Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. (Philippians 4:8)
Thoughts are like seeds that become planted into our minds and if we began to water those seeds by meditating on it they will grow. Only a certain type of seed or thought should be allowed to grow in our minds. As believers, we have to remember not to get so relaxed that we allow just any thought to remain in our mind. Thoughts that are harmful to the fruit that God promises us (joy, love, peace, endurance, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance)  must be cast down. (Galatians 5:22-23)
Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:5)
In order to cast the thought down in your mind, you have to first recognize the fact that this is not a good thought or a good seed. How do you recognize it? Through the knowledge of God’s word that you have. That is why it is so important to read the Word, and to listen to the Word so that when the devil comes at you and says you are not valuable, you can say I am so valuable that nothing on this earth could have purchased my salvation and freedom in Christ. That’s why God had to come down from heaven himself to purchase our salvation sending his only begotten son.

That’s a high price. When the devil says you are not loved or lovable, you can say greater love has no man then this than that a man would lay down his life for his friends. (John 15:13-14) That’s what Jesus did for us. Furthermore, we have to realize that these ungodly thoughts do not come from ourselves alone. We may open a door to ungodly thoughts through our fears and so forth, but we are in a spiritual warfare. 2 Corinthians 10:4 reminds us that the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds. Sometimes, we may think a negative thought is just ourselves, so we dismiss it thinking it will go away on it’s own, and it only grows and gets bigger because we did not deal with it. God has given us weapons to deal with these things like his word, and prayer.

As soon as we spot a negative thought we need to begin to pray right there and speak God’s word or his response to that thought. In doing so, we are aligning our mind and thoughts to God’s word. God’s word is his seed that will not come back void and it will produce his fruit love, joy, peace, endurance, gentleness, goodness, and faith. (Isaiah 55:10-11)
Oftentimes, people allow a negative thought to grow in their lives to the point where it becomes a stronghold, and when it becomes a stronghold; it becomes even harder to deal with and the negative affects of the stronghold are undeniable in a person’s life.

For example, a thought of worry starts out as a simple question, “Will I have enough?, or Will I find love?”. The next thing you know you think upon those doubtful questions so much so that you begin to analyze the current circumstances in your life and you begin to speak doubt instead of what God’s word says saying I don’t have enough or I will never find love because I don’t have any prospects.

You carry the weight of those negative thoughts that have turned into negative words until you begin to act out on them settling for a relationship that God did not ordain or over-working yourself instead of praying to God for wisdom on how to have the income you need. Now, there is a stronghold in your life that manifests itself in anxiety, exhaustion, and frustration out of moving ahead of God, and it all started from a simple thought. So please be aware of the thoughts that enter into your mind that are seeds toward your future. Speak believe and act out what God’s word says. Let God’s word be the thoughts that you meditate on and in doing so you will be prosperous and successful in everything and remember to cast down immediately thoughts that are negative or opposite the fruit that God desires to produce in our lives. (Joshua 1:8) It will not always be easy and I am a witness of that, but it will always be worth it.

Good seeds equal good fruit. You get to pick the way your life turns out by what you choose to think about.

Sometimes life can be challenging as a Christian single. I can say for myself just a few days ago, I met a fine godly brother, which always seems to spark some sort of anxiety in me.  It makes me feel a bit of a rush for him to get my number and call me already. When you have waited so long and haven’t seen any prospects that seem to be available or a good fit . However, when I  finally see one, I’m ready for take off, and when that doesn’t happen it becomes easy for me to become discouraged.  So, I  have no choice but to continue on living life as usual. Shortly, after my bout of anxiety I had to finish up one more school teaching  abstinence education to high school students, and I thought to myself do I really believe this stuff that I am teaching? Do I want these young girls that I am speaking to to end up like me alone?

In between classes, the thought came to my mind where is your faith? I looked up that phrase in the bible and came across Luke 8:22-25.

Luke 8:22-25  –  Shares the story of Jesus and his disciples being in a ship, and Jesus says to his disciples, “Lets cross over to the other side of land.” In other words, God is taking them somewhere.

Jesus gets on the boat and falls asleep, and then a storm comes. The disciples began to freak out. They say things like we are going to drown. The anxiety of the storm has totally overridden the thought of them crossing over to the other side of land. Finally, in a panic they awake Jesus, and he calms the storm.  Then, he looks at his disciples saying the words I heard God say to me, “where is your faith?”

I can only interject with speculation why Jesus asked his disciples where is your faith. Could it be that they thought they would not get to the other side. Could it be that they cast off their faith for a moment not realizing who they really had on that boat with them and the power that he possessed.  Not realizing that even in situations that seem uncomfortable or outside of our control, he is still God and able to bring to pass what he said. In this case, Jesus had told them that they were crossing over to the other side. They faced the storm and forgot that Jesus said they were going to the other side and they almost gave up. However, Jesus was on the boat with them, and when they went to Jesus everything became ok, and they crossed over to that other side.

In the same sense, we are on our way somewhere. God has made us promises, and we are walking by faith to get to those promises. Like the disciples, when a storm comes or opposition comes we sometimes are quick to give up, and to get discouraged. But if we can re-kindle our faith and remember who is in the storm with us, and who made the promise (Jesus), and that he has the power to calm even the winds in our lives; we too will get to the other side.

Getting back to the single thing. I sometimes struggle with my faith in that area. Although, it seems it’s easy for me to believe God for certain things, I’ve often struggled with my faith to believe God for a godly spouse going back and forth with my faith for that. Largely, due to the fact that I did not see any godly men around my age. But faith is not seeing and then believing, but about believing although, you do not see.

Another nugget God gave me at one point in time as it relates to my faith for a godly man is (Mark 11:23) For verily I sayunto you, That whosoever shall sayuntothismountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.

A mountain would be to man an impossible thing to move, just like a godly woman meeting a godly man seems impossible to some of us who have never experienced it, but we cannot lose our faith. Because when we lose our faith we forfeit our blessing, and we settle for drowning in our current circumstance in life. So, keep your faith even if it’s really small because it’s that small amount of faith that will get you to your promise.

This blog post may not only apply to singles. There may be other promises that we are waiting to have come to pass in our lives.

1.) What are some promises God has given you, and you felt like is this possible? Will I make it to this promise or will I drown in my current circumstance of life?

2.) What do you learn from this story on how to handle your current circumstance on your way to the promise?