GEORGETOWN—Even people with great faith journey through valleys of frustration, communicator Dave Edwards told participants at a Texas Baptist Single Adult Rally.
“Frustration occurs any time our expectations and reality collide,” he said.
In the Old Testament book of Genesis, Joseph overcame a long season of frustration and arrived at a point where God could use him effectively, Edwards said.
“The Bible teaches us how to journey through this season and come out on the other side better than when you came in,” he said. “God uses these situations to shape us.”
Every person walks through a time of frustration, Edwards observed. “The question is: How will you respond when that happens?”
Christians should take three steps to make their way through times of frustration—recognize the work of God in the situation, refuse to compromise and request courage, he said.
For every season of frustration, a season of fulfillment
“It is going to take the help of God to get us through what we are going through,” he said. “Just because you can’t see the work of God right now doesn’t mean he is not working. … For every season of frustration, there is a season of fulfillment.”
Keith Lowry, single adult specialist with the Baptist General Convention of Texas, reflected on the conference theme, “One is a whole number.”
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“Who completes you?” Lowry asked the crowd at Crestview Baptist Church in Georgetown. “If you rely on a person to complete you, you are in a world of hurt. The only person who can complete you is the person of Christ. You can help others do that better when you have found that. Be sure you are seeking wholeness in the right place. We only find wholeness in Christ.”
Single adults make up more than 43 percent of the adult population in the United States, and reaching out and ministering to single adults—as well as offering them encouragement and support—are vitally important ministries, one breakout session leader said.
‘Largest unreached poeple group’
“I believe single adults are the largest unreached people group in Texas,” said Tommy West, minister to single adults at Crestview.
His church has met single adults’ needs through Bible studies for divorced adults, single parents and individuals overcoming codependency, as well as providing community for people simply looking for a place to belong, he said.
Editor’s note: The third paragraph from the end was edited after it was originally posted to correct an erroneous statistic.
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