Being single is not something I would ever have chosen for myself, but it is what the Lord has given me so far. Looking back over the years, I can see how He has used singleness as one of the most instrumental factors in teaching me and building my relationship with Him. Even though I don’t always feel like it, when I stop to remember the Lord’s goodness and to think on His truth, I am honestly thankful for God’s gift of singlenss. He has done so much good to me through it.
For a long time, I had wanted to write about the things that the Lord has taught me through my singleness, but initially I could never seem to get anywhere. And then it seemed like there were plenty of good books on the topic already, anyway, so why bother? And more recently, I wondered if it were even appropriate to write specifically regarding singleness (a) since the majority of passages that have helped me are addressed to a much broader audience, and (b) because I wonder how helpful it really is to single out unmarried people from the rest of the Church on a regular basis. (I suspect that what married and unmarried believers have in common is far more substantial than the circumstances that differentiate us.)
Still, there are times when encouragement from someone who has gone through difficulties similar to the ones that we are facing means more than if it comes from just any person. Perhaps what I have learned might help someone else.
And in the end, 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 has won out:
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”
According to these verses, part of the reason that God gives us comfort in our afflictions is so that we can share that comfort with others. It would be wrong for me not to share the comfort the Lord has given me.
My prayer in writing on the topic of singleness is that it would be an encouragement both to other single women and also to married women with single friends. The Lord Jesus is truly sufficient in all things. May we all seek to live gratefully in the place where He has put us. ❤
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Gratefully His 