Singleness for the Glory of God

This past week I went to a biblical counseling conference put on by the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors (ACBC).  I went to a session by Kristen Clark and Bethany Baird, who are two sisters from the website https://www.girldefined.com/ The session they did was called Help and hope for the single woman longing for marriage.  This is something I have thought about a lot.  It is my desire to get married and to have a husband I can serve God with.  I tend to go back and forth between contentment in singleness and strongly desiring to have a husband.  When I went to the session that Kristen and Bethany did it encouraged me and helped me to redirect my focus to where it should be which is on God and becoming a woman that pleases God.

One thing that they said during the session was, "Marriage is a good thing.  Desiring to be married for God's Glory is a good thing but when it becomes an idol that is when it becomes a problem."  From listening to them speak it reminded me that I don't have to be married to be satisfied but that I can find complete satisfaction in Christ now as a single woman.  They also reminded me that whether I am single or married my life's purpose is to glorify God.  I should view my purpose now as a single woman as the same as if I were a married woman and that is to glorify God with my life.  One thing they said during the session is that I can be praying and asking God right now how I can use my time as a single woman to serve Christ.  Whether single or married my goal should be to strive for holiness and to be serving Christ with all I am.

 Lastly one thing they reminded me of is whether I am single or married God is good and His intentions are good.  We are not promised that we will be married.  To be single can be better than to be married sometimes anyways.  That is what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 7:32-35, "But I want youto be free from concern.  One who is unmarried is concerned about the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord; but one who is married is concerned about the things of the world, how he may please his wife, and his interests are divided.  The woman who is unmarried, and the virgin, is concerned about the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body in spirit; but one who is married is concerned about the things of the world, how she may please her husband.  This I say to you for your own benefit; not to put a restraint upon you, but to promote what is appropriate and to secure undistracted devotion to the Lord."

Whether we are married or single let us encourage each other in the Lord to love God more and to know Him more.  As my mentor has told me to know God is to love God and the more we know Him the more we will want to know Him, and the more we love Him the more we will want to love Him! So let us spend time getting to know God, loving God and serving Him with all our mind, body, and soul! Whether single or married may our lives be for the glory of God!!