June Hunt - Singleness: How to Be Single and Satisfied

NOTES

1. Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary , s.v. Single; http://www.m-w.com.
2. Merriam-Webster , s.v. Single
3. James Strong, Strongs Hebrew Lexicon (electronic edition; Online Bible Millennium Edition v. 1.13) (Timnathserah Inc., July 6, 2002).
4. Davis and Denney, The Healing Choice , (Waco: Word Books, 1986), 78.
5. Gary R. Collins, Christian Counseling: A Comprehensive Guide , rev. ed., (Dallas: Word, 1988), 366368.
6. Collins, Christian Counseling , 363365.
7. Lawrence J. Crabb, Jr., Understanding People: Deep Longings for Relationship , Ministry Resources Library (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1987), 1516; Robert S. McGee, The Search for Significance , 2nd ed. (Houston, TX: Rapha, 1990), 2730.
8. Crabb, Jr., Understanding People , 1516; McGee, The Search for Significance , 2730.
9. Deitrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship , (New York: MacMillan, 1963), 47.
10. Crabb, Jr., Understanding People , 1516; McGee, The Search for Significance , 2730.

SINGLENESS

How to Be Single & Satisfied

JUNE HUNT

• Gives practical advice and Biblical wisdom from June Hunt, a biblical counselor whose award-winning radio program Hope For The Heart is heard on more than 900 radio outlets around the world. For more than 25 years, she has counseled people, offering them hope for todays problems.
• Provides 36 self-reflective questions to help you gauge your level of contentment on a personal, social, and spiritual level.
• Covers 5 myths about singleness and how NOT to fall for them.
• Shows how to spot discontentment, uproot it, and find joy as a Christian single. Features practical ways to use your time of singleness for God's purpose and glory.

Dear Single Friend,

I cant begin to count the times Ive been asked, Why are you still single?

Over the years, one of my stock answers has been, I dont think of myself as being singleIm just an unclaimed blessing! (My light-hearted response always brings a smile!)

Actually, Ive recognized that some married folks have felt uncomfortable with my unmarried status. Theyve made comments like, Bless your heart. Im so sorry you dont have a husband. One day, Mr. Right will come along and complete you.

The problem with this mind-set is its implication: Im not a whole person. Im merely a fraction. Im half a person. I have to have a mate to make me whole.

Well, I waited for Mr. Right to appear at my doorstep ... but he never showed up! Now lets get real: I am one person and one is a whole number ! I dont need anyone to complete me, because the Bible says I am complete in Him [Christ] (Colossians 2:10 NKJV).

So many singles obsess over what they think they are missing. However, I remember reading about a spinster named Harriet Hartbyrne who died at age 87. In her last will and testament, she said, I dont want anybody to put Miss on my tombstone. I havent missed as much as some people think!

The fact is, Jesus was singleand He didnt need someone to complete Him. The apostle Paul was singleand he didnt need someone to complete him. Regardless of your marital statusyou dont need someone to complete you.

When you realize this truth, then for whatever time you are single, your sovereign God plans to use you as a single person in a positive way according to His plan. Englishman Charles Haddon Spurgeonthe most renowned theologian of the 19th centuryonce said, Had any other condition been better for you than the one in which you find yourself, divine love would have placed you there. By embracing this truth, you too can be single and satisfied .

Yours in the Lords hope,

SINGLENESS

How to Be Single & Satisfied

He goes to weddingsalways as a guest, never as the groom. He takes gifts to the bride and groom, but has not been gifted with a bride of his own. Some of his friends have established careers and nice homes. He, on the other hand, owns no home and is just beginning a new career with meager finances. When visiting his married friends, he holds their children and spends time with them. They are drawn to him, though he has no children of his own.

He is a virile man with natural sexual desires, a man who experiences true temptation. He is a man of spiritual commitment that keeps him from sexual involvement outside of marriage.

He is regarded by some in his community as differenta misfit, not conforming to societys norm. However, he is intelligent, verbally gifted, and more than able to hold his own in community debates. He is not afraid to express his thoughts and feelings publicly, not ashamed to shed a tear among friends.

He is a content, confident man who knows who he is and what he wants, yet he does experience times of intense loneliness and longing. Typically, he is not thought of in this way, but this single mans name is JesusJesus the Christ, the Son of the Living God.

Although certain sects within Judaism encouraged remaining unmarried in order to foster devotion to God, it was certainly not typical behavior in the culture into which Jesus was born more than 2,000 years ago. Yet He was not the only one who, for whatever reason, was unmarried and yet lived a fulfilled and productive life. The single life is a special life that offers special opportunities and has special meaning for those who choose itor for those who choose to accept their unmarried state with contentment. As the apostle Paul said about his singleness ...

I wish that all men were as I am. But each man has his own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that. (1 Corinthians 7:7)

Single, successful, and satisfied. Lydia is a prominent businesswomanher customers value her fabrics, specifically the ones with rich purple hues. And because she is totally devoted to God, she regularly goes to a place of prayer on a riverbank outside the city. One day at that special place, her life is changed forever.

On this day her routine is interrupted by the appearance of two men. As they share the story of Jesuspresenting Him as the long-awaited MessiahLydias heart responds to their message, and she receives Jesus as her Lord and Savior. That very day she is baptized, along with other members of her family.

Lydia then invites these two guests to stay in her home, and they do. This is the first of many visits.

In fact, on one occasion these two influential menPaul and Silasare imprisoned for their faith. Upon their release, they meet with other believers at Lydias house, the location of the first church in Philippi. Lydia epitomizes the heart and focus of the single woman that Paul describes in 1 Corinthians 7:34. She is concerned about the Lords affairs: Her aim is to be devoted to the Lord in both body and spirit.

• Single means a separate, unique wholean unbroken, undivided individual.
• Single suggests being exclusively attentive:
  • single-minded as having one aim or purpose
  • single-hearted as having sincerity of heart and purpose or being honest and straight-forward
  • single handed as having performed a task alone or unassisted
• Single comes from the Latin word singulus , which means one only.

The entire law is summed up in a single command: Love your neighbor as yourself. (Galatians 5:14)