Living Boldly in the Peculiarity of Extended Singleness

Boldness is a by-product of walking with God as a believer. If we don’t have it immediately—God will allow circumstances to develop it within us. When God leads us through peculiar situations—we end up having to walk out choices that others aren’t used to nor do others expect.

Because our lives can sometimes go against the norm of what’s expected of us—others feel emboldened to insert their opinions into our lives. They lack understanding of what is really going on with us and in many ways, we become educators to them by our example.

However, if we aren’t confident in our boldness, we may acquiesce to try to please those who lack understanding rather than obeying God’s trajectory for our lives. Usually, when God has a unique trajectory for our lives—there is a specific purpose. Not everyone will understand and it will require boldness.

Jesus Exampled Boldness Shocking the Expectation of the Religious Leaders

Jesus lived in a peculiar situation. He had a purpose of revealing who he was as the son of God and destroying the works of Satan. This involved him traveling around preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God. It was outside of the norm of what some of the religious leaders expected.

He was not as concerned with the law as he was with mankind receiving salvation. The religious leaders had missed the main point of the law which was to point to our need for Christ. This is seen in the story where Jesus and some of his disciples picked corn on the Sabbath day:

“At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some heads of grain and eat them.  When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, “Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath.”

 He answered, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread—which was not lawful for them to do, but only for the priests.

Or haven’t you read in the Law that the priests on Sabbath duty in the temple desecrate the Sabbath and yet are innocent?  I tell you that something greater than the temple is here.  If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent.  For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath. – Matthew 12:1-8”

Jesus and his Disciples were in a Peculiar Situation.

Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” – Matthew 8:20

The above speaks of the sacrifice required, at the time, to follow Christ and to prioritize God’s purpose for Christ being on the earth. He had a mission to reveal salvation through himself and train the disciples so they could further spread the gospel after he retired back up to heaven.

Therefore, he had no plans of living a normal life of only working, eating, and drinking. He made sacrifices. He traveled a lot to spread the Word of the gospel. Yet, he was condemned by the religious leaders simply because they lacked understanding.

In this life of spontaneity, he and his disciples had become hungry. They began to pick some corn on the sabbath day to eat. Instead of considering the unique situation that Jesus and his disciples lived in for the purpose of God—the religious leaders judged them by law. They did not consider the welfare of Jesus or his disciples. Instead, their concern was making themselves look good in upholding the law.

Jesus was patient with them as he referenced David who lived in a Peculiar situation as well. David was also not settled in what we would consider a home or place of safety. He had been running for his life from King Saul who sought to kill him.

Therefore, David had to hide. This lifestyle of being on the run—caused him and his men who were with him to be hungry. They ate the bread that should have been consecrated for the priests.

Both David & Jesus’ Peculiar Living Situations for the Purpose God had Ordained Caused Them to Have to Take Actions Others Weren’t Comfortable With

God’s purpose with King David was to develop the character within him to be King of Israel. Not only did the future King David have to be developed by God to be king, but to be a type or metaphor that points toward Christ. You see, Israel was never supposed to have a king but God was supposed to be their king. God is married to Israel per the book of Jeremiah. It’s a picture of God’s covenant of love, commitment, salvation, and restoration of mankind.

This is why King David’s throne is the throne that will always have a ruler of David’s lineage. Jesus is the final ruler. who is also referenced as the Son of David. Jesus fulfills the prophecy to always reign on David’s throne. I hope this isn’t too deep. If you read your study Bible you will see all of the references of how all of this ties together.

With such great purposes—there is often great weight that others who have different callings do not have to deal with. Therefore, the advice offered by others may not even be applicable to the person it is being offered to. Just like our examples of Jesus and David. They had to do what they had to do to eat on the Sabbath day. And David had to do what he had to do to survive for God’s purpose in him.

Similarly, to King David and Jesus Each of Us has Our Own Cross to Bear of The Lord for Some of Us It’s Being Single Longer (Extended Singleness)

Being single for long periods of time looks awkward. Especially for those for whom marriage came easy. However, I’m sure God doesn’t want us to try to force a relationship to experience marriage. God doesn’t get glory out of people just getting married. He gets glory out of people having marriages that honor him. Until then, he is honored in our obedience to him as a single believer.

I’m not asking for anyone’s permission to be accepted with them to stand in boldness as a single. I’ve gotten to the point where I simply do not care. Whoever is with me is with me and whoever is against me is against me. God called me to walk in boldness as I enjoy my singleness and walk out the unique sacrifices that come with this lifestyle.

Others will not understand, as they did not understand King David or Jesus. However, my responsibility is not to acquiesce to other’s expectations of me—but to be bold like my example—the chief—Jesus Christ himself.

The wicked flee when no man pursueth, but the righteous are bold as a lion. – Proverbs 28:1

Stand your ground in boldness, gentleness, and grace. Boldness meaning, “A willingness to take risks and act innovatively; confidence or courage. 2. The quality of having a strong, vivid, or clear appearance (Oxyford Languages Dictionary, 2024.)”

Why Being Friends First Makes for a Better Relationship

Russelyn, you’re not in a relationship yet? An all too familiar inferential question to singles implying there is something wrong. However, having healthy relationships with people of the opposite sex as friends is a relationship just not a romantic one.  At least, not at first and that’s okay. Why? Because friendship provides a healthy foundation for a more satisfactory relationship.

Trust is Built as a Friendship Provides a More Solid Foundation for a Lasting Relationship

Those who establish a genuine friendship first before entering a romantic relationship have gotten the most important things out of the way. Things like shared values, seeing a person for who they are without the pressure of feeling as though they have to be perfect or impress the other person.

Real trust is built in this type of environment. Further, the tools to cultivate healthy communication and resolve conflict are developed within an environment where those involved feel safe to be themselves.

Lust is not a Good Foundation for Love

The contrary is an environment built on lust. Passionate lust often causes us to move so fast that nothing else becomes more important than satisfying our lust. When the lust fizzes out—there is nothing else to hold the relationship up with. The realities of character flaws that were previously ignored begin to chip away at what’s left of a connection until the connection is completely gone. Therefore, lust is a poor foundation for a relationship. While friendship allows for more stability when a relationship finally does turn romantic.

What Does This Tell Us?

It’s more beneficial to focus on building friendships with others than dating relationships. Those of us who desire something real may mention we want an organic relationship—something that kind of just comes together.

Friendship creates an environment where something can just come together. Therefore, those who encourage people who are single and desire marriage should encourage singles to place themselves within environments with people they can build friendships with not just to date. Out of the safe environment of friendship dating can occur while yielding a more productive relationship.

Friendships Help to Guard One Another’s Hearts Along with Honesty

Friendships help to guard one another’s hearts better as there isn’t a false expectation of more. However, some friends can be dishonest and only remain present in the hopes of romance. This is where honesty becomes important. Beginning with honesty about whether there is a genuine attraction or not to a friend.

No one should agree to be in a romantic relationship with someone just because someone is a good person and there is no genuine attraction there. A genuine attraction would have to grow at some point for the relationship to develop into something more.

I read a book where a Christian psychologist encouraged a woman seeking a healthy relationship to find someone like her genuine guy friend who she shared values with but also had an attraction to. A person may not be the magazine or movie star level of attraction but there should be some genuine attraction there. If no genuine attraction ever grows—that person is probably only meant to stay in the friend zone and that’s okay.

Other Benefits to Being Friends First

Research shows there are lower divorce rates among those who are friends first. The emotional bond between the couple tends to be stronger when the couple are Best friends as well. Higher levels of marriage satisfaction and happiness are reported among couples who are friends first.

A study in a book by Dr. John Gottman, Judy Doug Abrams, and Rachel Karl Abrams shares that men have sex for an emotional connection while women need an emotional connection to have sex. Among those surveyed over 90% of men and women agreed with this statement. Therefore, the sex life can be better in a relationship where the couple are friends first due to the stronger emotional connection.

If you’re worn out by the distress of dating—fallback, enjoy your life in Christ, and focus on building healthy friendships with others including the opposite sex. When the time is right—you’ll see one of your healthy friendships develop into more.

How a Woman’s Need for Security Can Turn into Control Creating Disunity in Marriage

I recently watched the Barbie movie. I thought it was so well put together as it revealed a fear that many women have. This fear creates tension between men and women as men wrestle with their own sense of accomplishment and manhood.

Okay, we all know the Lord commands his blessing in unity. Satan seeks to divide men and women because instead of a blessing—chaos will be the natural result expressing itself as disunity. Sometimes as women, we allow ourselves to give place to the devil due to our fears. This is while not realizing that we are creating disunity and unnecessary tension in what we say we want. A healthy marriage.

How was this fear shown in the Barbie Movie?

This fear was made explicit in the Barbie movie when Ken struggled with his image as a man. He’d lived in a Barbie world—where women ruled. When attending the real world—he saw that men ruled and men were respected.

What Ken experienced in the real world spoke to a natural need that he had as a man. That need was to be seen with respect. To be admired and desired by his Barbie of choice. There is nothing wrong with this. It’s a natural God-built desire in men.

Just like there is nothing wrong with women desiring to feel secure. To feel secure—things need to be lined up in a certain way. We want to know our men are submitted to God. We want to have the rest and assurance of a home of our own to come to and raise children together with our husbands.

We want to know that if it takes us some time to recover from having a baby or perhaps we encounter post-partum depression—our stress can be alleviated and we aren’t forced into further places of stress like having to become the main breadwinner. There is nothing wrong with that.

The problem is when we seek to get our needs met by control and not trusting God. When we seek to control one another instead of yielding to one another’s needs in humility—we give place to the devil.

Ken, in the film, came back to Barbieland and turned it into Ken’s land. He taught the other Kens to rule over the Barbies in such a way that the women primarily served the men as if they had no other purpose.

The Barbies weren’t innocent as they never allowed any man to be in a position of government or authority. They were very clear in the fact they did not trust the men to rule. Even at the end—the Black Barbie said she’d allow some of the men to have jobs but not in the cabinets relating to governing. The movie ended on distrust of men although it had some positive attributes aside from this topic.

The point is women—we need to be aware of our fears. We need to be aware of what makes us feel unsafe or insecure in the environments our men create for us. We need to trust God and be patient as the man we’ve chosen works together with us to create an environment that would make us feel more secure. Likewise, we need to be considerate of what would make that man feel wanted, needed, and respected as well.

We reap what we sow. If we sow what the man needs—he will be willing to sow what we need. The vice versa is correct as well. When the man, who is the leader, sows what the woman needs—she will be more willing to sow what he needs.

How we Address Our Need for Security With Our Spouse is Important

I talked about this in a previous article about communication. Wisdom is needed in how a woman communicates with her man. Women should not wait until they are upset or in a heated argument to address concerns had with their man that would make them feel less safe.

Instead, a woman should choose a time when both her and her man are even-natured about how they feel about each other. Maybe after a good meal or some great time spent together doing something the couple both enjoy. At that time, sharing, “You know, x,y, and z would make me feel safe.”

She could even add something like this:

“I love the way you make me feel safe communicating with me through the day, buying me flowers, coming home from work on time. You know what would also make me feel safe is x,y, and z.”

This is communicated in a way that builds a man up instead of tears him down. It doesn’t accuse him or make him feel unuseful, controlled, or unneeded.

Instead, it speaks to his natural desire as a man to feel useful and needed. Depending on what it is, it may take some time. This is where we have to remain in a posture of trusting God, our husband’s ability to grow, and his ability to provide the security we need while remaining patient.

If you know you have a good man—make sure he knows you appreciate him. Make sure he knows you don’t want to take him for granted. Finally, make sure you don’t allow your fear of not feeling secure because of the process of it all that you seek to control him to bring about what would make you secure more quickly. In our minds, we may be trying to help but in his, it may be seen as belittling him. This will never make a woman feel secure.

It will instead create the division that Satan desires which results in the chaos we do not want. Remember God commands his blessing toward those who dwell in unity. Make sure as a woman of God—you are doing your part.

Showing that you trust that man to listen to you and address your concerns while praying for him and trusting God will help that man to do what needs to be done more quickly than control and belittlement. Trusting our man takes trust in God.

Marriage and relationships take work. Everything doesn’t work itself out overnight. Patience and endurance is a requirement. Allow the Lord to develop this within you as you work together to create unity. Control is an unfortunate way to sabotage your marriage, your personal growth and your spouse’s.

Where Do Christian Singles Meet?

Everyone has their opinion on why so many Christians are single from being too picky or there not being enough godly men or women to choose from to feminism and more. However, the truth be told—it’s just been difficult for genuine and mature Christians to find one another.

When I was in my late 20s and early 30s, I had the Legacy conference to look forward to every year in Chicago. I just knew I’d meet some men my age and sisters in Christ to hang with. I did meet various men and experienced the norm.

The norm is everyone you may be interested in may not be interested in you. No matter how awesome you are—you still have to submit to God’s timing for a reciprocal God-honoring relationship. It simply was not time. At least, I had a place to look forward to meeting and seeing godly men. These are the things that provide evidence against the lie that there are no godly men out there and vice versa for the men regarding women.

Thankfully, there are many more co-ed opportunities for us to look forward to that have been opening up. Taking advantage of these opportunities help to make the wait a lot easier until God’s appointed time for us to become more than friends with our special someone. Check out the below places Christian singles meet.

The Sexless Tribe

Many Christian singles meet at TST. TST is The Sexless Tribe, a community for Christian Singles committed to practicing abstinence until marriage. The group is led by Shakia Seabrook. She hosts a meetup in Atlanta every year.

Yonci’s World

Single Christian men and women meet at Yonci’s world. However, her community isn’t exclusive to Christians although there are some Christians in her community. She is a mature dating coach with an exclusive Instagram page with several men looking for their wives. Not all. Discernment is required, but a good handful of mature brothers. I can tell there are mature men in the group because I’m in the Patreon group.

She polls the men asking them questions and allowing us women-folk to read the responses so we can have an idea of the mindsets of the men in the group. There is a low-cost $10 a month plan that allows access to all of this. Plus, we get an opportunity to meet together monthly via Zoom. For those who live in Dallas Texas—she hosts almost weekly events and she has a big one coming up Labor Day weekend for the singles to meet one another. To learn more about Yonci, consider following her Instagram.

Dear Future Wifey

If you aren’t familiar with Laterras Whitfield—you must be hiding under a rock. He is the founder of the L.I.T. community birthed from his weekly podcast—Dear Future Wifey. L.I.T. means living intentionally and transparently. As single believers, we do just that. He hosts annual trips and/or retreats. Last year, we went to Jamaica. It was co-ed. I believe he is planning something for November of this year. Check out his podcast and check the subscription box below a resent video to be added to his email list for information about future trips.

Fly and Unmarried

Fly and Unmarried is a single’s ministry out of a church in Florida. I met the gentleman who co-leads this group through a single’s FB group. He invited me and I pop in whenever I get the chance. He co-leads with a Christian therapist. They both provide insightful knowledge for singles on a Zoom with both single men and women. Everyone is seen and heard here as it’s a safe online community for Christian singles. Those interested will have to reach out to David via his Facebook page.

The Single Christian Hub – The Single Christian Hub is another place where single Christians meet. I found this while doing an internet search for something. I’ve not attended any of About (thechristiansingleshub.com)

Heart of Dating Conference

Let’s not forget about the Heart of Dating Community and Conference. The conference is held once per year. Single Christian men and women meet from all around the world to be poured into. Kait Wartman is the founder.

While many of us Christian singles may be single—that doesn’t mean we cannot meet up together and enjoy life. I’m so thankful for God’s keeping power! It’s kept me healthy, peaceful and persevering as a single. It’s my desire to see other single believers experience that and that’s why I created this list.

The Black National Convention

The Black National Convention is a place where mature Black people meet to learn about various topics to uplift the Black community. Topics range from business, AI, Self-help and more. There is also speed dating that takes place as well. Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the event and the Black Business School.

The Legacy Conference

The Legacy Conference is a staple where Christian singles meet among all Urban Christians in general. The conference isn’t specific to Christian singles but many of us would attend yearly. They are hosting the events in several cities. Workshops and musical guests are the highlights of the Legacy Conference. It’s definitely a nice place to meet like-minded believers.

Avoiding the sex Addiction Pit in Dating & Singleness

This article is heavily based on the knowledge found in “Boundaries in Dating (Chapter 17 Summary).” The chapter warning on the importance of saving sex for the commitment of marriage starts out discussing abstinence until marriage as a reflection of purity and holiness.

Holiness means to be set apart, honored, highly prized, and dignity. This is how we should see our commitment to wait. It also proves our ability to practice self-control. Something we should embody and look for in others that we wish to pursue toward dating and potentially marriage.

Sex Addiction Can be Avoided Through Understanding This

The ability to have self-control means the ability to practice delayed gratification—a healthy tool needed for a thriving marriage. A partner should be able to deny himself for the greater good of the relationship. Sacrifices will be required in marriage and demonstration of one’s commitment to wait for sex is a strong indicator of one’s ability to sacrifice as necessary.

It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality;  that each of you should learn to control your own body[a] in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the pagans, who do not know God; – 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5

I don’t know if you’ve ever experienced the drawing in of passionate lust from someone you were dating or as a vice from a need you needed to address. This is one of the most dangerous forms of temptation as it fragments your soul. This is to say the below:

“Passionate lust splits you from your heart, mind, values, and the life you truly desire.”

Henry describes a healthy person as one who is integrated. Meaning all “aspects of a person are connected and working together.”

He uses the example of someone who gives their body 100 percent to someone who only gives their soul partially if they aren’t willing to commit to the person they are sleeping with. He calls these people lusters, who often use sex as a cover to avoid dealing with the deeper parts of development within themselves that would make him a healthier person qualified to relate to others in a committed relationship.

“Instead of expressing love through sex, the luster replaces love with sex.”

In doing so, he neglects developing the skills needed to build a genuinely loving relationship. The woman who allows this type of behavior is harming the luster by enabling him to continue in this unhealthy pattern. It’s best to say no to this type of temptation and take God’s way of escape immediately. Many married women have married sex addicts this way finding that they have a non-relational partner.

Sex to Meet a Need Leading to Addiction and Lack of Self-Control

Perhaps, you have become a non-relational partner who is addicted to sex because you use it to fulfill a need. Sally is a client of Henry’s in the book, who became promiscuous and sexually addicted during dating to fulfill the need of being wanted.

This is something she’d felt she lacked from her childhood. After discovering the things that drew her to her sexual experiences in counseling—she realized her lack of desire to feel wanted. She began fulfilling that need in a support group with men in non-sexual ways. This allowed her to stop her promiscuity altogether. She now chooses men based on her values instead of her need to feel wanted. I would encourage you to pick up the book, “Boundaries in Dating: and read chapter 17 a few times over.” Go before the Lord in prayer and ask him to uncover what needs may be drawing you to sexual relationships outside of marriage. Ask the Lord to show you healthier ways to meet those needs and begin to pursue what God shows you.

Eventually, you will regain back your self-control like Sally. You’ll also get reacquainted with your values and implement boundaries to protect those values while entertaining others for real love instead of the temporary fix of lust that is always fleeting like a never-ending pit.

Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed. – Ephesians 4:19 (NIV)

Below are the top five needs that drive people to passionate lust:

1. The need for intimacy and connection

2. The need to feel admired and desired

3. The need for power

4. The need to be free and out from under something like parental control

5. The need to avoid working through pain and loss

6. The need to overcome shame and bad feelings about oneself.

Ask yourself do you have any of these needs and how are you meeting them in healthy ways. Self-awareness is so important in relationships in general and dating. They help us to be aware of why we are doing the things we’re doing or involving ourselves in the things we involve ourselves in resulting in better decisions. Pick up Dr. Cloud’s book, “Boundaries in Dating.”

Boundaries in Dating, a book by Dr. Henry Cloud and John Townsend. In it, they point out some very important boundaries and wisdom for dating. We’ll start by sharing his definition of a boundary as a property line. Just like property lines show where your property ends and another begins—your boundaries do the same.

He points out that your boundaries protect your emotional property by providing an intuition of when your boundaries are crossed. This is usually the case when someone tries to control you, get too close to you, or make you do something you aren’t comfortable doing.

Further, Cloud shares that boundaries define us. They point out what we are and are not love and hate, and our values. Being honest about these things he says makes the dating process easier. Examples of boundaries shared in the book are below:

• “Words: telling someone no and being honest about your disagreement”
• “The truth: bringing reality to a problem”
• “Distance: allowing time or physical space between two people to protect or as a consequence for irresponsible behavior”
• “Other people: Using supportive friends to help keep a limit”

Not owning our boundaries properly can lead to things like not being ourselves, dating the wrong person, and dating out of fear and hurt whether than values. These notes on boundaries in dating are the reason it’s so important to get to know ourselves before dating.

As Dr. Cloud says dating is for the mature. Other nuggets are shared in the book such as: Dealing with the Fear of loneliness, avoiding falling for someone you would not be friends with, and the issue with co-dependency.

Fear of Loneliness (Boundaries in Dating)

Dr. Cloud had worked with a woman who’d recently broken up with her boyfriend. Because of the excessive feeling of aloneness, the woman felt—she returned to the relationship she knew was not good for her. She had put up with bad relationships in her past showing a pattern of not being able to be alone. Below are things people put up with when dating based on loneliness:

• “Putting up with disrespectful behavior”
• “Putting up with things that do not align w/your values”
• “Settling for less than you know you desire or need”
• “Going back to a relationship you know should be over”
• “Getting into a relationship you know is going nowhere”

When dating from aloneness, the dating is done from your fear of being alone whether than your values. This is unhealthy. To overcome this, a boundary must be created where you do not allow yourself to date until you resolve the aloneness issue.

Solving aloneness should be done outside of a romantic relationship per Dr. Cloud. It should be done by these two things:

1. Strengthening your relationship with God and avoiding using a romantic relationship to get God’s-sized needs healed.
2. Strengthening your relationships with safe, loving, and caring people outside of romance. This would be friends and family.

Only after the aloneness is resolved is it safe to go back into dating.

Don’t Fall in Love with Someone You Cannot Be Friends With

A patient of Dr. Cloud’s had a good friend, Dennis, and a romantic interest, Ryan. The good friend aligned with the patient’s values, but Ryan did not. There was just a strong attraction drawing her to him that she could not justify. Essentially, it was an empty relationship based on romantic feelings alone. This could not develop into a sustainable relationship and the patient was setting herself up for disappointment by continuing to date Ryan. Dr. Cloud encouraged her to instead find a guy she was attracted to who possessed the same qualities as Dennis.

Dr. Cloud warns of the false hope that we can change someone with different values. Instead, we need to realize they would have to change on their own. See being attracted to him/her as a problem and focus yourself on the reality of the situation as much as possible. Don’t confuse feelings of longing for love or infatuation for love. Lastly, find accountability that will not allow you to get involved in such a relationship. It’s hard to be in denial when you have friends who tell you the truth.

Dependency in Dating

In dependent relationships, dependency is often confused with love. Dependency is good but can be an inhibitor for us taking responsibility to grow in areas where we are weak. For example, there is a story in the book where a woman named Lindsey depends on her boyfriend, Alex—to deal with all confrontations in her life. At one point, he’d felt used and confronted her.

Thankfully, she listened and began to work on her assertiveness in a support group. She saw this as an opportunity to grow instead of only depending on Alex. In relationships where our partner has strengths we do not—it is helpful for us to work on those areas of weakness rather than to only use their strengths.

There are several ways a dependent relationship can turn unhealthy. The stronger party could manipulate the weaker. The stronger person can resent the weaker. The weaker party could be dismissive of the stronger one’s feelings of resentment and so on.

Read more on Boundaries in Dating in the book. There are so many good nuggets to share. I’ll provide a follow-up article on the boundary of saving sex for marriage next time on the blog.

He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. – 1 Timothy 3:6

Kanye was recently recorded saying he has a problem with Jesus because he prayed about some issues he’d experienced and Jesus did not show up. Thus, he had to take the situation into his own hands. He tried to balance it out by saying that Christians depend on Jesus so much that we won’t put the work in for ourselves.

Some of what he said was okay like don’t just tell people you will pray for them when you can take action. However, the slight to praying and saying that praying isn’t working and God did not get him out of the threats he endured but himself is not okay.

It’s giving pride. Just like the scripture above warned against warning that the novice may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. We know Satan’s major sin was pride. He exalted himself and left from giving God the just glory due to his name.

Similarly, Kanye is doing the same thing not realizing that God gave him the wisdom and resilience to get through whatever he had to make it through. I am glad this conversation is coming up because Kanye is not the only one to have this issue.

Many turn their hearts against the Lord when they go through difficulty not realizing that God uses difficulty in the believer’s life to work for our good. It builds up our faith and causes us to see the power of God personally in our lives.

It isn’t wrong for Kanye to feel some type of way but he should share how he feels with the Lord and the mentorship that he should be submitting to. The Holy Spirit will teach him and guide him through whatever he is going through.

For example, Cain in the Bible had an issue. He was jealous of his brother Able. God saw that there was something evil in his heart. God decided to use the offering to draw it out so that Cain could deal with it. Therefore, God rejected Cain’s offering.

It was Biblical for God to reject Cain’s offering for having an issue with his brother that was left unaddressed. God says in the New Testament if you have a problem with your brother—don’t bring an offering to the Lord but make things right with your brother—then come back and bring your offering.

God warned Cain that something evil was in his heart but he had to rule over it. In other words, God was saying he needed to work through something and overcome it. Then, his offering would be accepted.

Instead of working through the evil in his heart with the Lord—he decided to take what he was feeling into his own hands. He did what was right in his own eyes killing his brother. Kanye did not go to that extent of course.

The point is Kanye decided to not work in communion or conjunction with the Lord as God was inviting Cain to do. Instead, he worked according to his understanding. This garnered him a result where he seems to be content to continue to leave God out and promote dependence on self instead of Christ.

This is extremely dangerous. As believers, we depend on Christ. We have to do work but the work we do is while consistently acknowledging and fearing the Lord. Fearing, meaning to respect what God says about the matter. In doing so, we consider the Lord in all of our decisions.

There is bad teaching in the church where some Christians are taught to ignore difficulty as faith. Ignoring the difficulty excuses our invitation to work together with God on whatever is ailing us. Both this idea and Kanye’s idea of self-reliance are wrong.

Christianity is not just going around saying Jesus is king or good things about God. Sometimes, as believers, we pump up an influential person who gives their life to Christ to become a minister of the gospel without having been tested to the point of developing maturity.

Kanye West lacks maturity. Nothing that he says about God or Christianity should be taken as gospel. It’s better to be humble as a novice than to be prideful resulting in others being misled.

Tupac is sometimes compared to Kanye, but Tupac was different in the way he shared his faith. Tupac shared again and again, that he doesn’t want to be a role model or minister because he doesn’t know how. He was very self-aware of the fact that he was figuring it out. 

He made a lot of mistakes and he was humble about that. Yet, he still believed. You could hear various questions he had toward God in his music but it always came from a place of reverence and respect. In fact, he was recorded sharing that despite the difficulty he’s experienced—he still believes in God and will always believe in God because God was there for him when things were well. This is the type of heart God looks for when we have issues with God, a heart of humility.

There is even a parable in the Bible about a religious person with a prideful heart and a humble man who feared the Lord. See below story:

“Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’

 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’

 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” – Luke 10:18

One of the men relied on himself, the Pharisee.  The other relied on the goodness of God, the tax collector. The tax collector is the one that was seen as justified by God. Sidenote: This parable isn’t an excuse to continue in sin. What God will do is empower us to obey him and become free from sin. When he does—he doesn’t want us to steal his glory. This can apply to whatever we are dealing with in life such as Kanye’s situation.

God doesn’t expect us to understand everything, but he wants us to come to him in humility and respect. God is so good that he will reveal himself to us through our trials of life. He will walk with us and send others to do the same.

Recently, I was walking either in or out of my church when I felt the grief in my heart of not having a family of my own. I also felt a sense of gratefulness knowing that my momentary suffering has a far greater purpose. Of which purpose is to be a light to other single women.

Like Christ, who also suffered for a greater purpose. So, all men who believe in him would be saved. Shifting my mind to the greater purpose reminds me that it’s an honor to suffer for the kingdom of God and righteousness. I get to suffer for Christ. I get to identify with Christ my Lord and see him more.

So, yes—the grief was in my heart, but joy was there as well. This joy is fueled by faith in Christ and surrender to what he’s allowed in my life. Previous seasons of grief had been extremely heavy. It was difficult to see any good coming out of my experiences. However, after rain forms a rainbow. That’s a promise of joy and something different. I believe the brighter side of grief brings us into a more joyful place.

The Word teaches us to put on the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. Heaviness denotes carrying something heavy or overwhelming. Sometimes, while in that place we don’t know how we can put on the garment of praise but God talks about his anointing coming to give us the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. Therefore, his anointing will eventually help us with that. We only have to remain in faith.

Faith is believing God is still good when everything in our lives doesn’t look good. We maintain trust in the character of God despite. Even though—this is a battle that lingers for some time—we win by abiding in faith. Maintaining an attitude of praise helps us to endure the heaviness until it is lifted and we begin to experience joy again.

Even with the loss of close loved ones—I’ve found myself sitting in prayer and just going back in my mind to a thought of a loved one’s smile or something beautiful they would say. Or maybe, their disposition of calm and care. In the moment, it was just us living. Now, that they are gone—it becomes priceless. Tears of joy fall down my face during this process and gratefulness is produced within me for their lives. Not only for their lives but also for hope to see them again.

All of this is fueled by faith—the substance of what we hope for and evidence for what we do not see as scripture defines faith. When we are in the thick of grief—we can’t see any good. It feels like a heavy weight but it will get better. Some tips I’ve experienced to get me to better are below.

Wait for the Voice of the Lord

Scripture teaches us that we do not live by bread (natural things) alone. Instead, we live by every word that proceeds out of God’s mouth. A lot of times when I am in the thick of not only grief but difficulty—God speaks to me in my sleep. He’ll often speak to me in my spirit and back it up with something in his Word. I hold on to God’s word for dear life literally. It’s how I stay in hope. I rehearse it in my mind when I get weak. This stirs the little bit of faith I feel I have left. All we need is a little faith. God says with a small amount of faith we can move a mountain. There is truly nothing too hard for God.

Dive Deep in the Word

Don’t just take for granted that you heard God in your spirit or your dreams but ensure that you are firmly rooted in studying the Word of God daily. We are cleansed from any error, sin, wrong-thinking, and anything we need through the Word of God. Also, faith comes from hearing the Word of God. Faith gets you through the day when you want to give up.

Remain in Faith

Without faith, it’s impossible to please God. This is what God is looking for when we are in our hardship. Just a simple decision not to give up because we believe God’s word is true. We have many examples in scripture of God’s people enduring hardship by faith as they waited for God’s word to come to pass. Psalms 105 shares how God allowed his people Israel to sojourn as strangers in many nations before leading them into their nation.

While they were strangers in various nations—God commanded his protection over them to keep them from harm. I’m sure they probably wondered why God just didn’t put them in their land for good, but God was getting the glory out of them abiding in various nations. It’s also a picture of the gospel of Jesus Christ being spread to every nation as God chose Israel to be a symbol of his covenant with mankind. Those in other nations came to know God through fellowshipping with Israel. That alone was worth the process that Israel had to go through. Similarly, others coming to know Christ is worth the difficulty that we experience.

Finally, we will need to keep our Eyes on Jesus

And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him, he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. – Hebrews 12:1-3

There is something comforting about looking at Jesus. A lot of what we’ve experienced—he has as well. He lost loved ones. His cousin John the Baptiste was murdered. He had family problems. His brothers invited him to go somewhere dangerous where his life would have been at risk before the proper time. Jesus refused to go with them and scripture says they did not believe in Jesus. Thus, Jesus lacked some family support.

Jesus was talked about, mocked, beaten, and spat on. All of this was on top of his family troubles and grief due to loss. But Jesus chose to go through the hard parts because of the joy he foresaw as a result of his endurance.

Like Christ, there will be a positive brighter side to our grief, hardship, and difficulty. What is God showing you about your future? What is something positive that you know God has used your difficulty to prepare you for? You are worth it! You can do this—meaning everything God is calling you to do. If you need healing to experience the brighter side—healing is coming. Remember healing is the children of God’s bread. Just like God promises to provide for us. He promises to heal us. If you aren’t there yet—you one day will be on the brighter side of grief.

Wife Hides $47,000 from Husband as An Escape Fund

On social media this past week, a story was floating around of a 34-year-old wife who hid $47,000 from her husband in what she calls an escape fund. The woman was advised by her mother to set aside money as an escape fund if her marriage doesn’t work out.

The woman shared that her husband is a healthy hard worker who has not exhibited any unsafe traits. Thus, she has every reason to trust him but she took her mom’s advice. The husband got hurt at work and the family of two took a financial hit that caused them to struggle. The wife was a stay-at-home wife.

The husband took on two jobs and drove for Uber to keep up their lifestyle. All the while, the wife still had not shared about her secret stash. The husband suggested they down-size to which the wife disagreed. When the husband examined the bank account(s) to review their finances—he saw her taking withdrawals out over some time. When he asked her about it—she then confessed.

The husband felt let down as if his wife did not fully trust him and he left to stay with his brother. The mom; then, readvised her daughter this was the whole reason she needed to put the money aside to escape now. The wife wanted to know if she was wrong when she wrote a blog for advice. She wanted to know if she should have used the money to help her husband while the couple was struggling financially.

My thoughts are to avoid allowing others to project their fears onto you and anyone who chooses to be married will have to be willing to take some risk. When we fully trust someone—we are willing to take the risk of what if it doesn’t work out.

Secondly, if she felt she needed a backup plan in case it did not work out—she should have brought that up in marriage counseling or at the beginning of the marriage so that it would be out on the table. Further, she could have used wisdom to build a business from home like many stay-at-home wives do to have something they are passionate about and to make money to save for themselves.

The way she went about it was a blow to the husband’s character. Anyone choosing to be in a marriage will have to be willing to make some sacrifices for the marriage above one’s selfish motives.

Be Careful to Avoid Others Projecting Their Fears on You

Unfortunately, the mom has been impacted in some type of way to feel it necessary to share what she did with her daughter. Some women do share negative stories they’ve experienced or observed from other women. Some of these experiences produce fears in women of the what-ifs. These fears are real. There is a real risk of a marriage not working out. People change sometimes despite how diligent we are in discerning the character.

In those instances, we have to trust God. God is the one who is our source and supplies our every need. We can know that if we have to cross that path of divorce or separation; God will give us the wisdom to still be okay and to get back on our feet. There are many testimonies of women who have made it out of those types of scenarios.

Finally, if we are marrying someone we trust—we should be able to be vulnerable with them about this fear. We can even ask him how can we come up with resolutions to resolve that fear. If your husband loves you—he may help you to set up some sort of fund for yourself. Usually, men don’t want to see anyone they love unprovided for. It’s a part of their nature when they genuinely love a woman or their children. Hence, the man in this scenario working two jobs and driving for Uber. In short, if we can trust a man to want to marry him—we should be able to trust him to be vulnerable with him regarding our fears. The question is, “Was this the woman’s fear or her mother’s fear?” It seemed more of her mother’s fear.

Lesson: don’t allow anyone else to project their fears on you causing you to act outside of your character. Instead, learn to discern your fears from those projected on you and shut the door when others project their fears onto you. Use wisdom in setting up money for yourself as there is wisdom in this by seeking to start a business or work part-time to have your own funds.

You can share that you want to have something for yourself to find fulfillment and exercise your passion. This is normally the case for most human beings. We all want to contribute something meaningful to society. This is a less harmful way to make money and set something aside for the future.

Those who Marry will have to be willing to take risk

There is no doubt that women who are stay-at-home wives can be vulnerable to instability when with the wrong type of man. The wrong type of man can be a man who uses his money to manipulate things getting what he wants by not working on his character to attract it but trusting in his money to manipulate surface-level people.

This is why it’s so important to be careful not to choose a man because of his money but rather his upstanding and godly character. Honestly, it takes time to find this type of man and to find one we also share an attraction toward.

Hence, the importance of blocking out negative voices that condemn women for being single at older ages. It takes how long it takes. Because marriage is such a huge risk—proper investigation before marriage is necessary.

People will talk about us whether we are being cautious of our romantic choices or not. We may as well have people to talk about us and make the best decision for ourselves so we can reap the benefits. After all, we are the ones who have to live with our decisions.

To attempt to lessen the risk—perhaps a deep dive within pre-marital counseling should cover the couple’s view on money, fears concerning money and stability, and plans to work together to protect one another from these fears. If we cannot be vulnerable enough to share our fears with someone—we should not marry that someone.

Trust is a foundation for a healthy lasting marriage relationship

Trust is that inner conviction that I’ll be safe with the person I’ve chosen. S/he will always have my back. We normally feel this way with friends and family and of course our spouse. If we cannot trust our spouse, we should not be with our spouse. The woman in this scenario shared that her husband gave no reason for distrust. Instead, the married woman introduced distrust into her marriage by showing she did not fully trust her husband. He was taken by surprise by all of this because he had no clue. I’m sure he felt like a fool. Maybe, he felt like everything he was building was a lie. That’s how we feel when trust is broken whether through cheating, lying, or dishonesty.

Distrust makes it hard to look at a partner the same after indiscretion. On top of the mistrust, the wife showed her self-preservation over the preservation of the health of the marriage. This is a lot for a man. It’s hard to come back from but I believe it’s possible. She did not have her husband’s back. Marriage requires vulnerability and a willingness to work together. It takes trust for this to take place.

Trust has to be rebuilt when it is broken

Another foundation in marriage is grace and forgiveness. Both parties in marriage have to remember there is no manual on how to have a perfect marriage. Most people experiencing marriage for the first time will make some mistakes. The thing is to learn from our mistakes and to be repentant about our wrongs. Remember repentance is to have a change of heart mind and actions. This will take vulnerability and growth. It will also take a willingness from both sides of a marriage. Prayerfully, the woman can examine herself and get some help with her thinking. If she can show overtime, she genuinely trusts her husband—he may be willing to reconcile.