Lady In Waiting: Contentment – The Torture of Desire – The Capacity to Wait

God gave this section of the book to me.  I couldn’t be more sure.  Some of the words the authors use are the exact same ones I said to my friend just two days ago.  I struggle with contentment.  It is an area where I think, “I got this!” just to stumble when an email isn’t returned or I lay alone in bed crying a few days or weeks later.  So many times I think I have surrendered this issue to Him.  Then I feel like I failure when I find myself doing things that take me out of God’s will regarding being single.

Can anyone relate?  I love the example they use to define suffering: “Having what you do not want (singleness), and wanting what you do not have (a husband).”  Now I know and understand that not everyone feels that suffering, but for those that do, how do you cope with such a longing?  If you continue to focus on what you do not have, you will always feel that loss and discontentment.  We need to start putting our focus on God and all that we DO have.  Something jumped off the page and practically knocked me over the head when I read it: If you are presently discontent as a single woman, you can count on being dissatisfied as a married woman in the future. You know what?  Life is never on our terms, God’s plans will always be hard to understand, and we cannot get caught up in the downward spiral of negativity and “not haves” no matter what stage we are in life.  Starting to renew and transform our minds to this fact are the beginning stages of finding contentment in the Lord and His plans.  The verse that immediately came to mind was Romans 8:28.  I love the way The Message states it: That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.  If we trust in that, contentment comes a lot easier.

Ruth had every reason to feel discontentment.  Instead of wallowing in her circumstances and focusing on the loss of her husband and leaving her people, she chose to cling to the God whom she trusted despite everything that had happened.  In following God’s leading and working in the fields every day, Boaz was brought to her.  Even in this situation, with Boaz seemingly ready to “do all Ruth asks”, Naomi cautions Ruth to wait and see how everything actually turns out.  Instead of getting caught up in all the excitement she is asked to sit back and wait and see what Boaz actually does.  Wouldn’t that be hard to do?  God calls us to wait often.  Most of the time we don’t know why, but we need to place our trust in Him fully and completely and believe that it will be worked into something good.  Be content ladies.  Focus on the good.  Be grateful.  The “torture” will lessen and the waiting won’t seem so bad.

LET’S PRAY

Father God, you love each and every woman reading these words.  You have a plan for each of us.  Sometimes it is hard not knowing what that plan is, but I pray today that we remember your faithfulness rather than focusing on what we don’t have.  You have provided for us, you have gifted us, and that is where we want to fixate.  Please help renew our minds so that the waiting and our circumstances are not what we focus each day, but all the blessings that you have given us that day.  Thank you for your never ending care.

YOUR ASSIGNMENT

Today I want you to list 5 blessings you are grateful for.  If you can relate them to your single life, even better!  We have to remember that this season in life is not all misery and negativity; God gives us many gifts through our single life, things that not everyone else can necessarily experience at other stages of life.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For the “Lady in Waiting” Bible Study, you will need the book, your Bible, pen or pencil, a highlighter and a quiet place. You can order the book right through our website by clicking the “sign-up here” button at the top of our webpage; which is also where you can sign up to participate in this awesome bible study!

Like Be the first one who likes this post!