Girltalk Book Club Week 4
2006 at 3:17 pm | by Nicole WhitacreFiled under Series Girltalk Book Club
Last week’s question, “Like Sarah, what "earthly inconvenience" are you experiencing, and how is it "mitigated by the promise of eternal blessing?” provoked a number of wonderful answers. Whether it is the waiting for children or the difficulty of moving (while pregnant!) or the daily struggle with indwelling sin or even the trial of losing something of value—so many of you are hoping in God like Sarah did. The woman we chose to answer this week’s question—Jelinas Lim—has a firm hold of the promises of God in the midst of her earthly inconvenience. May you be encouraged by her example to trust in God’s Word.
I am twenty-eight years old and unmarried, and it sure is an earthly inconvenience.
Aside from the practical inconveniences like not having a man around to fix leaky faucets or help carry in the groceries, there are also spiritual and emotional inconveniences, like not having someone to rebuke you when you are wasting time at home or not having someone to encourage you when you’re discouraged.
It’s even inconvenient to go to weddings. You have to drive yourself and then sit at the reception with a bunch of twenty-three-year-olds because they’re the only other ones who are also still single, as you watch the twenty-five-year-old newlyweds rejoice because they’ve “finally” found God’s will for them.
But, as Sarah trusted in the promise of eternal blessing, I resolve to trust in the promise of eternal blessing. It matters not what I am lacking in my life today because I know what I am not lacking. I am not lacking a single thing that I need for life and godliness. The Lord has graciously provided all I need for that, daily.
How can I complain about loneliness when I know that, even if my bed is in the depths, God is with me? How can I complain about not having enough help when the Lord has promised that the Holy Spirit will be my helper? And why would I complain about getting older when each day that passes only brings me closer to my Savior?
God gives grace. Even when He’s not dispensing husbands, He’s daily dispensing grace. He has promised that those who obey Him will see his goodness in the land of the living. And I believe it because I see it every day. Praise God for His faithfulness to this precious promise!
Amen Jelinas!
Next week’s profile offers another opportunity to praise God for His grace—the extraordinary story of Rahab. Dr. MacArthur encapsulates “the lesson of her life” in the following sentence: “The disturbing fact about what she once was simply magnifies the glory of divine grace, which is what made her the extraordinary woman she became.” From that lesson comes this week’s question: “How does ‘what you once were’ magnify the glory of divine grace?”
Given the personal nature of this question, we completely understand if you would like us to post your answer anonymously. Remember that all answers are due by midnight Thursday. May you rejoice in God’s grace as you read Chapter Four: “A Horrible Life Redeemed.”
