A Gift

I have been given a gift. It may be momentarily as it is for many. It may be for life as it was for some of His saints. This I do not know...
'charisma'(Greek for gift)- "A God-given gift which He will day by day enable you to use to edify other."
To some I have been given a curse, and to others still a license of freedom. But Isaiah 54:5 says, " For your husband is your Maker, whose name is the Lord of hosts..." I am not my own. I belong to Him and my body is where His in holiness indwells( 1 Corinthians 6:19-20).
He has given me a gift. Today I am single; "I don't know what tomorrow holds, so what would You, Lord, have me do today?" I see the answer to this question in three different people...
~Paul.
I wish to do what he did with his gift. He became a bond-servant( a slave who has chosen to serve his master) of God and discipled others. He was always with someone. As I read all the names of the people he lists at the end of his books, I think, "Wow...He had to live life with these people in order to remember their names."
 I wish to be like that.
~Anna.
 The Lord blessed her with a husband for a short period of time and then took him away. She was devoted in her singleness to prayer and fasting. She committed herself wholeheartedly to the service of the Lord.
I desire to be like that.
~Jeremiah.
Appointed to be a prophet and unlike the other two, God called him to remain single. He was devoted to prayer. He's the prophet with the most recorded prayers.
Are you seeing a pattern here? I am. Prayer.

The Lord has shown me that whatever momentary position the He has given me( rather single or married) I am not to use it to be concerned about myself. If single, for God; if married, for my husband. And even still in either situation, I am to set my mind on heavenly things. It's not merely about my feelings, but devotion.
1 Corinthians 7:35 says I am to have undistracted devotion to whatever God has called me to do. Even as married, one is to have love for her husband, because she has undistracted devotion to the Lord.
And last but no least, I am to resemble the Lord(Genesis 1).
He will supply all my needs( Phil. 4:19). We all need acknowledgment, approval, affection, and attention...Don't we? But I must let Him be the primary source of that fulfillment.
I love Proverbs 31:25. "Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she smiles at the future' regardless of what it may hold. I want to smile at my future....
Here is an acronym I got from a lecture on this subject:
S- Be secure in Christ alone( Colossians 2:10).
M- Make the most of every gift, talent, and skill to glorify God.
I- Invest in the lives of others.
L- Love unconditionally without expecting anything in return.
E- Exercise self-control with my thoughts, desires, and behavior(Galatians 5).
To those who know me- Will you help keep me accountable? I don't want to compromise my convictions for my comforts or cravings, but it is so hard! I don't want to waist this gift the Lord has given me rather it is temporal or not. I don't want to be the girl who is always wishing for something else or chasing that which he promises to satisfy! Although I don't wish to admit it, I do so struggle...I don't want to be consumed with myself, but with Jesus, looking out at the ministry He has given me. Oh, how I desire the righteousness only found in Him.
I want to be thankful and content with what He has given me, so I may smile at the future...no matter what it may hold.
"God, don't let me waist it!"