More Than Enough

I am still continuing with Leslie Ludy's amazing book, and I am learning more and more each day of the importance of sacrificing all my dreams, hopes, and desires to my Lord and King, who can satisfy my every need. I am finding and enjoying the numerous opportunities, yes, opportunities, of my singleness. This is even more time for me to focus on the Lord. And after one of the most difficult years of my life, I cannot think of a better way to spend my summer. There is so much I owe to Him; so many ways in which I shamed Him this year. And not just this year- each thing I do is unworthy of what I try to bring to Him. And He is willing to fulfill me anyways! What a Savior! I am created with a void that only Jesus is meant to fill! And thank goodness He doesn't give up on me!

Chapter six is called "Giving God a Hand." "It is far better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man," reads Psalm 118:8. "Some trust in chariots and some in horses; but we will remember the name of the Lord our God," reads Psalm 20:7. Often women feel that marriage is a game of "survival of the fittest" and that all the good men have been claimed; and those who guard their feminine mystique and focus on Christ are left int he dust. Modern voices and Satan's knowing us as well as anything else make this spiritual battle even more difficult. Another lie is that getting married isn't something that's "nice if it happens." It's something that a majority of women are called to actually pursue. But even Jesus, Who was sent by the Father, awaited for the Lord to tell Him what to do and when. He was certainly not helpless. He just deliberately chose to be dependent upon His Father in heaven. Ludy tells us that we're not actually supposed to pursue marriage! We're supposed to pursue "righteousness, faith, love, and peace," as is written in 2 Timothy 2:22. "When Paul talks about single young women, he says, 'The unmarried woman cares about the things of the Lord, that she may be holy in both body and spirit,' not 'The unmarried woman is called to pursue marriage.' Nowhere in Scripture are we called to actually pursue marriage itself!" I think this is such a great approach. Our thoughts are that we'll "help" God along with what we think He's calling us to, and we'll just have Him place a stamp of APPROVED or DENIED once we're done. WRONG! Reading through Ruth, or even knowing a glimpse of her story, is such a good example of a woman who, after becoming a widow, gave up everything in her life for the sake of Naomi and following the Lord Jesus in life. Eventually Christ DID BLESS HER because of her obedience. Watch. Pray. Listen. Obey. Sit back, relax, and wonder as God does His amazing work.

Chapter seven is called "Marriage Above Else: Exploring the Issue of Idolatry." Ludy writes that contemporaries state that because marriage is God-given, it cannot become an idol in life. WRONG again! Idolatry is not simply anything made of gold or silver or ivory or even wood. It does not mean bowing down to the plastic figures on a wedding cake. It means "She went after her lovers (or ANYTHING else), but Me she forgot" says the Lord in Hosea 2:13. So the desire to get married is not an idol in a young woman's life, but the obsession with getting married above God's will is. G.D. Watson states that quite nicely: "When you are so possessed with the Loving God that you are, in your secret heart, pleased and delighted over His particular personal, private, and jealous guardianship over your life, you will have found the vestibule of heaven." Amen, man, Amen. Elisabeth Elliot also has the right idea: "A good and perfect gift, natural desires are. But so much more the necessary they be restrained, controlled, even crucified, that they might be reborn in power and purity for God." That is so powerful! And why is it so hard to give God everything we have in that way? Psalm 16:8 says, "I have the set the Lord ALWAYS before me. Because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved." But we are. By the littlest, most unimportant things in life.

Chapter eight ("Doesn't God Want Me to Be Happy: Understanding God's Heart for Singleness") writes about self-denial and self-fulfillment. Lies are that singleness cannot possibly be a gift because God never intends for us to be unhappy or miserable. Again, wrong. Hurrying up and "getting married already" is a selfish desire. It is self-fulfillment. Jesus NEVER said, "Surely I refuse to be crucified on the cross. That sounds miserable. God doesn't want that for me, He's crazy! Death is a curse and a shame!" Rather He endured the cross and death for me. And may I never, ever seek the benefits of Christ without the cross. "The way is narrow, rocky, and painful. But it is the same road Jesus walked, and I delight to follow in His steps."