READING: 2 Chronicles 28, 2 Kings 17, Psalm 66, 1 Corinthians 7
Both Pam and I know what it’s like to be single in the church and what’s it’s like to be married. We were older when we married (in our 30s), so we both spent a number of years as single adults in the church. I, in fact, was a single pastor for the first ten years of my ministry. Though both of us had interest in getting married, neither of us allowed our singleness to hinder our serving God through our respective congregations. We served faithfully then, sometimes with more available time and greater laser-beam focus on ministry than we’ve had as a married couple.
God’s plan, though, was for us to get married and serve Him together in ways we could not do alone. It’s hard for me to explain how my faith and trust in God have grown since He gave me a wife who loves me without reservation. I think we made a difference as singles before we ever met, and I hope we’ve made a difference as a couple.
Paul, too, knew that God uses both singles and married people. While he might have preferred that others were gifted with singleness—and thus singly-minded on the things of God—he also knew that God’s design for many was to get married. In either state, we are to serve God with all our being.
PRAYER: “Lord, I pray for my single friends today. Help them to stay devoted to You. Help married folks to do the same.”
TOMORROW’S READING: Weekend is for catch-up and review
MONDAY’S READING: 2 Chronicles 29-31, 1 Corinthians 8
