My goal is to know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings, being conformed to his death. —Philippians 3:10
During my twenties and early thirties, I spent twelve years in full-time, itinerant ministry. While I loved what I was doing, I frequently experienced desires for a more settled, “normal” lifestyle.
There were times when the thought of getting on one more airplane, checking into one more hotel, or greeting one more group of new people seemed unbearable. I often longed for a place to call my own.
Even though I now have a home of my own, I never want to become so settled and “secure” in a home, a job, a social group, or a geographic location that I’m not willing to change the instant God gives me a different assignment.
There are still times when my emotions take over and I have to deal with intense desires for a place to belong. But, as Elisabeth Elliot reminds us, those unfulfilled longings can become “material for sacrifice” 1—they give us something to offer up to the One who gave up everything for us.
1 Elisabeth Elliot, Passion and Purity: Learning to Bring Your Life Under Christ’s Control (Michigan: Revell, 2002), 66.
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Singled Out for Him: Embracing the gift, the blessings, and the challenges of singleness ©2023 Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth
Scripture taken from The CSB
Make it Personal
What unfulfilled longings can you offer as “material for sacrifice” to the Lord? How can they help you to enter a deeper intimacy with Jesus?