by Nancy Robb

 There are hundreds of single women who love God more than their own life, believe in Jesus Christ as the only salvation for humanity and believe they are called to clarify this God and Savior to cultures other than their own. The single female missionary. It sounds simple, but there seem to be so many obstacles.

 

Often, financial obstacles seem insurmountable. Can a single woman really be worth the expenditure? Self-doubt can erode the certainty of the call. Can I do what needs to be done alone? Hidden desires can gnaw at the heart. Can I ever find a lifetime mate so far from home? This single woman who longs to serve as a missionary must look beyond the obstacles and remember what really matters.

 

What all of us, single female or not, must remember is that God is sovereign. God is faithful. God is missional. The sovereign, faithful, missional God. Look at what that has to do with the single female with a heart like God’s.

 

Sovereign. God’s sovereignty may be more easily seen in the Old Testament, although it obviously was a big deal to Jesus. How do you anchor your life on this? Do word studies in different versions of the Bible. Listen to people’s stories of what happened when they recognized God’s sovereignty and when they didn’t. Do character studies of biblical characters. Constantly seeking God will lead to an increasing understanding of what it means for God to be God and you to belong to him.

 

Faithful. The Bible is better than the best romance novel. The woman lonely and in need; the hero who finds and fights for her and who ultimately gives her more than she ever dreamed possible; the happy-ever-after culmination. What book of the Bible doesn’t in some way speak of this? What character doesn’t demonstrate it? But how to trust in his unfailing faithfulness? Reading the Word with an open heart, journaling the outcomes of your own journeys into trusting him, living in gratitude, practicing letting go…all these things will wear away any barrier to total trust in him.

 

Missional. God longs for an intimate relationship with the humans he created. That is The Point from Genesis through Revelation. God created us. He loves us. He continually seeks to restore us to full relationship with himself. Perhaps the root of the longing to help people see that the God of all creation longs for a relationship with them is the fact that we “participate in the very nature of God”. Is there anything more amazing? Your longing to be a missionary comes because you are like God.

 

So what conclusions can a single female who wants to be a missionary come to?

·        You have to do what you have to do.

·        You have to do with what you have.

·        You have to be at peace with why you are doing it.

 

Be submissive to God’s sovereignty, trust in God’s faithfulness, recognize who you really are and eventually you will see your next step.

 

———–NOTE———-

Nancy has done us a favor here by giving us wise counsel while avoiding both pithy answers or mere personal suggestion. If you want to more from Nancy on this subject, voice your thoughts in the ‘comments’ below. We’ll have her address it for you.   –Stephen

Tags: missional life, Missional Living, missionary, missions, women
Filed under: Church Planting, Missional Living, women