The Secret to Joy in Singleness

The Secret to Joy in Singleness

The secret to remaining joyful in the face of singleness or failures or any kind of adversity is this, simple and profound, it is our faith—our confidence and assurance that He is there in the boat of life with us, just as he was in the storm with the Disciples (Matthew 8:23-27).

Jesus will not let the boat capsize. But, even if it did, He is still there. If you want your life to have more meaning and propose, we need to focus on our relationship to God as His child and our service to Him. We need not seek our own needs and expectations, or focus on our past failings and loss, but trust in Christ; our efforts will please Him. He has a future for you; He has a purpose for us, single or married, divorced or bankrupt or successful and lost. Our Lord knows your situation and you better than we could ever know. From this knowledge comes the promise of a future that is in y best interest as well as His, so we should trust and obey with a joyful attitude. By keeping alert to where our focus must lie, and keeping it from where it does not belong, our life will flourish, and our fear of failure or loss will be eradicated.

How do I do this?

We are to seek God through prayer, relating to Him all our needs and desires and asking that He bring our friends and acquaintances to spiritual renewal. We must be willing to take the initiative by bringing Christ's message, into our hearts and minds first and by care and with prayer. Do not fear and do not allow others to put you down or miss out on life's greatest gift and adventure because your fear is in the way!

Ask yourself, what I am seeking in and from life? Is it a show or a person or The Person, is it the veracity of His Word, Christ's transforming work that dissolves our loss, pride, fears and then creates our character, and builds our faith and maturity so we become more viable to others faith and ministry?

Fear will stop us like an old railroad snake. A railroad snake was the biggest problem with early rail travel in the nineteenth century and caused the most rail accidents and took the most lives. The railroad tracks then were made of a type of “pig iron” and after too many trains ran on it, the rails would unexpectedly curl up like a paper ribbon. Then a train will come up and be unable to stop in time and the curled-up rail, the rail snake, would cut off the wheels of the locomotive, then cut into the fragile wooden coaches turning them over the coal stoves, burning the passengers to death as they were pinned inside. One, seemingly small piece of iron weighing a couple hundred pounds stopped a 40-ton locomotive with devastating results. Will you let fear, a small insignificant aspect of your will as compared the all-encompassing omniscience and omnipotence love of our Lord, stop you? In the latter part of the nineteenth century, the “pig iron” rails were exchanged for steel rails and the rail snakes ceased.

Our faith must be steel, as was the faith of Abraham; then nothing earthly can derail us. We will be a contagious Christian displaying the real wonder of being communicable to others for Christ. A show or pretence, in faith or with words, will do nothing to create real, authentic faith. This is why we must be authentic and real with the Fruit of the Spirit pouring into and out of us.

Is this just too hard to do?

No, but we will fail; I still do. I still struggle with my fears. But remember, we have Grace! Praise God when we do fail, as long as we are obedient to the best of our ability and willing to grow and improve. But, we must not allow ourselves to become prideful, lazy, or conceited in our outlook toward others or become disillusioned and fearful because what we expect has not come about. This thinking is straight from another source other than the Bible and God's call. Satan does not want us to discover our gifts or our opportunities; he wants us in dysfunction and despair so we ignore our responsibility and nurture of one another. He does not want us to witness or build healthy relationships; he wants us to be controlled by our fears!

Praise the LORD. Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who finds great delight in his commands. Psalm 112:1

The goal of the Christian life is our wondrous fear of and friendship with Christ! This gives us true joy and contentment! We start with Him and we end well with Him. We are to receive His promise, to know and pursue Him. He is the One we are to follow, not the ways of distraction and destruction. This is the wonder of simplicity that is to fulfill and sustain us. Our value and worth are real and depend only on who we are in Christ. You are wonderfully made, and made to proclaim Him. You are to embrace His love and let it flow to others from your “rooftop.” This is whom we are, our identity that will keep us firm in Him. We will be able to grow in times of suffering, waiting, and confusion. It is when we experience darkness and confusion in our lives that it is time to listen to our Lord, and to learn and to grow from the darkness. Then, when the Light comes and takes us out of the darkness, we can proclaim what we have learned.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6

The secret to remaining joyful is the faith we build up in Christ!

© 1993 From Discipleship Tools www.discipleshiptools.org/