The one in which I look back…

Well well well. Where on earth has 2014 gone? This year has been a big one for me: I finished Uni, graduated, travelled to some breathtaking places, skydived, turned 21, met new people, found a new church and stepped onto the first rung of the employment ladder by landing myself a dream internship. Oh, and I deliberately did not go on any dates for the whole year (but I was very tempted to break it once). The internet seems to be awash at the moment with ‘2014 in review’ articles from the likes of Facebook and Spotify and, in many ways, this post is my personal version. It is a summary of what I have learned, found difficult and experienced. So, here it goes…

I began this year with many of my friends having set wedding dates for summer 2014 and me simultaneously feeling a bit down that I was seemingly ‘unwanted’ at 21 and yet recognising what a ridiculous thought this was. Indeed, I really disliked myself for thinking like this. In short, I was not recognising that being single was as much as a gift from God as a relationship was. Indeed my moping was getting in the way of God and I. Something needed to be done, hence the somewhat drastic move to purposefully remove myself from the possibility of a relationship for a whole year. The verse which was a kind of a sub-heading or aim was Jeremiah 29v13: ‘You will search for me. And when you search for me with all your heart, you will find me.’ If I could sum up this year it would be that I found God in a new way and in ways I cannot really explain. As I began put aside the distractions of relationships and focused on Him, something fresh and deeper between us began to emerge. I fell in love with Him more.

One of the highlights for me, and what I am probably most grateful for, was God dealing with my penchant for worry. Being in third and final year of University is a stressful time for students and my head was having a party thinking about jobs, degree class, moving back home etc. One evening, I was reflecting on Psalm 46v1 and the idea of God as my ‘refuge and strength.’ I had never really thought of God as somewhere I could shelter from things that were worrying me and, honestly, from that evening on, I did not experience stress towards my dissertation, exams, future etc. It was such a revelation that I believe it healed me. Those six months from January to June were the calmest I have ever felt during a major academic season. I probably began to boarder on complacency instead!

One of the harder parts of this year, however, has been facing my questions on God’s view of sex and relationships. I began to explore why God says the things he says in order to really believe it for myself. I actually found it a really frustrating and uncomfortable exercise. These included the no sex before marriage conundrum and lust but mainly, the issue of a wife’s submission to her husband. If you know me then you will know that this does not fail to get me talking. Indeed, if you had wanted to annoy me then you went there! I had a bit of a rant about it in one of my early posts only to turn around a month or so later and admit I was wrong. I’m not going to re-hash it all here but if you scroll down then you will find the evidence for my change of heart (spoiler: Paul is really talking about mutual submission on both parties’ sides rather than just the wife’s).

As the year has been coming to an end, the focus has been less on the learning and more on the practising. My opportunity to prove how much I had taken in came mid November when I was caught off guard by the one thing I had assumed would never happen: I was asked out by a lovely, funny gentleman whom I had met a few days previously. Who could turn down such an attractive offer? Not me it seems! I was, and still am, so flattered that it really put a spring in my step. It took the amount of time to write it in my diary to realise what I had done… agreed to go on a date during a year when I was not supposed to be dating. I was SO tempted to go; what harm would it do to spend a couple of hours with a new acquaintance? As he isn’t a Christian, I would sound weird trying to explain why I could not go, right? Did ‘drinks’ even constitute a date? Despite all my rationalisations, it still did not sit right with me and I knew I could not go in good conscious knowing what I had promised myself and God. I have always envisioned this thing ending on 1st January 2015 and me having to say no if needs be. I went to bed that night praying that God would give me an unmissable sign about what to do.

Predictably, He did. Picking up my Bible devotional the next morning gave me my answer in the form of Psalm 65v1: ‘God, you will be praised in Jerusalem. We will keep our promises to you.’ You know when things just hit you? In that moment, I knew I had to risk sounding super weird and obey God. I can’t just follow Jesus when it’s easy and when I’m not tempted. True worship and truly honouring Him is obeying Him in all situations even when I don’t feel like it. Thankfully, mystery man didn’t seem too weirded out and said he understood. What a nice guy.

This whole episode has got me thinking about my ‘dating values’ that had been mentioned during a seminar on relationships that I went to at Momentum this year. How do I feel about going out with non-Christians etc? Alot to think about! Although I love being a Christian, it doesn’t make things like this half complicated!
Summarising this summary, I would say this year has been nothing short of brilliant and more than I could have imagined. I am actually quite proud of myself for completing it but, boy, am I looking forward to it being over! I’m excited about putting it all into practice for real and seeing what is next for me. My aim is, as I have said before, to purse Jesus as fast as I can and ensure He is the centre. From there, I can’t go far wrong. I would recommend the experiment I have done this year to anyone. To really go for it with God, purposefully, for a whole year with no distractions because, as Jeremiah says, when you really go for it, you will find Him.

‘Don’t miss what God is doing…’

I have recently graduated from University and am in a very weird transitional period between my glorious student days and real life. And I haven’t been doing this season very well at all. Everything about it has been making me a miserable, negative person: getting rejected from job after job, living back with my (wonderful) parents in my childhood home, having few friends here, my hard fought acne-free skin turning back into pepperoni pizza mode, and searching for a new church community. I have cried many times, longing for my friends, self-esteem, church and University life. Perhaps this sounds a bit dramatic but to me, it feels like the end of the world.

But, recently, God has been teaching me alot.

It was funny that right at the beginning of the summer, when I went to the first church on my hit list, one lady said, just in general conversation, ‘don’t miss what God is doing in this period.’ I didn’t really take this to heart back then but it has become a bit of a check when I’ve been feeling low. Whilst I can’t see at the moment what on earth God is doing, my life is not on hold ready to begin again when I move out and get my dream job. No, Jesus came to give life in all its fullness (John 10v10). Indeed, a really helpful verse for me has been 1 Corinthians 7v17: ‘And don’t be wishing you were someplace else or with someone else. Where you are right now is God’s place for you. Live and obey and love and believe right there.’ There is a purpose to where I am and the potential to find God.

I keep reading Jesus’ prayer for his disciples (firstly, I love that he prays for them!) in John 17 where He prays:, ‘Father, I want those you gave me to be with me, right where I am.’ Wow. Yes! I want to be where Jesus is. The question is: if I am to believe right here, where are you God? Isn’t this part of the pursing Jesus that I so craved at Momentum? I have definitely been slacking off in that department as I’ve allowed my situation to define me.

I have been reminded of the story of Paul and Silas in jail and how despite their imprisonment, they loudly praised God so the rest of the prisoners could hear. I feel that, whilst I’m not in jail (!), I am in a position I would rather not be in and, like Paul and Silas, my one response should be to thank God for His goodness and guidance thus far in my life and rest in the knowledge that He will continue to lead me. And, how exciting would it be if people saw my joy and peace and that caused them to look to God as it happened to Paul and Silas?

Until next time

Momentum

So, I have just returned from an amazing week at an annual Christian festival called Momentum and I thought I would update you all on what happened!

It really struck me this year what a privilege it is to worship God: on the one hand, who am I to even think about drawing close to Him? On the other, because of my nature and what He has done, worship is the least I can do. A couple of times during the worship, I just observed the beautiful sight of 7,000 people my age lifting up His name. Everyone there was so in love with Jesus and it was so inspiring, it almost brought tears to my eyes.

One of the earliest meetings focused on the theme of forgiveness and where we might harbour unforgiveness. I had known for a while that I needed to forgive and let go of a painful past friendship as it had been affecting my present friendships. The speaker talked about how forgiveness was a choice and how, although our emotions may not want us to, once we had decided to forgive, they would soon catch up. So, I made a decision to forgive and not let the event define me anymore.

One of the biggest things that happened was what I learnt about relationships. I went to a seminar entitled ‘How to find and keep a great relationship.’ It was really practical advice and gave me a lot to think about such as: make sure you have your values decided before you start to date; what have you learnt from your past relationships (seeing as I haven’t had any, I looked at past crushes I have had); and making sure that although a person says they are a Christian, ensuring that they have an independent, working relationship with God. What I loved especially was Danielle Strickland’s advice: ‘Pursue Jesus as fast as you can. Then look beside you-if they can keep up, they might be The One.’ This is my new motto, both for looking for a relationship and for life in general. I was inspired throughout the week by people (particularly Danielle) who were following Jesus as fast as they could and saw Him move in their everyday lives. I want that!

Driving home from the festival, I realised that God had refreshed/strengthened my yearning to know Him genuinely. I talked at the beginning of my blog series about having lustful desires which were not helpful. Well, God said to me over the week: ‘I see your raw heart to know me. That is one desire I want you to indulge in fully.’ God has been challenging me for ages that I do not read the Bible enough or seek Him enough in that way. At Momentum, one seminar speaker said that we had to approach questions about God in the same way as we approach academic work: study. So, I have bought a Study Bible to try and combat this! Carrying it back to my tent, I managed to hit my leg with it so I now have a massive cut by my knee where my new tome of a Bible attacked me. HA! I had also been praying for a while that God would give me a love for His Word and, for the past two mornings, I have woken up eager to read my Bible. Long may that continue!

In one of the later main meetings, Danielle was preaching on letting God’s peace permeate ‘all the way though you’ and then out of you for people to see. My spirit stirred as she said this-yes, I want that! For others to somehow see Jesus in me and experience the life, healing and thrill that I have through knowing Him. That night I told God He could have whatever He could use of me. There is no doubt this is scary but I’m convinced God will be with me.

Another exceptionally cool thing that happened was that a girl in our group was healed of all her kidney problems!! She had even been to hospital the day before because it had flared up. A couple of people prayed for her and almost immediately she reported that her pain had disappeared, she had felt it leave her body! How amazing is that!? She had been walking around in so much pain for the first half of the week-it was plain to see. But, after she was prayed for, she could jump, walk etc. The difference in her was so clear!
Another amazing story we heard was from the festival the week before. In one of the meetings, God had healed many of the pain of self harm-not just the emotional effects but also many showed the event leaders that their physical scars had gone too!

Of course, it’s easy to get the Momentum blues after coming home from such an electric atmosphere but I was reminded today that the same God who moved so powerfully there is the same God I walk with in my everyday. WOWEE.

Anyway, many more stories could be told but for now, until next time.

Submission in Marriage (Part 2)

So, I must say, I never really expected there to be a second part to this post as I thought I would never think differently to the way I did. Yet, here I am about to tell you that I was wrong. After my first blog on this topic, I received a lot of messages from various people commenting on what I had said about loathing the idea of submitting to a husband. One said she had the same questions as me, another kindly tried to explain it to me again and another and his wife offered to have me round to tea and really talk about it. Amazingly, they were the people I talked about wanting to ask! Them asking me was a good thing and God was definitely in that; if I’m honest I wanted to try to put off asking them for as long as possible so I didn’t have to think about this topic. It meant that I really was going to address it and it felt a bit uncomfortable. What would I find?
These two friends of mine were amazing. I walked into their home thinking I was going to be judged for my hardened views-not because they would do that, it was purely my perception based on the reaction I had had from others in the past. They listened to me, challenged me and I felt like I could ask all my questions and… I felt like I was getting answers.
What did they say? I can hear you screaming! Well, this is what I understand to have heard…
In my original quoting of the infamous Ephesians passage, I had crucially and fatally ignored the first verse of this passage which reads: ‘submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.’ So, before Paul says anything else, he commands that husband and wife submit to each other. This hit me like a bright red London bus: both parties submit. I had never heard this before. I may have heard it, but I hadn’t heard it. Like one would in a history essay, you put your thesis in your introduction and then set out your argument. In essence Paul is saying: ‘verse 21 is what I want you to take from this, and then I will explain more fully. If you hear nothing else here it is that marriage is a mutually submissive relationship.’ Verses 22-25 are then Paul mapping out how this looks for both parties but they both end up doing the same thing.
Wives submit by submitting as they would to Jesus (v22).
Husbands submit to their wives by loving her as Jesus loves the church (v25). This was the most sacrificial relationship ever demonstrated in human history.
Now, as you know, this is not the picture I had in my head!
With this sorted I asked: so what does submission actually look like? How did they submit to each other everyday? Simply (or not!), they said, it meant putting their spouses’ needs and desires above their own. Indeed, this is how I strive to live towards others, my family and friends anyway.
Well. If I have understood this correctly then I was completely wrong in my previous assessment. I won’t go so far as my friend to say I am excited about the idea, neither would I put leadership on my ‘list.’ But, I am OK with it. I think the being excited part will come if I ever get married. However, there is still v23 which says: ‘the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ is the head of the church.’ I still have this to figure out but what I have outlined above is enough for me for now!
One thing I will be doing, however, is changing the ‘to love and obey’ phrase in my vows; ‘to obey’ is not how I understand submission to work. Instead I’ll change it to ‘to mutually submit’ or words to that effect because, for me, ‘obey’ doesn’t accurately describe what Paul meant.
Anyway, that is enough for today! Next time, I have a special treat lined up. My friend, Jess, and I have both been reading Danielle Strickland’s book ‘The Liberating Truth: How Jesus Empowers Women’ and I have asked her to write a book review for the blog! I’m sure it will be brilliant-look out for it soon!
Until next time 🙂

Being single sucks sometimes

My Facebook timeline has been busy this weekend with photos of two hen parties and a wedding. Although they did not affect me in the way they would have done a couple of years ago (thank you God), they still managed to make me feel, alongside total happiness for those couples, the weight of my singleness. It made me long for this year to be over, to have someone that close and, for a split second, just feeling downright sorry for myself. Yes, I am jealous. I often feel guilty for having such emotions; when I first brought it up with church friends I was dismissed for still being young and other single people who were older than me remarked ‘at least you’re not 25!’ Furthermore, what do I really have to complain about? I have a great, fulfilled and varied life with brilliant friends and family.
I think part of the problem is that at 21 I’ve never been in a relationship or even been on a date (unless you count a charity version of Take Me Out at University…). Until last year, I had never even been asked out (ironically, two days after I decided to do this challenge I was). Indeed, every guy I have liked has made it blindingly obvious that they do not see me in a romantic way. It does hurt your confidence a bit.
I know it sounds like I am getting my self esteem from relationships and that probably is true to an extent. I certainly look for validation in friendship. My friends assure me that any guy would be lucky to be with me but I wish I had the conviction to fully agree with them. I also wish this whole thing didn’t bother me as it does!
I’m not sure how I feel about a friend who was recently shocked to find out my relationship history hasn’t started yet- is it a compliment that she assumed I had had boyfriends? Or, why is it shocking that I haven’t? Why shouldn’t a girl of 21 still be single?
I want to live the single life well and enjoy it. My life does not begin when I’m married. I want to be a strong, independent woman who is forging a path for herself and living wholeheartedly for God. But sometimes, this gives way and being single just sucks for a bit.

Sorry for the moany nature of this post, I try to be honest in my blog and this is the outcome. I’ve been thinking about the the submission issue a bit recently and have made a bit of progress I think-the mere fact that I have spoken to God about it a couple of times without getting angry is an achievement! I’ll update you after I have met with a couple as I mentioned previously.

Until next time.

Submission in Marriage

I recently returned from holiday in Italy with my best friends and on our last night, as is becoming customary with us, conversation turned to the age old topic of love, sex and relationships. After asking our engaged friend what being in love feels like and how she knew she loved her fiancé, discussion turned to what us three singletons look for in a man. Characteristics such as ‘funny’ and ‘adventurous’ were thrown out there before my friend said ‘someone who will lead me.’ Silence. My heart sank; I hate this topic of wives submitting to their husbands. I have had a few frustrating and at times upsetting conversations with various people and now I just tend to avoid it. Here is one of the few passages in question:

Ephesians 5 v 22-25 ‘Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.’

I always try to be honest in these posts so here it goes… I really dislike the thought of submitting to a man. That does not sound like my definition of a good idea. Now, I understand that marriage is supposed to reflect the church and thus a husband should love his wife in the same deep and sacrificial way that Jesus loves the church. Indeed, I also understand that a wife submitting to her husband mirrors the way we all should submit to God. But, I cannot get my head around what it is about being female that makes us the ones who have to submit? Why do I have to be led as soon as I am married when I’ve been perfectly capable of leading myself when I’m single? Where does submission fit into a modern, 21st century relationship? What really made me uncomfortable was the sense that a woman leading a man was unnatural. That really did not sit right with me.

I think part of the problem is that no one has ever been able to describe to me what this kind of marriage looks like. What does it mean every day to submit to your husband? Again, I know that a wife’s submission does not give the husband an authoritarian thumbs up and nor does my questioning of it mean I am looking to have ‘the power’ in a relationship. No, what is wrong with compromise and neither party having something over the other?

As you can see, I have more questions than answers. I have tried to avoid this issue for a long time but I feel it is the right time to address it. Indeed, I had been praying the morning of our conversation that God would continue the momentum of this year. God has been nice to me so far, but now it’s time to be really challenged. My next move is to find a married couple who practice the ‘love and obey’ phrase and see how it works out. I have two people in mind.

I love God and I want to follow his ways but it will take me a while to come round to liking the idea. So much so that my prayer is not ‘Lord, help me change my mind’ but ‘Lord, help me want to want to change my mind.’

PS I want to write a disclaimer. Christianity is not inherently sexist. In fact, Jesus was extremely radical in his treatment of women during his time.

 

 

 

Sex and the Single Christian

In recent posts, I have concentrated mainly on the joys I have discovered about being single but here, I want to address one of the awkward difficulties: sexual desire. Granted, this is a struggle for every relationship status to some extent but I want to specifically write for singles, those who do not have a husband or wife (/to -be). If one is single and has no prospect of marriage any time soon, how on earth is one supposed to control raging hormones and natural desires? I hope in this post to suggest some ways in answer to this question.

Firstly, though, why is this such a problem? Why does God ask us to save sex for marriage? I have wrestled with this question for ages. Whilst I definitely don’t agree with abusing sex through one night stands etc, I was (and still am to an extent) uncomfortable believing that two people who are committed to each other could not have sex without being married. More pressingly, perhaps, what happens if you never get married? Plus, doesn’t all this talk of purity just seem really boring? Aren’t there more important things to be tackling like world hunger than worrying about if a loving couple are having sex outside of marriage? These are all questions I have and I’m sure others do too. This is part of the problem: Christians don’t talk about sex, if they do, it’s not a comfortable discussion. A bit like Miranda Hart who can’t even bring herself to say the word. It has been my experience growing up in church, that we were taught that sex outside of marriage was wrong and that we just shouldn’t do it. However, I was never told why. As I began to make my faith my own rather than just a label I had because of my parents, I wanted to know the answer. I believe that if we understand the reasons behind God’s request, then we are more likely to pursue it willingly and be successful. Aside from all the unwanted pregnancy, STD arguments I have heard trying to convince me that I should save sex for marriage, the major one is this: the word in the original Greek (I think?) used in Genesis 2v24 ‘and they shall become one flesh’ is the same word used to describe the wholeness of God Himself. Whoa. The implications for this are surely massive. Sex then becomes a picture of who God is and His complete and perfect character. By having sex outside of marriage we are distorting this- which is a pretty big deal.

Still, this doesn’t stop the fact that we all experience strong sexual desires for which singles have no outlet. So, how can we manage them in a healthy Godly way? I think it is really important to note that such feelings are not in themselves bad. I would even say they are good: God created them!! It is what we do with them that creates the problem. Here are a few thoughts, then, on how Christian singles can deal with this.

1) Marriage.

I kind of have to put this one in there although for obvious reasons, I don’t think it’s very helpful on a daily basis. In 1 Corinthians 7v9, Paul quite literally says ‘if you can’t control yourselves, you should get married. It is better to get married than to burn with sexual longing.’ If this is the situation you find yourself in, you should pursue marriage. Of course, not everyone will get married so we need other strategies.

2) Do not let unhelpful thoughts develop in your mind.

We’ve all had it, out of nowhere a certain thought comes into our minds which we know we shouldn’t entertain but we can’t resist so said fantasy plays out. The Bible says we should ‘take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ’ (2 Corinthians 10v5). Practically, for me anyway, this simply (I say simply…) means shutting down the thought the second it appears, before it has time to progress and thus becomes more difficult to ignore. We have been commanded to love God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength. Also, pray as soon as you feel tempted. Remember, God understands our struggles.

3) Know your triggers.

Linked to #2 is knowing what material triggers such thoughts and doing your best to avoid them. Maybe it’s erotic books, lads mags, Rihanna’s music videos. You get the picture.

The next three I have plagiarised from this article

(http://www.covenanteyes.com/2010/05/13/3-biblical-strategies-for-fighting-lust/) which I found today. It is one of the best articles I have found on this subject. It is based on 2 Timothy 2v22 “So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.”

 

4) Run from… ‘youthful passions.’

A bit like the above two points, the article tells us to mentally, visually and physically run from such temptations.

5) Run to… ‘faith, love, and peace.’

Let it be our motivation that we are pursuing something amazing. We know that when we stumble, we are falling into total forgiveness and chance after chance after chance.

6) Run with… ‘those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.’

This is such an important one: let’s encourage one another in our struggles. Yes, this is a bit of an embarrassing topic but it will be so much easier if we run together.

 

No one said this would be easy, there are days where I think God should just lighten up or be more realistic as to how difficult lust and singleness is when there is no prospect of marriage. But, I firmly believe that He has our best at heart and if resisting lust is what is required,  we should try our absolute best knowing that He understands and loves us.

I hope this is somewhat helpful. Let me know your thoughts. Is there anything that can be added to the list?

Until next time.

 

PS I think this article is really honest and funny about this whole issue http://www.todayschristianwoman.com/articles/2000/january/confessions-of-sex-starved-single.html?start=1

 

 

 

 

February-April

So, with 40mins until Made in Chelsea and the word count on my dissertation not going up anytime tonight, I thought I would spend some time writing a new blog post. I can’t quite believe it’s April and four months into my year of singleness. Since my last post in February, I haven’t really been thinking about questions to do with being Christian and single, sex and relationships but these last few months have been more about where God and I stand. I feel like that since January I have been on a fast track with God… something feels different and fresh as I have laid down my distractions and focused on pursuing Him. Ever since I realised that He is my refuge from my anxiety and not lustful fantasies (see two posts ago!) , I feel like I have been living in a new lease of life. Now, I have always been a positive and naturally happy person, but these last few months have been different in a way I can’t really explain. I no longer live under the burden of worry. God has been SO good. I should be stressed right now about my workload and life after graduation but I am honestly not. It is the weirdest feeling; I can’t remember the last time I wasn’t concerned about an exam season or major piece of work.

This is not to say that it has been easy. Stress still murmurs and worry still bubbles away so ‘casting my fears on the LORD’ (Psalm 55v22) is a regular conscious decision, probably to ensure I do not become complacent but to keep me reliant on God. I believe that God uses our weaknesses to draw us closer to Him. Nevertheless, God has most certainly removed a great part of my natural anxiety. Plus, quite scarily, I can sense God nudging me towards other areas he wants to address and bring healing: ‘Ruth, when are we going to sort this out?’

I can’t end this blog post without mentioning the student weekend away I went on in late January with my church. I really do not know where to start; it was so amazing. I have been going to this church since my first year of University and have been to every weekend away but this one was just something else. Ask anyone who was there what their highlight was and in amongst the great food, silly games and chat I bet most of them would say the prophecy session and the Saturday night when God literally invaded our meeting. Throughout the Saturday, we all had a prophecy session in small groups with about five members of the prophecy team from our church during which, they would listen to God for us and see what He had to say. Now, I firmly believe that God talks directly to us without the need for a third party but there is something so exciting about people who you have never met speaking into your life so accurately. It also takes away the whole ‘I think you’re saying this God but maybe this is my head talking’ thing. Anyway, the first picture given to me was of a treasure box and the word alongside it was ‘God’s been digging and ploughing recently because the treasure in you needs to be released.’ I really thought this summed up what this year has been so far: God digging up things that need to be addressed. As for the treasure, well who knows?! There were other themes that kept cropping up such as wisdom but I’m still thinking through those as I don’t really consider myself to be a wise person! As for the Saturday night… One always associates what we experienced with major Christian festivals such as Soul Survivor and Momentum but that evening we saw healings and intimate spontaneous worship.

Anyway, this has been a rather short post but I can’t wait to see what will happen in the coming months and to update you all. Until next time!

X

Valentine’s Day and God

Hello again!
It seemed silly to be doing a blog about singleness and not do a post on Valentine’s Day! I was unsure what to write as I do not yet feel inspired to write about my own journey again but this morning I had a (God given?) idea. I want to tell you just how much you are loved. Even if you do not have a Valentine today, God is the perfect example of love. He feels about you the way you long someone else would. This is not a cheesy flowers and teddy bear kind of love, but a deep and passionate craving for your attention. I read recently that the thought of perfect Almighty God loving us is actually quite terrifying. So, here are a few attributes of God to remind you of how much you are valued and loved, on Valentine’s Day and forever.

His love is unending- ‘I have loved you with an everlasting love.’ (Jeremiah 31v3)

He craves spending time with you- ‘And do you suppose God doesn’t care? The proverb has it that ‘He’s a fiercely jealous lover’ and what He gives in love is far better than anything else you’ll find.’ (James 4v46)

He rejoyces over you- ‘He will rejoyce over you; He will sing and be joyful about you.’ (Zephaniah 3v17). This verse in the original language literally means ‘to spin like a spinning top and whoop with joy!’

He gave His life for you- ‘For God so loved the world, He gave His only Son.’ (John 3v16)

He made you and thinks you are great- ‘I praise you because you made me in an amazing and wonderful way… you saw my body as it was formed. All the days planned for me were written in your book before I was one day old.’ (Psalm 139v14).

He is faithful- ‘If we are faithless, He remains faithful’ (2 Timothy 2v13).

He will never leave you- ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you’ (Deuteronomy 31v6-8)

He only wants good things for you- ‘and we know that for those that love God all things work together for good.’ (Romans 8v28).

Wow, if that isn’t love, I don’t know what is! I hope this encourages you, single or not.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
X