The Singles Network Ministries, UK: Andrea Best
What's the Point, August, 2016
So you’re at that point in your life when the very thing that you have been praying and waiting on God for seems to have been delayed, or all doors appear as though they have slammed shut. That’s when you may feel frustration starting to set in and it’s at that point you throw your arms in the air and shout in a very LOUD voice; “WHAT’S THE POINT”. One of two things will either happen following that unprecedented outburst. That release might make you feel a sense of euphoria or it could possibly draw you even deeper into a state of hopelessness. Whatever emotion you choose to subscribe to, at that particular point in your life, if we would do a 360 degree turn and just change direction and dig way deep within the depths of our soul, we’d find that hope which clings on to Jesus, reassuring us that there is a point in continuing to trust and put our hope in Jesus; regardless of the length and extent of our particular season.
Hebrews 10:23 provides reassurance for continuing to cling on to that glimmer of hope in that thing we have been waiting for – “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful” and Hebrews 10:35-36 further goes on to affirm “so do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded – you need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God you will receive what he has promised”.
I know from personal experience how challenging it can be to wait on God to bring a dream you’ve nurtured for a while to fulfilment, without feeling angry or disappointed with God, and how it feels when you physically see the years roll by and yet that dream or desire looks as though it might not manifest according to your timescale, at least. It’s at that stage when you reach the point where you feel “what really is the point” and if you’re not careful, you can spin uncontrollably on a downward spiral, which can lead to depression as you try to manage your fickle emotions.
If I had a pound for every time I have voiced that statement “what’s the point” and then had to retract those words and express “but regardless of the situation Lord, I trust you; I give you my life…..”; I’d be a wealthy woman, because if the truth be told, we all have those weak moments from time to time.
A scripture God gave me very early on in my single walk has been Jeremiah 29:11, “I know the plans I have for you; declares the Lord, plans to prosper you, and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future”. This verse has kept me hopeful and grounded in God’s ability to totally take the wheel of my life, and steer it in the right direction, every time the enemy would goad me into thinking that somehow God was not a loving God; that He did not stand by His word or when he has tried to get me to compare my life to the lives of others who seemingly had the thing I desired or longed for; this verse would always come back to me in a devotional reading or a sermon I had listened to at church or an online article; i.e. whatever way or by what means God chose to get the message across to me He succeeded, and it literally rescued me and triumphed mightily, ministering to me that my God knows exactly what plans He has for my life, and I believe also for yours, and that ‘there is a point’ to our very being which is found in a life souled out to Jesus Christ.
I’m also reminded of Ecclesiastes 3:1, which clearly talks about the fact that there are various times and seasons to our lives and that in each and every one of those seasons, there is a specific point to where we are in our relationship with God at any given period of our lives – so if like me, you have ever uttered those four little words “what is the point” or you find yourself in a particular season where life has stood still and you can’t seem to see the wood from the trees; know this that there is hope in God, and that’s not just a cliché that we say as Christians, almost as if we were using it as a bandage to hide over our real emotions, but rather it really is a reality that God cares about every detail, and I mean every detail; even if it is the tinniest or minutest thing that bothers you, you can bet that it concerns God also, which is why He instructs us to cast all our cares upon Him because He really is interested in our very well-being; (1 Peter 5:7 – “cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you”).
You can take great comfort and certainty in God’s ability that the plans He has for our lives is to always prosper us – He has spread a table in our honour; has brought us to His banqueting table and His banner over us is love. So when that defeated foe whispers negativity in your ears and tries to get you to question God’s sovereignty in that area where God may seemingly be staying silent for the moment, requiring you to ‘wait’ for a season, let’s change our mind-set and perspective of where we currently are and know with conviction that whilst we can’t always trust our feelings or emotions, because they are fickle and prone to play with our minds and let us down, what we do know is that God is sovereign and in control of every detail of our lives and with God we always, always win the battle; because we are more than conquerors, and that ultimately is the point.
Hebrews 10:23 provides reassurance for continuing to cling on to that glimmer of hope in that thing we have been waiting for – “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful” and Hebrews 10:35-36 further goes on to affirm “so do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded – you need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God you will receive what he has promised”.
I know from personal experience how challenging it can be to wait on God to bring a dream you’ve nurtured for a while to fulfilment, without feeling angry or disappointed with God, and how it feels when you physically see the years roll by and yet that dream or desire looks as though it might not manifest according to your timescale, at least. It’s at that stage when you reach the point where you feel “what really is the point” and if you’re not careful, you can spin uncontrollably on a downward spiral, which can lead to depression as you try to manage your fickle emotions.
If I had a pound for every time I have voiced that statement “what’s the point” and then had to retract those words and express “but regardless of the situation Lord, I trust you; I give you my life…..”; I’d be a wealthy woman, because if the truth be told, we all have those weak moments from time to time.
A scripture God gave me very early on in my single walk has been Jeremiah 29:11, “I know the plans I have for you; declares the Lord, plans to prosper you, and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future”. This verse has kept me hopeful and grounded in God’s ability to totally take the wheel of my life, and steer it in the right direction, every time the enemy would goad me into thinking that somehow God was not a loving God; that He did not stand by His word or when he has tried to get me to compare my life to the lives of others who seemingly had the thing I desired or longed for; this verse would always come back to me in a devotional reading or a sermon I had listened to at church or an online article; i.e. whatever way or by what means God chose to get the message across to me He succeeded, and it literally rescued me and triumphed mightily, ministering to me that my God knows exactly what plans He has for my life, and I believe also for yours, and that ‘there is a point’ to our very being which is found in a life souled out to Jesus Christ.
I’m also reminded of Ecclesiastes 3:1, which clearly talks about the fact that there are various times and seasons to our lives and that in each and every one of those seasons, there is a specific point to where we are in our relationship with God at any given period of our lives – so if like me, you have ever uttered those four little words “what is the point” or you find yourself in a particular season where life has stood still and you can’t seem to see the wood from the trees; know this that there is hope in God, and that’s not just a cliché that we say as Christians, almost as if we were using it as a bandage to hide over our real emotions, but rather it really is a reality that God cares about every detail, and I mean every detail; even if it is the tinniest or minutest thing that bothers you, you can bet that it concerns God also, which is why He instructs us to cast all our cares upon Him because He really is interested in our very well-being; (1 Peter 5:7 – “cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you”).
You can take great comfort and certainty in God’s ability that the plans He has for our lives is to always prosper us – He has spread a table in our honour; has brought us to His banqueting table and His banner over us is love. So when that defeated foe whispers negativity in your ears and tries to get you to question God’s sovereignty in that area where God may seemingly be staying silent for the moment, requiring you to ‘wait’ for a season, let’s change our mind-set and perspective of where we currently are and know with conviction that whilst we can’t always trust our feelings or emotions, because they are fickle and prone to play with our minds and let us down, what we do know is that God is sovereign and in control of every detail of our lives and with God we always, always win the battle; because we are more than conquerors, and that ultimately is the point.
Date Nights with Jesus, July 2016
We hear it all the time from our married friends, “sorry, I can’t make it; Thursdays is date night”, or perhaps they are after a favour, that you babysit for them, whilst they take the opportunity to spend time with their spouse. That got me thinking; why can’t singles have a date night…… with Jesus!
How many times do you want to do something or go somewhere and have to think “who can I call?”, or “who would be available at such short notice?” Sometimes you don’t even want to bother your friends or expect them to fork out for activities that clearly are top on your “to-do-list”, but not necessarily on theirs, and perhaps the only plausible answer to this dilemma, is to “go it alone”. It might sound a strange concept to some, but why can’t we have a date night with Jesus?
Married people have a date night, primarily because they want to strengthen and invest in their relationship; not wanting the spark to go out or for a monotonous lifestyle to set in and, therefore, it’s important to their marriage to make time for each other in this special way. It can be as unique and as intimate as they make it, because it’s something that they both will enjoy doing, whilst seeking to enhance their relationship.
I recently made the choice to start having a date night with Jesus; I felt it would be an opportunity for me to do some of the things I loved to do and go to some of the places where perhaps I might have put off, because I was waiting until a friend was available to go with me.
So my first date with my best friend, and the lover of my soul, was to the theatre. We went to the Piccadilly Theatre in London to see the Jersey Boys; a play based on Frankie Vali and The Four Seasons. And guess what folks, it didn’t feel strange or odd, nor did I, in anyway, feel sorry for myself that I was sitting in the stalls without a companion, be that a spouse, friend or relative. Rather, I felt quite special and proud of myself that firstly, I had the guts to pull it off, and secondly that I felt confident to go somewhere on my own; but in reality I wasn’t on my own was I, because I had my date, Jesus, with me.
The atmosphere of the theatre is very different from that of a cinema or the movies; as there’s almost an air of grandeur that you experience, as you take in your surroundings, dependent upon where you are seated, and the theatres in London are quite old and therefore have a lot of history and archaeological detail to them.
Unlike some disastrous dates that some of us might have gone on in the past, my date took great care in treating me to the finest, and did not skimp on the seats, but rather I had one of the best seats in the house on the second row, which meant I saw every detail and interaction with the talented cast members, the artistic band and eloquent and colourful props. I actually thought the seat next to me was saved for Jesus, as for the longest time as the auditorium was filling up, no one sat there. I was amazed that here I was on a date night with Jesus and even the chair next to me was saved for him; however my bewilderment didn’t last long as just as the production was about to start, a lady made her way down the aisle and sat in the seat.
I know it sounds comical, but what am I really trying to say here? I’m not being disrespectful when I talk about going on a date with Jesus, rather I am saying that it’s okay to spend time and go out with the one we love too. Just like our married friends go to lengths to ensure that their relationships are the best that they can be; we too want to ensure that Jesus is the centre of our joy and that does not only have to do with the spiritual nature of our relationship with Him, but it can extend to all areas of our lives.
Why don’t you consider giving it a try and see how it makes you feel. You don’t have to wait for someone to ask you to go to the cinema, the theatre, a museum, or even go out for a meal, but instead you can make the decision to have a date night with Jesus and enjoy just being with Him and in His company.
And the outcome of my date is that I had a great and enriched evening; when I left the theatre on that first date night, I felt like I was walking on air, because it was such a buzz and I’m now excited about next month’s date and what adventure we will embark on.
In John 10:10 we are encouraged to live life to the full; because Jesus came to bring us a life that is abundant. Not boring, not stagnant, not unfulfilling, but a vibrant life; one to be enjoyed! So the question is; who or what are you waiting for to start doing those things you have always wanted to do?
How many times do you want to do something or go somewhere and have to think “who can I call?”, or “who would be available at such short notice?” Sometimes you don’t even want to bother your friends or expect them to fork out for activities that clearly are top on your “to-do-list”, but not necessarily on theirs, and perhaps the only plausible answer to this dilemma, is to “go it alone”. It might sound a strange concept to some, but why can’t we have a date night with Jesus?
Married people have a date night, primarily because they want to strengthen and invest in their relationship; not wanting the spark to go out or for a monotonous lifestyle to set in and, therefore, it’s important to their marriage to make time for each other in this special way. It can be as unique and as intimate as they make it, because it’s something that they both will enjoy doing, whilst seeking to enhance their relationship.
I recently made the choice to start having a date night with Jesus; I felt it would be an opportunity for me to do some of the things I loved to do and go to some of the places where perhaps I might have put off, because I was waiting until a friend was available to go with me.
So my first date with my best friend, and the lover of my soul, was to the theatre. We went to the Piccadilly Theatre in London to see the Jersey Boys; a play based on Frankie Vali and The Four Seasons. And guess what folks, it didn’t feel strange or odd, nor did I, in anyway, feel sorry for myself that I was sitting in the stalls without a companion, be that a spouse, friend or relative. Rather, I felt quite special and proud of myself that firstly, I had the guts to pull it off, and secondly that I felt confident to go somewhere on my own; but in reality I wasn’t on my own was I, because I had my date, Jesus, with me.
The atmosphere of the theatre is very different from that of a cinema or the movies; as there’s almost an air of grandeur that you experience, as you take in your surroundings, dependent upon where you are seated, and the theatres in London are quite old and therefore have a lot of history and archaeological detail to them.
Unlike some disastrous dates that some of us might have gone on in the past, my date took great care in treating me to the finest, and did not skimp on the seats, but rather I had one of the best seats in the house on the second row, which meant I saw every detail and interaction with the talented cast members, the artistic band and eloquent and colourful props. I actually thought the seat next to me was saved for Jesus, as for the longest time as the auditorium was filling up, no one sat there. I was amazed that here I was on a date night with Jesus and even the chair next to me was saved for him; however my bewilderment didn’t last long as just as the production was about to start, a lady made her way down the aisle and sat in the seat.
I know it sounds comical, but what am I really trying to say here? I’m not being disrespectful when I talk about going on a date with Jesus, rather I am saying that it’s okay to spend time and go out with the one we love too. Just like our married friends go to lengths to ensure that their relationships are the best that they can be; we too want to ensure that Jesus is the centre of our joy and that does not only have to do with the spiritual nature of our relationship with Him, but it can extend to all areas of our lives.
Why don’t you consider giving it a try and see how it makes you feel. You don’t have to wait for someone to ask you to go to the cinema, the theatre, a museum, or even go out for a meal, but instead you can make the decision to have a date night with Jesus and enjoy just being with Him and in His company.
And the outcome of my date is that I had a great and enriched evening; when I left the theatre on that first date night, I felt like I was walking on air, because it was such a buzz and I’m now excited about next month’s date and what adventure we will embark on.
In John 10:10 we are encouraged to live life to the full; because Jesus came to bring us a life that is abundant. Not boring, not stagnant, not unfulfilling, but a vibrant life; one to be enjoyed! So the question is; who or what are you waiting for to start doing those things you have always wanted to do?
Andrea has been a born-again Christian since her teens and has grown up in the church for over three decades.
She is the author of “Insightful Tips for the ‘unique’, mature single; in her ‘wait’ for ‘Mr Right’, which was born out of her desire to see women in God, who have yet to find their life partner, not put their lives ‘on hold’ as a result, but to live and enjoy their lives to the full and be accomplished and walk in their God given purpose.
Andrea loves to travel the globe not only for pleasure, but also on ministry engagements and has spoken at conferences in Barcelona, Sudan and Uganda, as well as various Single Adult Ministries events within the UK.
Having obtained a BA (Hons) Degree in Childhood & Youth Studies, Andrea’s other passion is working with young people, and is currently one of the Youth Leaders at her local church, New Life Bible Church, Wealdstone. Her desire is to pour into the lives of young women the Godly lessons in life that she has learnt along the way, from her teens to adulthood, and is currently writing a programme for young women with that in mind.
Contact: Facebook
For more info: Andrea@newlifebible.net
She is the author of “Insightful Tips for the ‘unique’, mature single; in her ‘wait’ for ‘Mr Right’, which was born out of her desire to see women in God, who have yet to find their life partner, not put their lives ‘on hold’ as a result, but to live and enjoy their lives to the full and be accomplished and walk in their God given purpose.
Andrea loves to travel the globe not only for pleasure, but also on ministry engagements and has spoken at conferences in Barcelona, Sudan and Uganda, as well as various Single Adult Ministries events within the UK.
Having obtained a BA (Hons) Degree in Childhood & Youth Studies, Andrea’s other passion is working with young people, and is currently one of the Youth Leaders at her local church, New Life Bible Church, Wealdstone. Her desire is to pour into the lives of young women the Godly lessons in life that she has learnt along the way, from her teens to adulthood, and is currently writing a programme for young women with that in mind.
Contact: Facebook
For more info: Andrea@newlifebible.net
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