Faith Is the Substance (Waiting on God)

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”- Hebrews 11:1

“To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven:” - Ecclesiastes 3:1-2



When I was asked to be a writer on our Church’s Fresh Fire BLOG, I chose to write about “Faith, Hope, and Love” centered on any given topic of the month. This month is the ‘LOVE’ month. You have to say it like Barry White or Isaac Hayes would have said it, ‘LUV’ with a deep voice! This is the month where everyone shows off their roses, chocolate candy hearts, cards, and gifts on social media. It is the month where everyone shares about the special dinners that were prepared for them or the awesome restaurants that they were taken to. It is the month where rose petals get sprinkled in places where they will later have to be cleaned up, sometimes dreams of an engagement skip yet another year, and where fabrications are better than telling your Facebook friends that your Valentine’s Day was simply AWFUL! This is what I must work with for the month of February.

I used to hate the month of February because after 25 years of marriage I became separated from my husband, and after 31 years, he became my ex-husband. You see? AWFUL!!! I lost my faith when it came to having a man in my life to love me the way God intended him to love me and to top it off, the method of dating changed drastically. Online dating. HUH? Well, God and I had to have a long talk. I was not understanding some things. I asked God some serious questions about this single life that I did not want to be part of, and I was not settling for anything less than what God wanted for me. God gave it to me straight one Sunday when I was listening to a sermon with my daughter while visiting her.

This is what I heard God say to me on this beautiful Sunday afternoon some years ago. God said to me that when He made man, there was no suitable helper for man, so God put him into a deep sleep, removed his rib and formed a woman. My finite, writer’s mind tells me that man may have been put into a deep sleep so that he would not interfere with what God was doing concerning his ‘help meet’. Adam may have had to be put into a deep sleep to be shown that the woman is not just a reproductive mating partner, but her identity is that she is his ally; the part of him that is missing; the part of him that she completes. The two together can become more than either of them was alone. So, getting back to Genesis, God made woman from the rib taken out of the man. The ribs protect the vital organs found in the chest, including the heart and lungs and they maintain space in the chest so the lungs can expand and contract during the breathing process. A good woman sent from God will protect her man’s heart and give him room to breathe life into her world. Well, the Bible says that God then brought her to the man. Let me say it again, God brought her to the man. Ladies, we must stop going to where God does not take us. I am just saying!!!

My own lesson in this - In my singleness, I have learned to have faith in God’s process. I have learned to wait on the Lord for my missing part created just for me. I purposely choose abstinence as a big part of this process. Abstinence from all the things that would make me have to tell it to God in my prayers of forgiveness. When this man looks at me, he will know that God created me just for him, and I will know that he was sent by God because he will be a breathtaking reflection of God’s own heart. Men and women are designed to complement one another.

He will already know what God meant when He said, “A man who finds a wife finds a good thing”. He will know he has found that ‘good thing’ because in the meantime, I will be working on God’s Temple, inside and out. In that way, this activity will give me less time to ponder on what I am waiting for and more time to work on the things that are making me that ‘good thing’. He will be on God’s GPS (God’s Positioning System) moving toward what God has for him, me. He will be a man who is spiritually sound as he walks with God. He will know that God created me just for him and he will love me past his mind and heart, to that space where only God and I dwell.

Single ladies, we are not only blessed, but divinely favored and loved by God. Let us stop praying for natural, superficial, and worldly things in the man that we want to find us. Try this supernatural, spiritual prayer that I pray every now and then. It goes like this:

“Dear Lord,

 I pray for my future husband. I pray for his heart. May You continue to mature him and reveal Yourself to him in mighty ways. I pray that he will love You passionately. May You and he have an incredibly deep relationship. I pray he is willing to open his heart to You. I pray he comes to You in prayer and is vulnerable about the things he is facing in this life. I pray he relies on You for help and guidance. Fill him with Your wisdom. I pray for a blessing over his heart. I also pray for protection. Please remove any temptations or evil that might attempt to cause him hurt, to fall, or turn from You. Guard his heart and cover him with Your peace. If there are any situations or circumstances that cause him pain, I pray that You would heal him. Make his heart whole. I pray my future husband would have a strong understanding of who You are and how You are moving in his life. I pray his heart is full of discernment and is sensitive to Your Holy Spirit. I pray that he is willing to address his emotions and does not push them away. Soften his heart so that he is always willing to yield to You in humility. I also pray that he would embrace all that You have for him and that he is passionate to serve You joyfully. May You continue to experience intimacy with him. I pray he loves You with all his heart, all his soul, all his mind, and all his strength. In Jesus’ Name, AMEN!

See, there is nothing superficial like good looks, money, fame, ‘me’ prayers, etc. Seek for your husband, “The Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” Matthew 6:33. God does hear the prayers of the righteous. His Word says so. When God sends your husband to you because of a faith-filled prayer, Girllllll!!! Be Blessed, be a Blessing and Wait on God. He knows what He is doing!

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