The Tribune

By JEFFARAH GIBSON

Tribune Features Writer

jgibson@tribunemedia.net

THERE are many single women in church anxiously waiting to meet their “godly husband” – a man who catches their eye, tickles their senses and is especially meant for them by God.

They have prayed many nights and been prophesied to concerning his expected arrival. In the interim, they have been self-aware and diligent when it comes to working on their internal flaws. They have also talked to married women to learn what it takes to master the role of wife, a role they hope to soon step into.

But in spite of their best efforts, faithfulness in prayer and service, these Christian singles cannot override or accelerate what the Bible calls “the appointed time” for destiny to be fulfilled. And for many of these women this is where the frustration, anxiety and impatience associated with long periods of waiting surfaces – God, it seems, is taking too long to make good on his promise of a suitable mate.

Many of these women have quizzed Minister Aleacha Miller, co-pastor of Born-Again Deliverance Ministries, on how to get through the waiting period in their lives.

Having first-hand experience in this area, and waiting on God in other areas of her life, Minister Miller decided to release a new book, “Woman in the Wait”, to help her fellow women make the most of their lives while they wait for the promises by God to manifest.

In the book, Minister Miller details how, after escaping from occult influences, God made her many promises, including giving her a godly husband. She also went through many challenges in her life, during which she at times doubted these promises, because they never seemed to come to pass. However, she remained steadfast and waited on God, and finally the promises were fulfilled.

“My inspiration came from being a woman in ministry who knows what it is to have waited for a long time for some of the promises of God to be fulfilled in my life, including believing God (would provide) for a godly husband,” she told Tribune Woman.

“Now, being married and having so many single women in my ministry that come to me for advice as it relates to waiting on God, also from me waiting on many promises of my own from God, some of which I thought would never come to pass because of how long they were taking... (I decided to share my story).”

Like so many others, she said, she also found herself thinking God had forgotten her.

“I understand now that my wait was not for me, but it was to help someone else to know that whatever they are waiting for to not give up in the wait because God can and will manifest it,” she said.

When she threw off the occult beliefs that governed her in her younger years, one of the first promises she said God made to her was that of a godly spouse. This man would be the spiritual leader of their family.

“After being single for more than eight and a half years, I prayed and told God what I wanted. I was not afraid to ask because I was faithful and everything I had asked lined up with His word. God told me he would send me a godly husband. Someone who loved God more than he would love me first of all, and if he came with that, I knew it was going to be someone who wouldn’t want me to compromise my walk with God but who was willing to wait for marriage for sex, as I had waited on God all these years. I watched God bring me all that I had asked for, prayed for, waited for in the man that is now my husband. Apostle Kelson Henry Miller,” she told Tribune Woman.

Minister Miller said many women lose hope and grow impatient when their desires seem like they will not be fulfilled.

“People lose hope because they fail to continue to wait, they lose faith in the wait. They feel as though what they are waiting on will never come to pass. It almost seems impossible, so they become weary and compromise or give up. Some question God if it was Him who spoke to them in the first place or was it their own desires or their mind,” she said.

And for those who may be losing hope in their season of waiting, Minister Miller hopes her book will be a great source of encouragement to stay strong.

“While they are waiting, love God with all their heart, mind and soul, love their neighbour as themselves, work on becoming a better person, and if they are waiting on a husband, become that person they desire. While they are waiting, don’t listen to the noise in the market, don’t allow persons to rush their promises; staying focused is the key. Remember what God told you. Not everyone will believe in your promise, but believe in God and His words and know that he will not fail or let you down. And when God delivers, celebrate and remember not everyone will be happy for you, so practice celebrating your own victories,” she said.