the “regret free” zone.

If you hurt someone else, ask for their forgiveness if you’re so led and move on. If you
have been hurt, forgive whoever hurt you, pray blessings over their life, and move on
(Matthew 5:44-45).

Know that what God has for you is for you, but in the meantime He wants you to live your
life in perfect peace, as long as your mind remains stayed on Him (Isaiah 26:3).

Recommended Reading:  eBook, The Little Black Survival Book for Single Saints (especially
the Chapter on Forgiveness)