#thestruggleisreal
Most recently this hashtag could be used in the lives of some of my friends and in my own life in terms of relationships. Anyone who has been single for a period of time as an adult will be able to connect with this statement. Finding yourself in the three-ring circus that is dating can definitely be seen as a struggle. The struggle intensifies when you compare the ideals of a relationship founded within the context of God's word or Christian values and the realities of relationships in the world. It can be so difficult to trust the timing of God when you are single. Oftentimes, when we try to press the timing of God that we end up in relationships or conversations that although entertaining or fun for the moment are not what we actually want to end up with in the long run. In that moment, we must choose to be in a relationship of the world so that we might not have to be alone or to hold on, even though the struggle is oh so real, and wait on the timing of God.
Now, I am not saying that to wait on the timing of God means to sit on a bench and simply wait for your Mr. or Mrs. Right to come find you. Nor am I saying that waiting on the timing of God is easy. Like most things, waiting on the right relationship is not easy, especially in a society where we are used to instant gratification. Just so we are clear, as I write this blog, I am single and there is no person pursuing me at this moment - so when I talk about waiting on the timing of God as a single person, I can see it from the perspective of someone living those same circumstances.
I will say too that I have not always held on to God's timing and have gone after relationships because I was unwilling to wait any longer. In both of those circumstances, I came out the other side of the relationship hurting and broken rather than feeling whole from being in a relationship. Our purpose in this life is to pursue God whether we do that as someone who is single or married. Our wholeness comes from the primary relationship in our life, the relationship that is life-giving, love-breathing, and future-building; the relationship with Jesus. In the face of a world wherein dating is constantly thrust in your face through social media apps, dating services, and well-meaning friends who seek to set you up with their friends, it can be difficult to keep the primary relationship the primary relationship.
My hope for you is that you don't have to go through the struggle because you press in on God with your timing instead of His and go after relationships that are not for you. Press in, instead, to God and run hard for his plan and timing. Keep that relationship first and everything else will take care of itself because our God is greater that any struggle.
