Have you ever felt like you’ve disappointed God?

I have, and I feel like I do on a regular basis.

Disappointment is the one emotion that hits me straight in the gut and brings me to my
knees. It makes me the most vulnerable, and, typically, depending on the situation, will
bring me to tears.

Feeling like I have disappointed God is the absolute worst feeling I have ever felt. To know
that my Father is not pleased with my actions kills me every single time.

I always want God to be pleased with my actions and my decisions. I want him to look at
my life as a whole, and at any particular moment, and say that he’s proud. I want him to
look at my shortcomings and say that I did my best and tried my hardest. I want his name
to be evident and glorified in everything that I do.

How is it even possible to do that?

How do you honor God with your whole life?

Matthew 25:14-30 presents a story about three servants, all belonging to one master. The
master is leaving on a trip and has entrusted each servant with a certain amount of talents
(1 talent=20 years wages), each according to his ability. He gives no instruction, only to
take care of it until he returns. The first two invest their talents and make for their master
double of what he left them. The last one, though, buried his talent in the ground for safe
keeping until the master returned.

To the two who invested and brought back a return the master says:
“Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little, I will set you over
much. Enter into the joy of your master.” Matthew 25:21

YOU HAVE BEEN FAITHFUL OVER LITTLE.

Are you being faithful over the little that God has given you?

I guess I’ll break here and give a little intro. My name is Bridgette and I am 23 years old. I
have the beautiful honor and privilege of getting to be on staff at Fellowship as the Kids
Director. It’s pretty great! And, my new most favorite thing to tell people, is that I am
marrying the most amazing man in the whole world in just a few short months! I don’t
think it’s possible to be more thrilled…seriously!

Life is fun these days and full of new and exciting things and I am loving every second of it!

But, if you would have asked me 3 years ago how life was going, I probably would have put
on a smile and told you that it was good, that I was just taking my time to figure out what I
was supposed to do, but that wasn’t the truth.

3 years ago was my least favorite time of my life. I was completely lost knowing what my
career path should be and in the midst of feeling eternally single…if you’ve been single for a
decent amount of time, you can relate.

I was constantly discouraged.

Having no direction is one of the darkest places a person can be in.
Also, being single when you don’t really want to be sucks a whole lot.

BUT, GOD ALWAYS HAS A PLAN.

It took time; hunkering down and devoting real time with God, time following the wrong
paths and forging my own paths instead of being patient, time of ignoring God or not
hearing God, time of waiting…a lot of time waiting.

And then something shifted. In the midst of the darkness and confusion, God broke
through. He used people in my life and random ideas (total God ideas) in my brain to show
me new things that he had planned for me.

His ideas are ALWAYS far better than my own.

My ideas got me into two really boring jobs that sucked the life out of me, and dating a guy
that I had 0 feelings for…

I make stupid choices without God…

BUT, God’s plan for me meant an internship, which led to the most amazing job I could
have ever asked for and an engagement with the most amazing man I could have ever
asked for.

God is so good and knows exactly what we need and exactly when we need it!
Just a little tip that I learned from my own mistakes: Wait for God’s timing! You’ll just find
yourself in a place of regret and frustration if you don’t.

God’s path for my career came a lot sooner than the end of my eternal singleness.
Some of you women reading this have been married since you were barely 18 and probably
think I’m crazy for even complaining about being single in my early 20s. But can I just tell
you how much it sucks being the single, Christian girl waiting around for the man who God
wants you to marry?!

Many days are spent wondering who and when and why is it taking so long? In the
Christian world, people get married between 18 and like 24…and that’s pushing it. The
young, Christian, single girl lives in a world where literally everyone their age is getting
married and they’re still bringing their group of girlfriends to their friends’ weddings
because they can’t find a plus one and really don’t want to take the one weird guy who
actually has a crush on them…

I am the girl who has felt ready to be married for years. Being a little old housewife is like
the ultimate dream for me. I’m weird and I know it, I’ve embraced it and so should you!
So being single was like utter torment for me.

It can be a terrible place to be in, if you don’t want to be.

But that isn’t true for every single woman.

If you’re single and have chosen that, more power to you! I will not pretend to have
experience with that, or even try to relate, because I can’t. But if you are following that path
because God has called you to it, then embrace it!

If you aren’t in your early stages of adulthood, but circumstances in life have brought you to
singleness, then don’t be discouraged.

GOD HAS A PLAN FOR YOU TOO.

Wherever you’re at in life has been orchestrated by God: Married, single, employed at a job
that you love or hate, unemployed by choice or circumstance, mother or not or even
someone who is unable to have children, young or old- every single one of you has a
specific plan and calling on your life given to you by your Creator.
Maybe your own choices have taken you off of the path that he has for you, but that doesn’t
mean that he isn’t with you and doesn’t still have a plan. He’s ready to guide your every
step, but are you ready to let him?

To bring this all back to the main question (How do you honor God with your whole life?),
let’s bring it back to the story of the master and his servants.

2 of the servants used what they were given to best benefit the master, but the last servant
took what the master had given him and he hid it.

Which servants were faithful with what they had been given?

Do you want to meet Jesus face to face and tell him that you took for granted everything
that he gave you and you wasted it all and have nothing to give him? Or do you want to say
that you used everything, down to your last breath, to honor and glorify him?

My biggest fear is getting to heaven and having my Father look at me with disappointment
in his eyes. It terrifies me to my core. I want to see nothing in His eyes but pride.

I want to use everything I have, the good AND THE BAD, to bring honor to God.

So, how do you honor God with your whole life?

You work at it every day. You take the place that you’re at in life and you give it to God. You
put your circumstances and shortcomings aside and live a life that is worthy of Him.

You use your time to glorify him.

This looks like putting all of your selfish desires aside and choosing to honor him instead of
yourself.

Volunteer your time. Devote time to get to know your Creator by digging into His Word and
pouring your heart out to him in prayer.

Are you frustrated with the place that you’re at right now? Tell him about it! Grab a journal
and a pen and pour your heart out to him!

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he
may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:6-7

God hears your cries and he is with you through it all, whether you feel him or not.

Give God your circumstance, give him your time, your finances, your CONTROL.

One of the best ways to honor God is through true, genuine worship. Make time to worship
God during the week. Find a quiet place. Make a good playlist and go on a drive!

There’s a worship song that has stuck with me from the beginning of my whole journey,
and it comforts me and reminds me in times of doubt that this life is not my own and I have
no business trying to hold onto control.

These are the words:

“I lean not on my understanding
My life is in the hands of the Maker of heaven
I give it all to you God, trusting that you’ll make something beautiful out of me
…
I will climb this mountain with my hands wide open
There’s nothing I hold onto”
– Nothing I Hold Onto by Will Reagan and United Pursuit

My challenge for you is to analyze your life this week and figure out ways that you can be a
better steward of where you’re at in life. How can you honor God with your decisions,
thoughts, attitude, and in the midst of your struggles and frustrations?

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your
ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6

“Outside the will of God, there is nothing I want. Inside the will of God, there is nothing I fear.”
A.W. Tozer