(3) From a distance Adonai appeared to me, [saying,]
“I love you with an everlasting love;
this is why in my grace I draw you to me. – Jeremiah 31:3 CJB
This verse of the Bible has been whispered into my ear on and off throughout the day, today. It is February 14th…the day society and Hallmark celebrate their brand of love. I feel so blessed to have overcome the need to care about such things. Even when I was still walking in the ways of the world, I often chose to forgo traditional V-day tradition by gathering a group of ladies and taking a restaurant by storm (we are woman hear us roar!), regardless of if I was dating someone or not. But hear me – that was a defense mechanism more than it was actual strength.
Today, it is honest Christ-filled strength not to fret over a singular day on the calendar as a single woman. It is because of Christ and His everlasting love that I can honestly state I am A-okay with being single, walking in purity, and not for a moment feeling sad or left out. Not feeling like I need to hide from “love” because I walk in Love, daily. I bask in it through my Lord and Savior. My husband!
“Fear not; for thou shalt not be ashamed: neither be thou confounded; for thou shalt not be put to shame: for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood any more. For thy Maker is thine husband; the Lord of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called. For the Lord hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused, saith thy God. For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee.”
Don’t hide from Adonai’s love, beloved…not today, or any day. For it is through His adoration of you that you will come to a place where you can sit by the babbling brooks of life, alone, and be better than fine with it. You will breathe easier, have undeniable peace, and even be content and joy-filled while society stares at you in unbelief. Why? They cannot understand what you have, even though they long for it themselves.
This is not a message only for women but men as well. God has blessed my life with a brother in Christ, one whom God has kept on this same path. He is on a trajectory so similar to mine it’s exciting and enriching. To bear witness to a man who is chasing after the Lord with all his being, who is obedient to God’s will for his life, and understanding “why” without question, is a very beautiful thing for me! It is encouraging to my walk and I my testimony might be to his as well. Like true apostles, we go against everything society says we should be and ought to be doing, all out of our love for Christ Jesus.
God has a distinct plan for each and every one of us, one only He foresees. Don’t make a mockery of your life by allowing desires of the flesh and peer/family pressure to push you off course. If God has placed you on a path of purity (mind,body and spirit), stay the course! He knows what is best for you. Remaining content in God alone is not an easy walk to walk but if you are steadfast and obedient, you will take back the love that others have stolen from you. You will find wholeness and be fulfilled in the love He has to bestow, above anything the world has to offer.
“But now He has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy, unblemished, and blameless in His presence if indeed you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope of the gospel you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant. Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions for the sake of His body, which is the church.” (Colossians 1:22-25 BSB)
Prayer: Oh dear Adonai…how I longed in my youth for a love like yours but could not understand where to find it. I am ever so grateful YOU alone have swept me off of my feet and filled me with a love like I’ve never known before. How precisely you know me, my needs, is a mystery indeed; albeit a mystery I have no desire to solve. You have my whole heart and I desire to continue this beautiful walk, hand in hand, with You. There is none like you, none. The greatest gift just as all perfect gifts come from God – such is the great agape love of my King, my Lord and Savior. Thank you, thank you from an ever grateful disciple…Amen!