Wednesday, June 15, 2005

LADY IN WAITING by debby jones & jackie kendall

Chapter 5: Lady of Devotion

Much too often people view a single woman as though she should be pitied rather than envied. Nothing could be further from the truth. A Lady In Waiting has the advantage of being able to develop her love relationship with Christ without the distractions that a husband or family inherently brings to one’s heart.

God still desires to know and be known by women today. But becoz sin entered the world, we no longer have a clear picture of the true God. Satan lied to Eve about God's character. “Indeed, has God said…?” (Gen 3:1) Satan has continued to lie to Eve’s daughters. As a result, fear has alienated women from the One who loves them as they need to be loved. Deep within a woman’s soul remains the longing for the gentle embrace of the God Who Is.

As a single, you have a wonderful
opportunity to use your time to maximize your fellowship with God. When you love someone, you give them your heart, the centre of your being. God also desires a totally devoted heart. Deuteronomy 6:5 says that you are to love Him with all your heart (your deepest devotion), your soul (what you think and what you feel), and your might (your strength and energy).

God wants to do you good, not evil. Jeremiah 29:11 says He wants to give you a future and a hope. Has your wrong picture of God been invented by the enemy in order to rob you of a true knowledge and love of God? To love God, you must know Him intimately, personally and devotedly.

- Seeking True Love

Seeking God is very similar to developing a friendship. You talk a lot, you listen, you write each other letters, you think about each other, you find out what the other likes and does not like, and you try to do things that please that person. The more you spend time together, the more intimately you know your friend. And the more intimately you know your friend, the greater your love will be. It works the same way with your relationship with God.

If we are to know God intimately, then we must
seek Him, not only with a whole heart, but also with a clean heart. The Lord’s fiancĂ© must have a clean heart. You must clean up any blot of sin that may arise between you and your heavenly Sweetheart. Sin causes God to back away from a person. If you want your devotion to God to be complete, don’t merely brush at sin lightly. Get in there and confess it. Let Psalm 51:10 be your prayer: “Create in me a clean heart, O God…”

As you spend time with God during your daily devotional time learn to listen to Him as you read of His love and thoughts about you. As you read and study the Bible, you begin to see what He really thinks of you and what wonderful plans He has for you.

- An Advantageous Position

God says the unmarried woman has the advantage when it comes to her devotion to the Lord. An unmarried woman can give the Lord what a married woman rarely can – undistracted devotion. Ask any wife, even without children, and she will tell you her own juggling routine. A married woman struggles to have time alone with herself, much less time alone with God.

THE SINGLE GIFT!!

How blessed you are, you single one,
Don’t talk of care and woes.
You’ve got too much to be thankful for,
Oh what, you’d like to know.

It’s no mistake, no misdirection,
Of God's perfect plan
That you’ve not found your special lady,
Or you, that certain man.

God loves you so and has much more,
To give than you’ve ever received.
That He’s giving His best to you right now,
You really must believe.

His best is Himself, do you have it in full,
Or only a bit on the side.
No man can meet your needs like God,
Nor can a lovely bride.

If your life’s not complete, you know that Jesus is,
And your life He will fill.
If you’ll only put Him first each day,
And live to do His will.

He’s gifted you for undistracted
Devotion to the Lord.
There should be nothing that can interfere
With Him and prayer and the Word.

Unless you let down the guard of your heart
And let others take His place,
Then you’ll lack joy and peace and hope
And not experience His grace.

So give your heart right back to God
Let Him keep it safe for you.
And when it’s better than His best,
He’ll make your one into two.

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