The Gift of Singleness

I listen to a Christian speaker on the radio named Nancy Leigh DeMoss. The local radio station which I tune into to hear her is 104.7 WFRN in Elkhart, IN. I love her heart for God! In fact,
one of my favorite quotes was taken from Nancy; Life is tough, but God is faithful!

Anyways, I had my earphones in at work today and her program "Revive Our Hearts" happened to be on the radio. Today she briefly mentioned the fact that she is single. I have listened to her for over a year now and never knew this fact about her. So, tonight I decided to find her website. The website is reviveourhearts.com. I found the transcripts from an interview she did with Carolyn McCulley (another single woman) on 6/25/07. I LOVE what Carolyn says about Singleness! It really puts things into perspective:

Carolyn McCulley: We’re not going to get to Heaven and have the Lord look at us and say, “Great! You finally flapped over the finish line of marriage. I’m so proud of you!”It’s going to be irrelevant. What we’re going to be commended for is whether or not we faithfully stewarded what He gave us. That is why we’re going to hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” It’s not going to be because we did or we did not get married. That is a short gift for this age, and it will not be repeated again in Heaven. While our church is rightly swimming against the culture in reclaiming the high value of marriage—in promoting the high value of marriage within in churches—we singles need to remember, that is just one avenue the Lord uses in glorifying Himself and in sanctifying us and conforming us to the image of His Son.

Here is are more words from Carolyn McCulley:

"If God is sovereign and in control of our lives, His purpose and plan is being worked out. If that is true, then my singleness is not an accident, and my singleness is not without purpose."

".....But if your focus is on glorifying God and building up His church and seeing the gospel advanced—and those are big phrases, and they are big concepts, and they’re hard to break down. But on a day to day basis, the Lord brings people across your path who need to be encouraged and served and loved. When your focus is there, then the desire for being married is diminished just a little bit because you’re finding fulfillment in God’s purpose and these other relationships. "

This was also on Nancy's website. She is not sure where she found it, but it's an awesome declaration.

Declaration of Acceptance and Surrender

God is my Heavenly Father. He is the all-wise One who controls all things. His essence is love and His desire is for my good. Since He is loving enough to desire only good for me, wise enough to plan just what is best, and powerful enough to accomplish what His love and goodness have planned, how can I lack any good thing?

It is to Him that I make unconditional surrender of all that I am and all that I have. I belong to Him. Especially do I now present to Him all my normal desires to be married and to have a husband and family, realizing that He knows what is best for my life. I acknowledge that God has met my needs in the past and has taken care of me thus far without the benefits and enjoyment of a husband. I fully accept the fact that I am single as God's will for me at this point in my life, realizing it is for my good and for His glory.

Therefore, I yield to God my right to be married. He will not "withhold any good thing from me," and if He does not give me the gift of marriage, I will know that He has a higher purpose in mind.
I further acknowledge that my future belongs to God. I trust His wisdom, knowing that His plan for my life will be the most fulfilling to me and pleasing to Him. I purpose to seek fulfillment in Him alone, realizing that He is able to meet and control my desires--spiritual, emotional, and physical. I also purpose to refuse any thoughts of self-pity, jealousy, or resentment which could creep in when I do not understand His way with me now or His intention for the future.

"Lord, I make this declaration before you. I need your help to be true to this commitment and to make me immediately aware of the slightest deviation. Help yourself to my life--giving or withholding marriage--whatever you choose. Thank you for being good and trustworthy. Thank you for your love for me and for your good purpose for my life. In Jesus' name, Amen."

--Source Unknown

So, how do I personally know that I have the gift of Singleness? Well, because this is the gift God has given me for this season of my life. There are many blessings and challenges in the life of a single person, and there are many blessings and challenges in the life of a married person. I just know that I want to put God's will for my life above my own will for my life. He knows what's best for me. So, whether single or married, I just want to do His will and bring glory to Him.