Happiness may come and go, but joy is much more stable.
Finding joy can be challenging, but possible, whether he calls or not, whether you have a boyfriend (or girlfriend) or not. No matter what.
Despite your circumstances you can choose to have joy. Really. Yep, it’s a choice.
Joy happens because you know on Whom you wait—not for the guy to call, but for God to show you that you are worth being loved well. And the one who is right for you will PURSUE you, will call you, and will not leave you wondering!
The proof is in the pursuit. If he’s pursuing you, he may be interested. If he’s not, you’ve got to let it go. Don’t try to rationalize with reasons (he’s shy, he’s busy, he’s not over his ex, etc.). For WHATEVER REASON—even if you don’t know what it is—you have be “hands off” and move forward with your own life if the guy’s not pursuing you.
The thing is, you can have peace because God is in control. You cast your cares onto Him (“Here, take this longing and ache, Lord!”) and not carry them around.
Release yourself and rely on His strength. And then a lighter heart emerges. Ah….can you feel it? Things may not have changed, but you have.
So, no matter what is or is not happening in your life right now, soak in God’s joy.
And for those of us who are single and longing for the right one for us to come into our lives, here is some hope. First, the verse in the Bible as it appears. Then, my modern day-Jackie-interpretation of the verse for singles.
Here you go…
Though the fig tree does not bud
and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen
and no cattle in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the LORD,
I will be joyful in God my Savior.
Habakkuk 3:17-18
Here is my translation of Habakkuk 3:17-18 for singles:
Though the relationship does not bud
and there are no men on the phone,
though the love connection fails
and the man produces no ring,
though there are no dates in my Daytimer®
and no guys at the door…
yet I will rejoice in the LORD,
I will be joyful in God; He will take care of me.
So whether you have a Daytimer, an online calendar, or scraps of notes to keep you on track in life, God never loses track of you. He will give all you need.
Stand up straight. Take a deep breath. Remember the joy that’s yours today—and every day.
1 comment:
Ms. Johnson I can't begin to tell you how much your story has touched me. Reading your post my eyes teared...because the subject matter is so exact with something that I am struggling with right now.
For the past two months, I have been convincing myself that the person whom I'm interested in has been having issues in his life that I should respect and allow space to, and that these issues have been the reason why it seems like I am the one in pursuit and not him.
I knew and had known from week one that I should let go; at the same time, I realize my struggle with letting go. The whole desire to be loved and more so to know that someone loves me or thinks me important/special has been all consuming. Don't get me wrong, I am well aware of believing that I have joy and it will manifest itself. Those are the days when I can confidently say that "I'm lovable and his not loving me is his loss". On other days, I can't even convince myself that I am capable of any kind of love (especially receiving it).
It's important to say that I do believe in God and I want to think that in my believing, I can trust him enough to surrender. At the same time, I would be speaking an untruth to say that joy is ever present. Yes, trust him to open the doors, yes trust that in my sadness (at times), my loneliness (at times), my singleness, my worriedness (most times since I'm 37 and childless) that he is there, is a lot harder to do than to say.
Please don't interpret my words to think that I disagree with you because I do agree with what you have said. However, I do want to say that sometimes it would be nice to be blessed with seeing as well as believing.
Thank you for the opportunity to comment.
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