topics you've asked for: the single and the future

Once upon a time, there lived a single person. They were not necessarily young. Nor were they old. But alas, they were aging. And one day they found themselves in this never-ending mental debate. It sounded something like this:

I'll probably stay single so I will...

Stop sinking my money into rent, and buy my own home. 

Start upping my retirement fund. (because who will care for me in old age?)

Start rolling out the blueprint of my career advancement.

Stop waiting and buy fine china, a king-sized bed, and...etc. etc. etc.

I will probably get married so I will...

Start planning the details of the wedding.

Stop being so independent.

Start honing wifely (or husbandly) activities.

Continue in a holding pattern until that happens.

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If you're single (or have been) this mental debate is probably familiar to you. So, (not as if I have any connection to the aforementioned single), here's a few guiding principles that have been helpful to me as I consider the future:

Don't let possibility stop you. 

"Beth, what is in your heart to do for Jesus? Do that." I thrilled to this counsel when I heard it years ago. Because I know the gifts God has given me and what I love doing for Him.

Don't let possibility stop you. Set your sails to do what you want to do for Jesus. Love full-time ministry? Work towards that goal. Love missions? Make a game plan. Love glorifying God by using your skills in a secular workplace? Do. It. (and so forth) If, in any of these pursuits, God would have you do something different, He will direct you. That's what He does.

Wear out your prayer place.

Uncertain about plotting your course? Lacking wisdom? Ask God for it. Keep asking. Wear out your knees asking. Not as if you have to constantly ask to get it, but that every time you ask, you receive it. He will not withhold wisdom and chide you for asking. He gives lavishly.

Be careful to take no thought. (check out that wordplay) 

If worry is growing in me, then I must dig it out. It's never the right response. Trouble is, inevitably I find anxiety rooted in the soil of unbelief. I'm anxious because I'm not in control of future things. Because I don't trust that God is. Because I don't actually believe that He is able to do what He says He will do for me. Beware: anxiety flourishes in a heart of unbelief. And it's fruit is as ugly as it is toxic.

Trust God with the consequences 

So what if I keep doing what I want to for Jesus and He suddenly changes my course? All that time, energy, ability, training, experience...wasted.

Friends, our God is bigger than that. Am I walking with Him? Content? Building up believers? Seeking the lost? Growing in my relationship with the Word and local church? Then there is no waste. And if, someday, I end up starting a new life of singleness or marriage from scratch, this is no surprise to God. We can trust Him with the consequences of trusting Him.

Be faithful (not stressed) about unrighteous mammon. 

As believers, we don't need to look to money for security. We all are/were young and, if the Lord tarries, we will all be old. But we will never see the righteous forsaken. We will never beg bread, or lack clothing and shelter. Ever. He will supply our needs. Always. There's no other way to interpret those verses. 

But we don't ignore money either. God calls us to steward it faithfully. This may mean that we start saving for a home. Or that we max out our 401k. In fact, it will mean countless individual things as God directs us. But we act from a position of trust. A firm understanding that the "buck doesn't stop" with us to provide for our financial future. Ultimately, the weight of our welfare rests solely on our Heavenly Father.

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Helpful? I hope. This post is the first in a new series called 'topics you've asked for.' Trust me, these topics are much harder than the little ones that dawn on my own brain. But look for more in this series as the weeks continue. And, as every once upon a time must end...

Live happily ever after. 

Beth