Text: Jeremiah 31:3-4
Recently, I was asked "why are you single?" Instead of giving him the death stare and the full-out long story. I simply said "the Lord knows what I need now is my maker and not a mate". It took a while for me to understand my reason for my singleness, but I am glad that I did. You see currently I am single because my heart isn't ready to receive such a blessing. This minor pause is my protection! The lord is allowing me to become whole again in order to be filled with his love. I mean how can I, at this moment, be a partner for someone when I am just becoming acquainted with who I am. It wasn't until recently where I realized my strengths and weaknesses. Although, I have so much growing to do I know that whatever is meant for me will never pass me.
You see the enemy will try to get you to stress about your relationships and whether you will meet that special person. He knows if he can get you to worry about the future, it robs the power of what God wants to do in you today. The power you need is not in what God has done in the past, though you should certainly celebrate that. It is also not in what you hope God will do in the future, though you can have confidence in that. The true power is what God, through Christ, wants you to become in the here and now. The more I started to dwell on the things the lord has yet to provide me, the more I forget about the things in which he has already given. I was forgetting all of the blessing the lord has bestowed upon me and during my singleness I became reacquainted with them. I finally understand that you can’t control the people who come into your life and how they respond to you, but you can control how you invest in becoming the person God wants you to be. I am currently focusing on me and where the lord wants to take me. Although, this journey has had its ups and downs I wouldn't change it for the world, because I have faith and confidence that what the Lord has promised me is coming.
Emi Valerio | Blog
May 14, 2017
May 7, 2017
The Purpose of Singleness Devotional: Week 1
Text: 1 Corinthians 7:34
What’s the point of singleness, anyway? I remember pondering this one night, not with any resentment towards God, but just with a genuine wonder as to why I was single. Through the prompting of the Spirit, I found that to answer this question, I had to embrace why I lived… We are made by God, and called to know and live for God. Yes, we know that not everyone lives for Him but this was His intention for mankind from the beginning: that men and women would glorify Him (see Isaiah 43:7). He is to be our purpose on earth. Once grasping this truth, it is much easier to navigate our single years, as well as understand their purpose: a time to serve Christ without reserve. 1 Corinthians 7:34 gives a very clear picture on what we are to do in singleness: “The unmarried woman cares about the things of the Lord.” I believe then that the purpose for being single is to obsessively tend to the things of Jesus and the ministry of the Gospel – to use this “free” season to serve Him undividedly in ways that we’d be unable to do in another season of our life. This is not to say that if were to get married later on that we would be unable to care about the things of the Lord or be unable to serve Him wholeheartedly (don’t misunderstand, ladies!). Married women are called to do the same, only in a differently focused way (i.e. a helpmeet to a husband). But the specialness about singleness is that we are God’s direct helpmeet – His very work is our own responsibility, and we are free to do it without limitations. An example of this is Amy Carmichael, a single Irishwoman who moved to India to be a missionary. She was entirely free to do God’s work that maybe others (wives and mothers) couldn’t do necessarily in their own God-given callings. But there came a point when Amy could no longer travel and preach the Gospel as she used to. Why? Because Amy became a “mother” to eight girls whom she rescued from Indian temples and her responsibility suddenly shifted from the radical work of a missionary to the simplicity of being “mother” to her adopted daughters. It wasn’t that Amy no longer cared for Jesus or ministering the Gospel; she did, but in a focused position to caring for these girls as He had called her to. We should remember this concept when considering the purpose of our singleness. Because we don’t yet carry the godly responsibility of marriage and motherhood, we are free, and should all the more seek to sacrificially pour out our lives into the work that wives and mothers are unable to do. This is what singleness in Jesus is all about: it’s being free from vocation but free enough for the ministry of Christ without distraction.
What’s the point of singleness, anyway? I remember pondering this one night, not with any resentment towards God, but just with a genuine wonder as to why I was single. Through the prompting of the Spirit, I found that to answer this question, I had to embrace why I lived… We are made by God, and called to know and live for God. Yes, we know that not everyone lives for Him but this was His intention for mankind from the beginning: that men and women would glorify Him (see Isaiah 43:7). He is to be our purpose on earth. Once grasping this truth, it is much easier to navigate our single years, as well as understand their purpose: a time to serve Christ without reserve. 1 Corinthians 7:34 gives a very clear picture on what we are to do in singleness: “The unmarried woman cares about the things of the Lord.” I believe then that the purpose for being single is to obsessively tend to the things of Jesus and the ministry of the Gospel – to use this “free” season to serve Him undividedly in ways that we’d be unable to do in another season of our life. This is not to say that if were to get married later on that we would be unable to care about the things of the Lord or be unable to serve Him wholeheartedly (don’t misunderstand, ladies!). Married women are called to do the same, only in a differently focused way (i.e. a helpmeet to a husband). But the specialness about singleness is that we are God’s direct helpmeet – His very work is our own responsibility, and we are free to do it without limitations. An example of this is Amy Carmichael, a single Irishwoman who moved to India to be a missionary. She was entirely free to do God’s work that maybe others (wives and mothers) couldn’t do necessarily in their own God-given callings. But there came a point when Amy could no longer travel and preach the Gospel as she used to. Why? Because Amy became a “mother” to eight girls whom she rescued from Indian temples and her responsibility suddenly shifted from the radical work of a missionary to the simplicity of being “mother” to her adopted daughters. It wasn’t that Amy no longer cared for Jesus or ministering the Gospel; she did, but in a focused position to caring for these girls as He had called her to. We should remember this concept when considering the purpose of our singleness. Because we don’t yet carry the godly responsibility of marriage and motherhood, we are free, and should all the more seek to sacrificially pour out our lives into the work that wives and mothers are unable to do. This is what singleness in Jesus is all about: it’s being free from vocation but free enough for the ministry of Christ without distraction.
March 12, 2017
So You Think You've Met The One, Now What?
SO YOU THINK YOU'VE MET THE ONE, NOW WHAT?
What a loaded question?! Now, this is primarily for those who are single, dating and even courting however, you married ladies can still take away some nuggets of truth. I absolutely love the power of books, blogs, articles, seminars, conferences etc. but I also believe they’re more impactful when practical instructions are offered on how to implement the wisdom being conferred. With that being said, the three points below are my offerings to you on tips and revelations that have worked for me whether you anticipate meeting the one, you’ve already met the one, or you’re already married to the one.
1. Pray boldly
By boldly I mean: direct, sincere and grand! One of my favorite quotes comes from “The Circle Maker” by Mark Batterson and it’s so simple yet so profound: ‘God honors bold prayers because bold prayers honor God.’ (see: John 14:14)
March 5, 2017
How to Maximize Your Singleness Devotional: Week 7
Text: Isaiah 40:31
Bernie Muinga | Blog
“A gentleman always knows when.” Those are the words my first lady shared with me that put my heart so at ease it shocked me for a second. That was a major a-ha moment for me after such a powerful morning service where pastor had preached such a powerful word on knowing your purpose and surrendering your will totally to the Lord. I mean it’s not a new topic (I mean what is discussed more than purpose and relationships?) so you might wonder why the excitement. However, the best thing about serving a living God and having access to His living Word is the same scriptures and topics always bring new revelations; the Word only gets better and your knowledge can only get deeper.
Anyway, we were chit chatting about my relationship status and my interest in a certain someone who was taking his sweet time to begin our courtship *wink wink* and this was her response. So short yet so sweet. And soothing; calming to my soul. I needed that. This was around the time i was so high strung on relationship talk, prayers, blogs, devotions, books, pinterest boards, seminars, workshops, you name it! Nothing wrong with preparing my heart for a spouse and learning to appreciate my singleness but my level of obsession needed a chill pill but I had no clue about that!
What I came to learn was that he was moving according to the will of God and me trying to rush ahead of him and especially of God, introduces an opportunity for disobedience.
Side bar: Let’s be conscious of how our “innocent intentions” set others up to sin and fall short of the glory of God. A good thing isn’t necessarily always a God thing. Chew on that for a minute; Selah.
Then we blame God or drift away from Him while blaming Him for the outcomes of our impatience. He never asked for our help with anything except “go ye therefore into all the earth.…” And even then, He wasn’t asking for help as in ‘I can’t do this on my own’ more like ‘come partake in my awesomeness.’
So take heart. God knows when and your mister will know when too! You don’t need to help God or to help your crush to respond. Trust that God has you hidden until he says “when.” Right now, God is crushing on you and waiting for you to look up and notice how much he loves you and longs to be in a more intimate relationship with you. when will YOU make a move towards Him?
Bernie Muinga | Blog