Matthew 6:25-26, NIV
Do not worry about your life...Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?
And again...
Matthew 7:7-11, NIV
Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!
I think this is where God invites us to open our eyes to the good gifts He is giving us.
Is it a man to walk by our side? No.
Is it a husband to kneel with us and pray? No.
Is it a baby crying in our arms? No.
Is it a son or daughter calling us "Mommy"? No.
It is a child we get to mentor. It is a community we get to help build. It is a trip we get to go on. It is a friendship tied together by the lack of the very things you find yourselves wanting. And for right now, God has us right where we are for a reason. We get to see Him in the singleness. To know Him intimately. To see Him fill our lives with good things and know on a deeper level how only He can fill us. He created us after all. Out of man, to be man's helpmate, in His image.
Is it hard? Yes.
Is it lonely at times? Yes.
Does it make you feel like you're crazy sometimes? Heck yes. (Or maybe that's just me?!)
But He is good. And faithful. He has a plan for us. And whether or not we feel like it's our Plan B for our lives, it's actually God's Plan A. (Thank you to Cross Point Church's Pete Wilson for this!) Check out what God says here...
Deuteronomy 31:6, NIV
Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.
And He promises to give us hope and a future...if but we would call upon him, come and pray to him. He promises to be found if we seek Him with all our heart. (Jeremiah 29:11-13, emphasis mine)
So that, dear sisters (and brothers), is what we are to do. Seek Him with all our hearts.
In the tearful moments as you hold your sister's bouncing baby. Seek Him.
As you embark on yet another trip with no one in the passenger seat. Seek Him.
As you hold your best friend's bouquet of flowers while she says her wedding vows. Seek Him.
As you bake another batch of muffins for your coworkers or small group girls. Seek Him.
As you watch your nephew's baseball game and cheer louder than anyone there. Seek Him.
Own it for what it is. Don't wallow in it. Don't be in denial about it. Just own it. And if you begin to doubt how you matter to Him. Seek Him harder. He will tell you. It's written all over His Word and His creation...
Did you know He gave His Son just to be with you? Our sin separates us from God in His perfect holiness. Receiving His mercy and grace through Christ to cover our sin, giving Him our lives, this is where we receive Sonship. We are co-heirs with Christ...co-heirs with our Savior!
It is a beautiful inheritance. A relationship with God alone is beauty to last a lifetime. Knowing Him is enough, and yet there is so much more. But with our inheritance also comes suffering. Matt Chandler expounds in saying, "It is not unloving of God to wound you now so that you might have everlasting joy in eternity. God is going to do surgery and then plant us where He needs us so that we can live as sons and daughters. Be faithful where you are."
And as He continues to love you - daily, hourly, minutely - all we have to do is...
just seek Him.
Songs that have met me on this stage of the journey:
A Living Prayer - Alison Krauss
The Light - Sara Bareilles
More Of You - Miriam Tyson
While I'm Waiting - John Waller
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