When I get bored with whatever playlist I'm currently listening to, I typically put my iPod on shuffle of all my songs. I've also decided to have a rule that when a semon comes up on shuffle play, I'll listen to it. Sometimes, I skip it, mostly because rebellion rises up in my heart and I don't want to listen to God's truth. I know that I have the freedom to listen to music and am not bound my rules, but there's a difference between preference and hardness, I think we all know this difference.
Anyway, yesterday a message from Desiring God's 2004's conference "Sex and the Supremacy of Christ" started playing in my car. Low and behold, it was the message to single women, "We're Not on Hold". I seriously wanted to click "next." I just didn't want to hear any message about singleness, since I try not to focus on it. But I let it play on, and I discovered it was truly God's providence & sovereignty in having this message play.
I was challenged on several points:
- It's important to develop relationships with women in my church, even if there aren't any in my "peer group"
- If I spend all my time looking & trying to find a husband, how will account to God for my time? "Well God, I didn't serve anyone or use my time to disciple others younger than me because I was concerned about finding a husband and meeting my needs"
- I'm not single because I'm too old or too young, or not skinny enough or too skinny or not pretty enough or I'm too loud or too quiet or because there are hardly any single men at my church, I'm single because that's God's provision for me today
- My greatest need is to escape the wrath of God and Christ has already done that for me through the cross and resurrection & Him bringing me a husband is a much, much lesser need (that's Gospel-perspective!)
Mainly, I wasn't encouraged by this message because it was about singleness and ways to make singles feel better. I was so encouraged by this message because it was Biblical and Gospel-centric!
message by Carolyn McCulley
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