Faith in the Future

Faith is choosing to believe that the Bible is true, regardless of circumstances, emotions, or cultural trends.

My professor would quiz us on this phrase EVERY WEEK last semester. I didn’t understand why it was so important… until I had to explain it. Since that class, God has been using this “one-liner” to grow me in ways I would have never grown on my own. (If you giggled at the word “one-liner”, thank you. Welcome to “A day in the life of Brindley”, where one word can bring a smile to your face. )

At my age, (No comments please…) it seems like EVERYONE is in a relationship, getting engaged or married. Maybe that is just because I live on a college campus… But I can’t help but wonder, “Am I missing something?” Is there something wrong with me if I don’t have guys asking me to go on dates with them? THIS is what culture and the circumstances around me preach.

I will admit I am 21 years old and never dated. Can I say I am happy with that fact? Well, some days I am happier than others, but I have learned so much about life and happiness in my singleness and I wouldn’t change it even if I could. Here are some of the lessons God has been teaching me:

1. If you are not content being single, you will NEVER be content in a relationship. Ask anyone married or that have been dating a while. No matter how bad you want a boyfriend/girlfriend, they will never satisfy you. You will always be disappointed when they can’t meet your needs. We all have a God-shaped hole in our hearts, and no matter how hard we try to fit another person in it, they will never fit. God is the only one that will satisfy you. Period.
2. All of the things that are happening in your life right now have a purpose to grow and strengthen you. They may not be pleasant, but they are essential. For example, I hate conflict, but I also hate confrontation. However, in order to handle conflict, you have to be willing to confront it. My roommate and I had a confrontation/conflict resolution session last week about some disagreements we had. It was not fun at the time, but it was essential to repair our friendship. There is a right way to handle conflict and a wrong way (OBVIOUSLY). This is a lesson I needed to learn and practice for marriage one day and God used me and my roommate as an example. I praise God for that!
3. There are so many benefits and things to do while you are single! Yes, there is a loooong list of things you can do to take advantage of being single. Learn a new sport, make new friends, and travel around the world, (always on my bucket list... So far it’s going well!) During my singleness, I have learned so many new things (like how to play lacrosse and how to bowl like a pro), been so many new places, (6 different countries in Africa so far), and met so many new friends (guys and girls alike). Take advantage of this time of your life, because you will never get to do it again!

I am starting to see how God has used the things around me to prepare me for the rest of my life. My good friend Shelby said to me one day, “You know, in those moments we can’t figure out what or why God is teaching us things, we don’t find out until much later and we say ‘Oh! That is what He was doing there!’”

How does faith fit into all of this? Faith is CHOOSING to believe what the Bible says. Scripture says in Jeremiah 29:11 that He has a plan for us, plans for a future and hope. So living by faith is choosing to believe that God does have a plan for my future and I can put my trust and my hope in Him; regardless of the circumstances around me (where all my friends are getting engaged) regardless of emotions (no matter how I feel), and regardless of what culture tells me (it is not my job to pursue the guy).

This weekend God keeps bringing this subject up in different places in His Word. My favorite is Romans 4:20-21. “No unbelief made him/(her) waver concerning the promise of God (Jeremiah 29:11), but he/(she) grew in his/(her) faith as he/(she)  gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.” Abraham thought God was crazy when he said he would be a father of a nation in his old age. But he believed what God told him, and he was considered to have a good relationship with God.

When I choose to live by faith, by choosing to believe everything that God has said to be true, I am considered to have a good relationship with God. Therefore I don’t have to pursue a relationship myself because he already has a plan. He has the pen to write my love story. He will do a much better job than me.

So, live by faith and give God the pen to write your love story!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKcImiTxqKg