Each Sunday my Pastor breaks his message down and gives us 3 significant points to reflect upon. In this message, he spoke on Luke 18:1-8, titled Adversary Avenged. I do encourage you to read these verses for your own understanding. And, if you’d like to listen to his message in its entirety, I’ll include the YouTube link at the end of the blog. Just copy and paste into your browser; you won’t be disappointed. In the meantime, I’d like to give an example of how the scriptural context can relate to a season of singleness.
As I sat in church listening to my Pastor, and mentor, he spoke about the adversary and how the adversary can be anyone like a parent, sibling, adult child, close friend, or ourselves. I’m sure we can all relate to feeling disappointed, hurt, or possibly troubled after being in deep conflict, or opposition, with someone we love and considered very close. I’ve been there, but it can be even more troubling when we’re in opposition with ourselves.
You see, God has given me the gift of wisdom and it is a true blessing. However, doing what’s right, in certain instances, doesn’t always feel good. It’s a constant battle with my flesh versus what will give me the best outcome according to God’s will and not my own. If you’re anything like me, when things aren’t happening on my timeline, I tend to want to take control making things so much harder than they must be. That impatience causes me to stray outside of God’s will becoming my own adversary and worst enemy.
Perfect example: Have you ever met someone that comes with ‘loose ends?’ Perhaps they are legally separated, but not yet divorced, or ending a relationship. Either way, they haven’t completely severed ties, nor have they done the necessary work for healing. We all know those type scenarios can come with too much drama and even more unanswered questions. Yet, our impatience can cause us to compromise as we start romanticizing what could be versus what is. This is how we can become our own worst enemy.
It may be a no brainer to some, but when we are feeling weakened, we allow our loneliness and impatience to take over. This can cause us to step outside of God’s will as we start to rationalize what God didn’t ordain. This brings me to his first point.
God will make right the wrongs done to us (even when we do it to ourselves). The widow’s adversary, in Luke 18, didn’t stand a chance because she had unwavering faith that she would be avenged and was persistent in prayer, which are key. And, the same goes for us. Even when we get frustrated, and decide to take things into our own hands, God will avenge us of ourselves. There is no peace when we start things in the flesh or stray outside of God’s will. It’s a constant state of anxiety and a struggle to find balance along with the consequences of our actions, like unnecessary hurt, pain and drama. However, when we have faith that God’s plan is better than anything we can imagine, surrender to the guidance of the Holy Spirit and are persistent in prayer, God will bring His plan to fruition even when we’re our own adversary.
Second, a delay is not a reason to give up. When, not if, the disappointment hits, we start to feel as if we’ll be single forever. “Father, why couldn’t this be the one? Why am I still waiting?” We start to wallow in our uncertainty and loneliness. And, as my Pastor stated, this is not the time to throw in the towel and lose sight of your why, which led to his third point.
Allow the disappointments to drive you to the next level. God has a purpose for our lives, and it’s so important to continue working on the vision He’s given us. So, take this opportunity to empower yourself by surrendering for sanity as you lean further into your faith allowing the Holy Spirit to guide you. And, take the guesswork out of what to do next when God says not yet!
Remember, always welcome God’s presence, and accept the things he allows even when it’s not what we want. If it doesn’t line up with God’s word, don’t overthink things by putting yourself in the position to go through unnecessary heartache, pain, and drama. God is not the author of confusion, He’s a God of love and peace.
MAXIMIZE YOUR SEASON OF SINGLENESS!
Angelia Denise,
Master Life Coach
Website: www.surrenderforsanity.com
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmveL30Eycc
(copy and paste the link, above, into your browser to go straight to the message. Or, you can search for Enoch Baptist Church Virginia Beach, Dr. Michael G. Daniels, Pastor)