When You Are Trying To Rush Into Your Next Season

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven. – Ecclesiastes 3:1

When I sat down to start writing today and asked the Lord what He wanted me to write about, the word “singleness” was the first thing that came to mind. But to be honest, I didn’t react very eagerly to this idea. In my head, I responded, “God, really? Are you sure there isn’t something else you’d like me to write about instead?”

For the next 20 minutes or so, I brainstormed other ideas, hoping that as one came to mind, I’d feel more inclined to write about that topic than the one the Lord had initially placed on my heart, but I had no such luck.

So here we are. Let me start by saying it’s not that I was hesitant to write about singleness because I don’t like talking about it. Trust me – I get very excited when it comes to talking about singleness. My season of being single was much longer than I ever anticipated it would be, and I learned a lot during that time in my life. Therefore I’m really passionate when it comes to talking about singleness!

However, I think ever since I got married, or maybe even since I got engaged, I’ve been really nervous to talk about singleness. I didn’t want to be “that girl” who all of a sudden became a relationship expert because she got a ring. That was the last thing I wanted to do.

So as I was sitting on my couch just now arguing with God about whether or not to write this devotion, He reminded me with His still, small voice in my heart, “Kristen, when you were single, you were given valuable advice by married people all the time. Don’t count yourself out from sharing what I put on your heart just because you’re not in a certain season of life anymore.”

We’re going to talk more about disqualifying ourselves from doing God’s work tomorrow (stay tuned for that), but for now, I’ll just say that I was quite humbled by that gentle reminder the Lord gave me. And I’m not going to proceed to do what He told me to do. In fact, I’m going to do so this entire week.

I’m going to be dedicating all five of this week’s devotions to talking to my single friends. Once my fingers hit the keyboard on this topic, the Lord flooded my head with ideas, and I don’t want you to have to read a novel all in one day. So we’ll break it up into five days. I hope you’ll check back each day as we learn more about what the Lord has to say to you during this special season of your life (yes, I actually believe it’s special, even if it doesn’t always feel like it).

And if you’re not single and you’re reading this, I’d encourage you to send this to one (or a bunch) of your single friends! You never know how that one simple forward could make a difference for them.

Okay, now that I’ve given the longest introduction ever in the history of these devotions, I’m going to give you one thought for today on being single: you can’t rush or speed up what God has divinely ordained in your life.

By that I mean, you can’t make what God has in store for you happen any faster than it’s supposed to.

I’m looking out my living room window as I write this, and the leaves on the trees outside are a million different colors. So many shades of red, orange, yellow, green, and brown. It’s so beautiful and makes me so happy that fall is FINALLY here.

As is true with every season, fall comes at the same time every year. The third week of September is the official beginning of the season, and the weather (depending on where you live) usually starts to change around that time.

Now, I love fall. And I wait for fall all spring and summer long. But whenever I’m sweating my guts out in the middle of July, wishing the heat and humidity would disappear, I can’t will fall to arrive any faster. I can’t make the leaves change. I can’t make the temperature drop. God has ordained when fall will arrive. So when I’m still in the midst of summer, the best thing I can do is enjoy that season until the next one comes at its appointed time.

The same is true when it comes to seasons of life. God has ordained the timeline of your life according to His perfect plan for you. He appointed your current season for a specific purpose. And as much as you wish you could just hurry up and finish your season of singleness and move on to the season of being married, there’s nothing you can do to make that God-ordained season get here any faster.

There are purposes to each season throughout the year. There is a purpose to the season you’re in right now. And there is a purpose behind the timing of when your next season will make its appearance.

I know it’s tough to wait. I know there are moments when you’re tired of being in this season and you’re ready for a change. But trust me, don’t wish this time away. Seek out the purpose in it. Ask God to reveal His plan for you during this appointed time in your life. And choose to soak up what He has in store for you as you patiently wait for the next season to arrive.