Keep Moving Forward - Pressing On --Single or Married

I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Philip 3:14

I’ve spoke to many single people that feel they are becoming stagnant.  What I find that if I am active in some type of service in the community, it helps not to become stagnant, it was the same in my marriage.  Jesus said the greatest among you would be servant to all.  Jesus came to serve.  It may be service to church or service to the community, but some type of service.   

The neat thing I’ve found with single ministries is the ones that have outreaches.  I got a chance to go to a ministry to the homeless who live under a bridge in tents and also the Wheeler Mission for Women with the Indian Creek singles and a few months ago to the homeless in a soup type kitchen with the Lakeview Church singles.  The Lakeview group tries to do that on a regular basis.  And although it says, “Those who don’t work should not eat;” I’m not to judge why people are in their non-work status.  

I met with a friend a few months ago for lunch that is well educated now with two Master’s Degrees and she told me in her 20’s she was homeless.  She got kicked out of the house by her step-father when her mother got in a bad second marriage. 

Many of the singles I know are going on missions to other countries. That is what Paul was talking about –using our singleness for his kingdom. 

Most widows I meet don’t see themselves as single.  It took me a while to take off my wedding ring and I did not know if I should take it off. Once a person has been with a person 10-50 years, being single is like being in a foreign country.  Even when I was divorced I did not see myself as single because I had children to take care of so I was the mother and father most of the time.  You could say that with the eye of faith, I believed the Lord would provide my needs for another marriage. 

The eye of faith at times is contrary to this natural world or our circumstances.  David had the eye of faith as far as he saw himself cutting off Goliath’s head.  I’ve even heard people talk about “preparing for marriage” as far as taking marriage seminars, or one woman went and tried on a wedding dress at a shop.  She was acting her faith in preparation for an upcoming marriage.

Even when Jesus comes back it talks about how the bride has made herself ready. 

Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; Rev. 19:7

There are times in my walk with God where things seem rather than stagnant.  Sometimes I just stop everything I’m doing like Mary to sit at Jesus feet and see what is going on.  Sometimes I’ve been forced to because of health reasons. I heard someone say at times in life we are conforming.  Are we conforming to something of this world.  It could be conforming to worry, it could be the cares of this life, sickness can make me conform too, and I’m choking the word and I’m not moving forward.   I had a dream that I was choking an evil man and he was choking me back and it was an intense struggle. It's like spinning our tires in life.

But the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful Mark 4:19

It’s what happened to Lot and his wife; they were conforming rather than moving forward.  I can’t think of anything more important in life and I can’t quote it more often than what Martin Luther King Jr. said,

If you can't fly then run, if you can't run then walk, if you can't walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.”

I was listening to someone talk about Michael Jordan and how he was cut from his high school basketball team as a sophomore.  It caused him to work harder and then he made the team and led his high school to the championship.  He talked about how there were 26 times he shot the last basket and lost a game in the NBA.  He lost a lot of games in life, he said that is how he became successful, by having many failures, it caused him to work harder. 

Sometimes losing a game can make us work or try harder.  I know it always did with me in bowling that I wanted to learn to become a better bowler so I practiced more.  It’s not about talent for a professional player, it’s about mental attitude.  Chuck Swindoll said it’s 10% what happens to us in life ad it’s 90% our mental attitude. 

Not to discount what happens to us with trials.  Job’s wife had ten coffins lined up in front of her when she lost all her children.  That was a difficult trial.  We tend to discount pain and suffering in life, but that was a huge trial she went through.  Jesus paid the “full price” for us in going to the cross.  He bore our griefs, suffering and pains on his body.  We like to shop at these discount stores like Wal-Mart and Meijer’s and some cities don’t like them because they take away from the ma/pap stores, but God sent his best and he paid the full price, he sent his only son.  He suffered in our place, he bore our griefs. 

If I’m in this stagnant pool of water in life sort of like the man lying by the pool of Bethesda, and I’m not going anywhere, than I’m not being transformed.  I’m being conformed to this world. 

Don’t copy (conform) to the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.  Romans 12:2 

God help us to keep on keeping on.  I like Jonathon in the Bible and consider my friend Bill who plays keyboards my armor bearer.  I don’t have to wait for Saul (the church) to give me an invitation but I can take one musician (my armor bearer) and go into the prisons, the nursing homes or the homeless with my guitar and minister.  I take that one hill of Philistines in life with one confirmation from God.  I met another musician recently who is interested in doing more ministry and we talked about this too.  Jesus sent his disciples out by two’s and I can find just one other person helps in doing volunteer work.  

Most of the single ministries I’ve gone to we bring our children and I was very blessed when I went downtown Los Angeles with my daughter Paula and saw around sixty teenagers volunteering in the heart of the poor community.  That is the next generation being raised up and to see them serving Jesus.

Trusting God to open doors and bring favor.