Do You Love AND Trust Him?

It’s possible to be in a relationship with someone and love him, but not trust him.  Especially if that trust has been violated, such as in the case of adultery within a marriage or even a dating relationship where someone has not been totally honest in certain situations.

A lot of times, when it comes to people, trust has to be earned.  And in the case of an affair, trust has to be restored.  Why?  Because people are imperfect, and people make mistakes.
However, I know a man who IS Perfect, and never makes mistakes, and His name is Jesus.  This man is the author of love, the author and finisher of our faith, He’s all that and more,  however in knowing all this, how many of us can truly say that we both love AND trust this man?

God has not given you any reason to doubt His love or faithfulness towards you.  He is not a man that He should lie.  He can’t lie, because satan is the author of lies but God is the founder of truth.

His love is unconditional and unwavering, so why is it that many of us, singles, say we love God with our lives, and even our lifestyles, but when it comes to trusting God to send us the mate that He has for us we sometimes lose faith, lose hope, or doubt that it will ever happen for us?

One minute we’re up, praising God and getting our shout on about how good He is and how Boaz is right around the corner, and the next minute we’re down, wondering when and if it’ll ever really happen for us.

God said He will give you the desires of your heart, and a lot of time a desire to marry has been placed in your heart by God.  He said all His promises are yea and in him amen, and He promised that you and your seed will be blessed.  God has not left you out of the equation, and He sees your tears and knows your heart.  You just have to hold on, trust God and keep believing and don’t give up hope that there is a man out there for you.

So I want to encourage you today to not just love God, but also trust Him.  Why, because He’s God, He’s Perfect, and His Word is true.  Be consistent and steadfast in your faith, and stay built up by the Word of God so as to not give the enemy any room to cause doubt, and know that I love you with the love of the Lord as we run this race together.

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.  In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
Proverbs 3:5-6

Other Scripture References:
2 Corinthians 1:20
Numbers 23:19
1 Corinthians 15:58
Psalm 37:4

Kim Brooks, author of, How To Date and Stay Saved, and, He's Fine...But is He Saved? www.kimontheweb.com

Don't Get Caught up in the HOW!

A lot of times, when we’re believing God for a mate, we get caught up in the “How” of
it all. You know what I mean, it’s been a while and you’re like, “Lord, I know you’re
going to bless me with a mate, but HOW will you do it?”

You can’t quite figure it out so you find yourself sitting in the same area where a
certain single brother at church normally sits, or you may even move to another city
or change careers because you figure, “There must not be any good men where I am
anyway – maybe my mate is in this new city.”

During my morning devotional time with the Lord, I read about the man with an infirmity
for 38 years at the pool of Bethesda (John 5:1-9). Day in and day out, for years and
years this man had lain at this pool, and eventually grew deeply discouraged.
You see, at a certain time the angels would trouble the waters, and the first person to
get in after the waters were troubled got healed. The man figured he would never make
it in first because he didn’t have any one to carry him to the pool, so by the time he
finally made it down himself someone else already received their healing. Jesus noticed
the man and asked him if he would be made whole, and the man proceeded to tell Jesus
his sob story about why he would never get healed because he didn’t have anyone to
help him down the steps.

He was so focused on the methodology, or the “how” of it all, that he failed to realize
that he was talking to the Healer himself! Jesus next told the man to arise, take up
his bed and walk – he did and received his healing!

Just like the man at the pool of Bethesda, some of us worry ourselves and grow deeply
discouraged while trying to figure out how God is going to send us our mates.

Instead of focusing on the “how,” focus on trusting God while knowing that He will bring
all the desires of your heart to pass in due season for your life.

Hold fast to your profession of faith, allow God to order your steps, remain faithful
to Him, and let God hook you up!

Scripture References:

Delight thyself also in the Lord:  and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
Psalm 37:4

Let us hold fast to the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful
that promised;)
Hebrews 10:23

The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord:  and he delighteth in his way.
Psalm 37:23

Lord, Why Am I Still Single?

Some single Christians struggle with the fact that they’re still single. No, I’m not
talking about when you’re at church, shouting and praising God along with everybody
else, and as soon as someone asks you how you’re doing you say, with a wide smile,
“Blessed and highly favored and empowered to power!” No, I’m talking about later on
that night, when you’re in your house or apartment and you long to hear another voice
in the room, so you turn on the T.V. or radio because you want to hear something,
anything, besides your own voice speaking to you. I’m talking about as it gets later
and later and you check your cell phone to make sure it’s still on and you notice
no one has called you all day. I’m talking about when you lay in bed, staring at the
wall, wishing that the pillow you grip was a warm body to hold – then you roll over
on your back and ask God, “Why, Why, WHY Lord am I still single?” Suddenly feelings of
loneliness overtake you as tears roll down your cheeks as you’ve just accepted the
invitation to your very own, first class, pity party.

Know this, single believer, God doesn’t like to see you cry. He sent Jesus so that you
might have joy, and that your joy might be full. He sees You crying at night, and He
longs to hold you in His loving arms and say, “My child, you are not alone. I AM with you.
I AM is here. I will never leave You nor forsake you. Am I not enough?”

There is nothing wrong with desiring a mate. In fact, Psalm 37:4 lets us know that God
gives us the desires of our heart as we delight ourselves in Him. We can stand on this
Word; however, God doesn’t want our desire to become a want, or a care. The Lord is our
Shepherd; we shall not want. God gives us everything we desire and then some, as He has
freely given us all things to enjoy, and everything that pertains to life and godliness.

So if you experience nights where you cry yourself to sleep, questioning God, and
taking on thoughts such as, “Why am I still single?” “What’s wrong with me?” and
witness others around you getting married left and right and then you say to yourself,
“When is it going to be my turn, Lord?” and “Have you forgotten about me down here,
Lord? Hello! I would like to be married and have a family one day, too!” If you
consistently struggle with such internal turmoil, then this proves that you have
not totally surrendered your desire for a mate over to God.

Instead, you have taken on the care, when God admonishes us to cast our cares on Him – Why?
- because He truly cares for us. He loves us so much that He wants what’s best for us.
He wants us to be happy more than we, ourselves, want to be happy. But He first wants us
to be happy in Him.

He wants to be the source and center of our joy, not someone else.

He wants to bless you with a mate, if you so desire, in His season for your life. He knows
what’s best; you just have to trust Him.

If we truly ask God to order our steps, not necessarily so we can bump into our mates
but so that we can be led by God and fulfill the perfect will of God for our lives,
then we have to trust God that He hears and honors our prayers, and we have to stand
in faith on His Word.

This is not to suggest that we use this “waiting period” to sit idly by. No, we can
use this time to cultivate our relationship with God and pursue the purpose that God
has for our lives, and we can develop the fruits of the spirit within us which make
us become better, more Spirit-led Christians and not flesh-ruled Christians – fruits
of the spirit such as love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
meekness, and temperance, and we can also use this time to develop ourselves not
just spiritually but emotionally, physically, and financially.

Instead of focusing so much on what we can get out of a relationship, we can focus on
what we could bring to a relationship, in order to be a blessing to that other person.

And we can do all these things with joy while enjoying our time with Jesus and our
fellowship with Him and other believers who motivate and encourage us to become the
best we can be in Christ, while still believing God for a mate, and rejoicing with
those who rejoice, such as other brothers and sisters in Christ whom God has
blessed with a mate, or as I like to call it, a permanent boo.

Now repeat this prayer confession out loud:

“Lord, I surrender my desire for a mate to You. I trust that You order my steps, and
that the manifestation of my desire will come to pass in Your season for my life, and
not according to my calculated timetable. I cast this care on You right now, Lord,
because I know that You care for Me, and that You know what’s best for me. I use this
time to grow in my relationship with You, seek Your face daily, and practice the
presence of God in everything I say and do. I present my body as a living sacrifice,
holy and acceptable unto you. I am careful for nothing but in every thing by prayer
and supplication with thanksgiving, I let my requests be made known unto You and You
promise that the peace of God which passes all understanding shall keep my heart and
mind through Christ Jesus. So my heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord. You are my
reward, and in You I live, move, and have my being, and in your presence there is joy,
unspeakable joy and full of glory. So I bid goodbye to every pity party in the
Name of Jesus. No longer will I take on that care; I will instead speak to my soul
and encourage my soul to hope thou in God, and I will stand on your Word and walk
by faith and not by sight. More importantly, I desire to do your will and walk in
Your purpose and plan for my life, and I will fulfill my destiny in You,
in Jesus’ Name, Amen!”

Scripture References:
John 15:11 Mark 11:22
Hebrews 13:5 Galatians 5:22-23
Psalm 37:4 Romans 12:1
Psalm 23:1 Philippians 4:6-7
Romans 8:32 Psalm 112:7
1 Peter 5:7 Acts 17:28
Ecclesiastes 3:1 1 Peter 1:8
Romans 12:15 Psalm 42:5
Psalm 119:133 2 Corinthians 5:7
1 John 5:14-15 Jeremiah 29:11

Don't Go There With Your Mind

When it comes to the things of God and the desire for a mate, some of us want one like
yesterday. And when days, months, and sometimes years go by with not even a prospect
in sight, we begin to question God by asking,

“Why, Lord, why?”

“Why am I not married yet?”

“Why hasn’t this dream of mine been fulfilled yet?”

“Why is she married and You know they ain’t even livin’ right?”

Sometimes, in our minds, we have a tendency to compare ourselves to others who have
gotten married and wonder what’s wrong with us. Some get so caught up on focusing on
other people who have gotten married around them that they being to covet marriage -
not the perfect will of God for their lives – but just someone they can call, “husband.”

The word, “covet” in Webster’s 1828 Dictionary means: to have an inordinate desire, or
an irregular, disorderly, excessive, and immoderate desire. Anything, or anyone who
is desired more than God and His perfect will for our lives could become an idol,
and could take our focus away from pleasing God.

The next question some of us wrestle with and ask God in our minds is, “How, Lord?”

“How will you bring this to pass?”

“How will I meet and marry a good man of God when society tells me that the good ones
are already married, and most of the single ones are either gay or in jail?”

“How will you make this happen for me Lord?”

When, in actually, we, as singles, need not worry about the “how,” because it’s God who
makes good things happen for our lives when we live for and serve Him, and it’s God
who opens doors, and if we believe that He orders our steps, then it is God who will
do the leading and guiding – in due season.

Which brings me to the next question we sometimes ask God, “When Lord, when?”

Some of us have been single so long that we wonder if God has forgotten about us, and
some have given up any hope of ever getting married. If marriage is a desire of your
heart, and you’re willing to surrender and deliver yourself from the, “it’s all about
‘me’ world” to the, “it’s all about ‘we’ world,” then God will fulfill that desire in
due season. The Word of God says in Romans 8:25, But if we hope for that we see not,
then do we with patience wait for it.

So the next time the urge comes to have a pity party one night where you would cry out
to God asking Him, “Why, Lord, why?” “How, Lord, how?” and “When, Lord, when?” Don’t
allow your mind to go there. Instead keep your mind stayed on Jesus, as Isaiah 26:3
suggests, and God promises to keep you in perfect peace.

Allow God to consistently renew your mind and stay focused on Him by reading parts of
His love letter called the Bible to you on a daily basis.

Instead of worrying about “Why?”, “How?”, and “When?”, instead say

“Yes, Lord.”

Yes to Your will, and yes to Your way.

and, “What Lord?”

What will you have me to do for You?

What can I do to bring glory to your Name?

What is my purpose, and what do I need to do to walk in your perfect will for my life?

and, “Thank You Lord.”

There is no way anyone can remain down in the dumps if they keep an attitude of
gratitude, thanking God for His many blessings, and loving on Him for loving you.
And once we truly get a hold of His love for us, and how wants what’s best for us
more than we do ourselves, then our souls can truly remain in perfect peace as we
keep our minds stayed on Him.