A few weeks ago I wrote a blog post called “Not Being Chosen” which, much to my great surprise, ran away from me in its readership. I’m so grateful to everyone who read it and also to those who shared with me what it meant to them. I’m humbled that God would use my story of hurt and pain to reach others and let them know that they are not alone.

But for all of you who read that blog post, I hope you also read this one, because – while that one expressed truth about very real emotions – it’s not the end of the story.

Not for one minute do I believe that those of us who have been “passed over” in human love have been forgotten by God or relegated to some dusty, second-rate role in life.

No. Though it might not have been our first choice, I believe God has chosen each single person (or person in a season of singleness, since we don’t know how long it may last) for a unique task.

But is our role really a “beautiful” one? Is our task as a single person just as beautiful as the one we actually desire more? I struggled with God on this one. I knew in my head that the work He has currently called me to is beautiful, but there are some days when it feels the opposite – it feels really, really hard.

And it is really, really hard. But that doesn’t mean that hard can’t be beautiful. In fact, the more difficult the pathway traveled, the more beautiful it becomes when it’s obvious that the only way we are making it is in Christ’s strength alone.

Because I am so not inherently beautiful – I am a messy, doubting, selfish sinner who struggles with her emotions and her priorities and her dreams. And there is no reason in the world why God should choose me to be a part of His beautiful, redemptive work on earth – except that it makes Him all the more stunning to behold.

Instead of me discontentedly asking God, “Why must I do the single task right now? Why can’t I do the married task?” – I really should be asking Him, “Why did You entrust me with Your great and majestic tasks at all when I am so unworthy?”

I lose perspective so quickly when I only focus on my emotions. Emotions are real and they are not to be discounted. But they are not what should be leading my life. My life should be led by my faith in Christ which stays strong even when my heart wavers. He is the great Healer of hurting hearts, and this is what I must trust when it feels like there won’t be any healing.

Because He will heal and He will lift my eyes heavenward to the beauty of the task in front of me. And when I cry out, “Please use me for your glory, Lord Jesus!” He will open doors and windows of opportunity that He has prepared for me.

The task is not to make myself some hero by “bravely being single” – it’s not even to just “get by” while wistfully counting down the minutes till a man shows up in my life and makes everything better.

The task at hand is to reflect God’s glory in a unique way that no one else can. The task is to love those in my sphere of influence in a genuine, relational way. The task is to share the Gospel, do my work as unto the Lord and not unto men, open my arms wide in hospitality, fill my space with artistic beauty, and invest in lives for the kingdom.

Satan hates this beautiful task. He will use all his forces of evil to attack and try to distract me from the task I’ve been given – mostly in dragging me down in despair and filling me with hopelessness. And those days when my eyes fill with tears instead of with joy, I can do one of two things – give in to the hopelessness and the joylessness – or I can claw my way through, whispering prayers of dependence on a God who never lets go through any storm.

Because the truth is that “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of our Lord Jesus” (Phil. 1:6). My weakness is not a surprise to Him, nor is it a hindrance. My sorrow and tears are not going to stop His plan – no, they are a part of the plan to draw me closer to Him and make me stronger and more useful for His task.

Is my task to be single for the rest of my life?

I don’t know.

But I do know that He has called me to be a beacon that reflects His strength right now in my singleness.

He called me to be so dependent on Him that the world can’t help but gasp at the beauty of that relationship.

He called me to take a stand for purity that is far more respectable than giving in and settling for cheap thrills.

He called me to make as big of an impact as I possibly can with these precious single years.

He called me to a ministry that requires the fervor and focus of a “single soldier on a mission.”

He called me to stop the wailing and whining and start the weaning of self-pity and the winning of souls for Him.

He called me to stop the stigma of “pitiful singleness” and start the celebration of “passionate singleness.”

He chose me for a beautiful task.

And the beauty of that task is being unfolded right before my eyes every day.

I just have to stop, open my eyes, and truly see it.

It’s a design far greater than I could have imagined.

Image from unsplash.com.