Living with Purpose in Every Season

Dannah Gresh: Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth says everyone is called by God to do important work for His kingdom—young or old, married or single. 

Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth: Singleness is not a time in limbo, a time where we are waiting for the real thing to happen, for life to begin, a time for where we are waiting for marriage.

Dannah: This is the Revive Our Hearts podcast with Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth, author of Lies Women Believe: And the Truth That Sets Them Free, for August 3, 2026. I’m Dannah Gresh.

If you’ve been reading through the Bible with us this year, you know that today we begin the book of Jeremiah. Now, Jeremiah is known as the weeping prophet. Do you know why? You’ll have to keep reading to find out.

And if you haven’t been reading with us so far this year, but you’d like to join, now’s a really great time! We’re starting a fresh book, and we’re all in it together. To find the 2026 Bible reading plan and sign up for daily reminder emails, visit ReviveOurHearts.com/Bible2026. 

Have you ever received a gift that didn’t really feel like a gift? Maybe you keep a box full of well-meant presents that you plan to take to Goodwill someday. Maybe you’ve re-gifted items—or even contributed them to a white elephant gift exchange. (Of course, hoping the friend who gave it to you didn’t show up at the same party!)

The apostle Paul talks about the single Christian and the married Christian and says “each has his own gift from God.” So, Paul calls singleness a gift.

Now, I don’t want to just breeze past this. It’s hard to affirm this truth especially when you desire the gift of marriage instead. If you’re listening today and you’re thinking, Did this present come with a return label?! don’t be discouraged. You’re not alone. 

My sweet friend Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth was single until age 57, so she went through a long season of learning to view singleness as a gift of God. And now, in His providence, she’s single again. Robert went home to be with Jesus in January of 2026. 

Long before that, Nancy taught a classic series here on Revive Our Hearts back in 2002, thirteen years before she married Robert. I know this teaching will challenge you to see every stage of life as a gift—an opportunity to glorify God.

Before we listen to that, let me read from 1 Corinthians 7. After Paul calls singleness a gift, he goes on to say this in verse 8: 

I say to the unmarried and to widows: It is good for them if they remain as I am. But if they do not have self-control, they should marry, since it is better to marry than to burn with desire.

To the married I give this command—not I, but the Lord—a wife is not to leave her husband. But if she does leave, she must remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband—and a husband is not to divorce his wife. But I (not the Lord) say to the rest: If any brother has an unbelieving wife and she is willing to live with him, he must not divorce her. (vv. 8–12 CSB)

There’s a lot to unpack in those verses. Here’s Nancy to help us out.

Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth: When I was a kid, my family had a friend who we called "Uncle Palmer." Now I always thought Uncle Palmer was very, very old. I don't suppose he was really always very old; but to us, as children, we always thought he was old. 

Uncle Palmer was a dear, godly man. He had just a love for the Lord and a love for our family. He traveled all around the world doing various types of ministry; and as he would travel, he would accumulate little knickknacks and souvenirs. He would wrap them at Christmas and send them to our family. He would have something for each of us with our name on it.

It would be usually kind-of roughly wrapped. And as children, (I'm embarrassed to say this) we would always kind-of laugh at Uncle Palmer's gifts. They were invariably something that either you had no idea what it was, or you had no idea what to do with it or absolutely no use for it, or sometimes they were even used things. 

We would just kind of make fun of these. We didn't have a great appreciation for the fact that he just loved our family, and he wanted to do something meaningful for each of us children. He had looked long and, I'm sure, in all parts of the world for these gifts. They were not what we considered particularly meaningful gifts as little children.

Now, there are different kinds of gifts, and different kinds of givers. Sometimes someone gives you something, but it's a person who doesn't really know you. And they don't know what you like and dislike. They don't know your tastes. 

Or maybe they really do know you, but you are hoping for something other than what they give you. When you open the box, it's not the thing you have been hinting for all year. You know your mom's been asking what you need, and you have been telling her what page in the catalog to look at. And you hoped that's what it was going to be, and it's something totally different. Sometimes it's kind of hard to mask the disappointment you feel when you tear into that box, and it's not what you hoped that it would be.

Well, as we look all through the Scripture, we find out that God is a giver. He loves to give gifts. He loves to give gifts to His children. ButHe’s a giver who knows what we need. He gives good gift. The Scripture says that God gives good gifts to His children and He loves to give good gifts. 

He knows what we can really use, even when we don't know what we need. God loves us, and delights to give good gifts to His children. God selects the very best gifts, not just at Christmas but every day all year round; He is always selecting the very best gifts for each of us. Aren't you glad He doesn't overlook anyone on His list? He knows you, and He knows you, and He knows you! He doesn’t need a nametag to know who you are or what you need.

Whatever gifts God chooses for us are by definition good gifts, because God is a good God.

I love that passage in Psalms 16:5–6 where the psalmist says: 

LORD, you have assigned me my portion and my cup;
you have made my lot secure.
The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
surely I have a delightful inheritance. 

The psalmist says that God knows how to give me good gifts. He knows where the proper lines and boundaries are for me. He's carved out a portion for me. He's carved out an inheritance for me. He's assigned me a portion, and it's good. It's good because God gave it to me.

We are looking at 1 Corinthians 7 where Paul says, in effect, "I wish that all men could experience the blessings and joys that I have experienced through being unmarried." Later in this chapter and later this week, we are going to talk about what some of those blessings and benefits are.

But he says in 1 Corinthians 7:7: 

But each man has his own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that.

One has the gift of marriage, another has the gift of singleness. We said that the word “gift” is the word that means “a gracious gift, an undeserved benefit from God.” It's a good thing. We saw that marriage, if it's God will for your life, is a good gift. If it's a good gift, God will give it. God's perspective on singleness is that it's also a gift; and that when God gives you singleness, it's a good gift. It's a gift of grace.

Now, skip down in that passage to verse 17; we're picking up on this same theme. Paul says: 

Each one should retain the place in life that the Lord assigned to him and to which God has called him. 

Three words: gifts, assigned, and called. Paul is saying, "Marriage, if it's in the will of God, is a gift." If God called you to be married, it's your assignment. It's your assignment. But if you are single, then singleness is God's gift to you. That's your assignment. It's what you are supposed to do. It's your calling. We're talking here about a radically different way of thinking about marriage and singleness. 

Because, you see, I know a lot of married people who wish they were single. I know a lot of single people who wish they were married. Paul is saying, "Quit wishing you are something you are not. Get satisfied with what you are. It's a gift. It's an assignment. It's a calling."

And he says, "It's a gift from God." Again, in verse 7: "Each man has his own gift from God." And verse 17: "Retain the place in life that the Lord assigned to him."

I'm not single by accident. I'm not single because the “right man” has never asked me to marry him. I'm single because God has given to me a gift to be single for right now. God has assigned me to be single for right now. God has called me to be single for right now. If you are single right now, that is a gift God has given you. It's an assignment, a calling God has given you. Singleness is not a time in limbo, a time where we are waiting for the real thing to happen, for life to really begin, a time when we are waiting for marriage. Singleness is as much a gift and a call as marriage.

I get asked from time to time: "Do you think you have the gift of singleness." The answer is: "Absolutely, yes." How do I know? Because I'm single. That singleness, Paul tells me in 1 Corinthians 7, is a gift from God. It's a calling. It's an assignment. Are you single? How many of you are single? Let me see hands up in the air. How many of you have the gift of singleness? Some of you didn't want to put your hands in the air. If you are single right now, then right now you have the gift of singleness. 

I know we have some married women in here. If you are married, no matter how hard your marriage is, no matter what kind of husband you have, if you are married, then you have the gift of marriage right now.

Now, you may not have that husband tomorrow. If you are single, tomorrow God may bring your future husband into your life. And he may transition you to a different gift, the gift of marriage. You say, "Yes, Lord, bring it on!" I'm saying that joy comes from the perspective of embracing warmly, of receiving the gift that God has given to you rightnow.

So, what is an appropriate response to God's gifts? First, receive it! Whether it is the gift of marriage or the gift of singleness or whatever other gift God may give to you, receive it.

Then say, “Thank You, Lord.” Have you ever stopped to thank God for the gift of singleness? Have you received singleness as a gift from the Lord? I’m telling you, this is radically different than the world’s way of thinking. It goes contrary to our emotions. But it is God’s perspective. It is where joy comes from—from receiving it as a gift and thanking Him for it.

Then, using that gift for its intended purpose. Each gift has a purpose. As we go in these next few days further into this passage, we are going to find some of the purposes of singleness. But you will never use that gift for its intended purpose, if you haven't first accepted it, if you haven't first said, "Thank you, Lord, for this gift. I receive it from you."

You see, we’re talking about how to experience joy in the journey of life. Joy is not the result of getting all the gifts that I want. It’s not the result of getting all the gifts that I think I need. Joy is a result of accepting the gifts that God has for me, accepting the gifts that He has chosen for me.

I read a few moments ago from Psalms 16:5 where David said: "LORD you have assigned me my portion and my cup." He's accepting God's gift. Then we come to the end of that chapter (Psalms 16:7–11), and David, seeing the joy that comes with acceptance, says: 

I will praise the LORD who counsels me;
even at night my heart instructs me.
I have set the LORD always before me;
because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will rest secure, because You will not abandon me to the grave . . .
You have made known to me the path of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand. 

You see here an acceptance of God's assigned portion, an acceptance of that gift He has given to us comes joy.

David is saying, "You've made known to me a path of life, a path of joy and it's joy in whatever circumstances You have assigned to me because I'm in Your presence and nothing can separate me from that."

Now, by saying that God has given us the gift of singleness or marriage, we are not saying that this is the gift that God will give us forever. Most people will not have the gift of singleness forever. Most people will not have the gift of marriage forever. Everyone starts out single, and nine out of ten women will be widowed, will be single again. So, don't focus on receiving this gift for a lifetime. You may not have it for a lifetime. Don't try and figure out how you are going to live a lifetime as a single. Focus on receiving it today, just today. That's the only day that you know that God has given you this gift. Receive it today.

So I ask, have you received singleness, your singleness, as a gift from the Lord? Have you thanked Him for it, or do you maybe need to do that old-fashioned word: repent.

It means to change your way of thinking, change your mind, to go in a different direction. Maybe you need to repent of the fact that you have resented or resisted or refused this gift. You said, "God, I don't want that gift, I want a different gift." Maybe you need to repent of the fact that you have been discontent with the gift that God has given you kind-of the way we kids were with Uncle Palmer's Christmas gifts. You need to repent and say, "Lord, I've not appreciated this gift. I've not accepted it from You. I have been striving for a different gift, for a gift that I thought would be better."

I wonder if there are some in this room that just need to repent of resentment that you have had toward God for not giving you the gift of marriage. It may not be overflowing resentment. You may not be overtly bitter; but deep in your heart, there has been a rebellion, a resistance, a resentment against God for withholding from you what you thought was the best gift. I wonder if you would just in this moment say, "Lord, I accept the gift. I accept singleness. If I am single, that's the gift You have for me right now. I receive it, and I thank You for it." Say that from your heart to His. “Thank You for this gift.”

Dannah: Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth has been helping each of us to be grateful—whether we’ve been given the gift of marriage or singleness.

She recorded that message in 2002. I wanted to ask some friends about what they’ve gotten out of Nancy’s teaching in our day today.

Katie Laitkep is first up. She is a writer for Revive Our Hearts. Katie, welcome to the studio today.

Katie Laitkep: Thank you, Dannah.

Dannah: We’ve also got Charmaine Porter with us. She is on the Impact 360 Institute team. That’s a biblically based, kind of gap year program for 18–20 year olds. She is the Learning Community Coordinator. More than that, Charmaine is a longtime friend and ministry partner. She toured with me as a lead teacher back in the day. Welcome Charmaine!

Charmaine Porter: Hi, I’m so glad to be with you again! I’m so glad to be with you Dannah.

Dannah: Likewise. Okay. Katie, Charmaine, do you think that teaching applies to single women now, today, in this day and age?

Katie: I think it's kind of funny to think about the world we're in now compared to when Nancy was in her twenties and thirties. It's probably safe to say that this is a very different context. 

But when I think about this teaching, I think of 1 Peter 1, because Nancy's been teaching based out of Scripture, and 1 Peter says that the word of God is living and abiding. So even though this context in this world that we're in is a little bit different, the truth remains, and it endures forever. So, all of these principles that she just taught are just as relevant today.

Dannah: Good. That’s so true, Katie. What about you, Charmaine, what are your thoughts?

Charmaine: Yeah, I actually kind of went back and I was like, “When did she record this?” Because it was still so relevant. As Katie said, the Word of God doesn't change. Our world does change, but the things that He's telling us in His Word is living and abiding, and it will remain forever. 

So I am thankful to be able to be as blessed as most listeners are to something that the Lord gave Nancy so long ago, but it still definitely applies today.

Dannah: Amen. You know, Nancy talked about waiting, and the waiting is hard. The sense of waiting is hard. The idea of waiting is hard. So, have there been times in your life, Charmaine, when you struggled to view singleness as a gift because of that tension of waiting?

Charmaine: Yes, for sure. I think that any time you have to wait for anything . . . I mean, there are literally psychological tests that are testing little kids. They say, “Hey, if I leave the room with these two suckers in it, and you wait, I'll actually give you four suckers when I get back.” But it's hard, even for a child, all the way up until an adult. 

Like, it's hard to say, “I see something that's really, really good, and something that is celebrated, and something that I would like to participate in.” And it's hard to say, “Wait, why not me right now? Why can't I have it right now?” And not just in a toddler way, but just in a “Lord, like this really good gift. This thing called marriage is really beautiful and wonderful, especially the partnership that can come with that. I may not understand exactly why I haven't had an opportunity to experience that yet.” 

I think that's probably the hardest part for me is the Lord saying it is something that I would like, even though I may be okay with where I am right now. I'm hoping that it also may be a part of my future, but you don't know. You have no idea if that's what the Lord has for you or not. And I think sometimes of that, just the I don't know, that can be really hard about the waiting.

Dannah: So, do you think of singleness as a gift?

Charmaine: Yes, right now, I absolutely do. I love my life. I just turned 39 years old. I have a really great community. I have a really good job. I've seen the Lord do a lot of healing in my personal relationships, in my family relationships, in my internal relationship with myself. I truly, truly, truly enjoy the life that I have right now, and I do currently see singleness as a gift because this is just the season of life that I'm in, and my life is a gift. 

But, there have definitely been seasons that I've been in, and even in this current season, there are some days I would say when it's harder to be single or harder to receive this season of life or this style of life, if you will, that I live in as a gift.

Dannah: Katie, what about you? Have you struggled to view singleness as a gift?

Katie: Yeah, I think even when you get to a place where maybe on a big level you accept that singleness is a gift, having to actually, practically live that out and believe it in the little day-to-day moments can be difficult. Like, I may believe that singleness is a gift, but if something happens, I still have to wrestle with, Do I believe that these circumstances that God has me in are really good? Because they don't always feel good. And in that moment you have a chance to say, “Okay I believe this in theory, that singleness is a gift, but it doesn't feel like that right now. So will I choose to trust God in this waiting and in this whole journey?”

Dannah: Okay, Katie, you know I'm dying to know—when did you feel that way? Take us there, to that time.

Katie: My friends and I kind of have a joke that you can wake up in the morning and have the best quiet time. Like, you can have the absolute best devotional morning of your life, where you just feel like you have the Lord's peace and you trust Him. And then you leave your quiet time, and you go to work or you go to church, and you're feeling great. Then you get there and there's the man that you've been hoping would ask you out. You see him and you realize Oh, he's now dating my friend! In that moment your first thought is not, Oh, singleness is a gift. This is fine.

Normally your first thought is, I am going to be alone forever! And in that moment it's, “Okay, this doesn't feel good.” It feels like rejection. It feels painful. It feels like there are no options. In this do I trust that the Lord knows what He's doing?”

Dannah: Yeah. So how do you remedy that and wrestle with that? How does that day end? It started in the Word; how does it end?

Katie: Well, you have to go back there, I think, for sure. It's very much a Nancy quote to say that, “Anything that makes me need God is a blessing.” And so I think those moments of impact where it could feel like rejection or heartbreak, even on a very micro level where it's just you see someone walk by and you think, Oh, they have something that I don't have. Those little moments where you feel your heart kind of ping, I think those moments send you back to Scripture. 

So you begin your day in the Word trusting what it says, but then life happens, and it'll take you right back to the Lord's presence. I think that itself can be a gift because it's forcing you to rely on Him in ways that show you that He is sufficient and that He is able to help you through whatever it is that you're going through.

Dannah: Yeah. Charmaine, I know you pretty well, so I don't have to ask the question, but I'm gonna ask you, “What's a day when it was hard for you? Was it like that kind of thing? Or was it making a decision and feeling alone in it? Or, handling the finances by yourself? What makes you struggle with seeing singleness as a gift?” Take us to one of those days.

Charmaine: I would say something recently. I was literally just talking to a girlfriend of mine about this. I have a lot of people in my life that care about me, but I was like, do I have someone that will care for me? Another friend of mine, another single friend of mine, I got this from her. She was talking about the season that she was recognizing this and having to come to Jesus and say, “This is the thing that's making me feel lonely right now. I know that I'm known in the community. I know that I'm known in my family. I know that I'm known.” 

We have a really great workplace. This happened to be a friend of mine that I work with. It’s a really great workplace, and I'm taking care of, if you will, in that aspect. But there is a difference of someone to come home to, someone who will care for you, very practically. Like, if I get sick . . . I actually think this is why I was thinking about this. I don't normally get sick. The Lord's blessed me with a pretty good immune system. But when I do, it kind of takes me out. And I was like, “All right, I'm here, and I have to take care of myself and go to the doctor. I'm the one that's gonna have to be like, ‘Okay, Charmaine, how do you feel?’” No one's necessarily asking me that, and then coming and giving me soup, if you will. 

I definitely can have friends that I could say, “Hey, I'm not feeling well. Do you mind coming over and doing X, Y, Z?” While that is beautiful and good, it would be different if there was a spouse, if there was a husband that was just there. Like, what happens to me happens to him at the same time in a healthy, interdependent way. That's something that most recently is hard about being single and receiving the gift.

Dannah: Yeah, I think even just you saying that is bringing healing to someone listening. Because you can have the perfect Christian church answer to singleness, but on the day that you're sick and you need someone to run to Walmart and you have to text a friend, like that's when the rubber meets the road. Okay, so am I going to walk in contentment where God has me right now with this so-called gift of singleness? Because it doesn't feel like a gift on this day in this moment. I thank you for being real about that.

Charmaine: Yeah, absolutely. 

Dannah: Now, in her message, Nancy talked about singleness as a calling. In your view of singleness as a calling instead of a burden, what does that look like in everyday life?

Charmaine: Where I am right now, I have wondered about this word “calling” so much. I think that while I do believe that the Lord has certain things for every single person to do because He created us with intention and created us with purpose. There are things that we get to do that glorify His kingdom and bring that about. 

I think sometimes when we look at relationship statuses through the lens of calling, we kind of spiritualize it. I referred to this earlier, this is just my life right now. It's not necessarily like, “I'm called to something.” I'm just Charmaine, who is living her life, and her life right now is as a single woman, and that's just my life. 

It's not a spiritual thing. It's an everyday thing. It's an emotional thing. It's a physical thing. It's a relational thing. So I'll just be vulnerable. I think that's something that I have been questioning lately. Like, do I only view this as through a spiritual lens? Or do I view this as an opportunity to live life, however this looks, and it just happens to be that I'm single right now? As I view it like that, I don't see my life as a burden. 

My life is not a burden. My life is a gift. Every single day that I get to wake up and get out of bed . . . I currently have a job that I love so much. I love that I get to do life with 18–21 year olds. I do think that the Lord has called me to that because I do think that there is a spiritual aspect to that. I think there's a spiritual motherhood aspect to that that comes with this job. 

But I've also been like, “Lord, I may not always get paid to work with 18–21 year olds. I may have another job that is a vocation, but I still like to disciple or minister or just love to hang out with 18–21 year olds. So, my life is not a burden. I will say that my life is not a burden. I don't feel like that, even though there are times. 

There's something that Nancy actually said. She was looking back on her life, and she was like, "When I was in my teens, I loved my life, my twenties, my thirties.” She went throughout that, and she said at the time, “I'm looking forward to my forties, and I'm believing that I'm going to enjoy that.” And she said, “I love my life. I didn't love everything about the life that I had, but I love my life.” 

I just appreciate the nuance that she said in that. That's kind of how I feel. My life is not a burden, even though there are things that are hard about life. But that's true for everybody: single, married, with kids, without kids, young, old. Life is hard this side of heaven.

Dannah: Yes, that's right.

Charmaine: And I think the saying "the grass is always greener" certainly applies. 

Katie: I completely agree. I was thinking along those same lines because so often the temptation as a single woman is to focus on what I can get. Or, what's going to make me happy? And even specifically it can be, how do you get a guy's attention? How do you get the wedding ring? How do you get a date? All those different things. 

When we have the prime example of how to live as a single person and that's through Christ. He wasn't focused on how we get things. He was focused on giving His life every bit of it—His time, His attention, all that He had—for the glory of God and to love others. And so I think we look to His example, and when we follow that calling, it gives our life so much purpose.

Dannah: Thanks, Katie and Charmaine. As we continue this series, “Embracing Singleness,” would you come back and keep sharing your insight?

Katie: Absolutely.

Charmaine: I’d be happy to.

Dannah: Singleness, marriage, motherhood, widowhood—we’re talking about all of it this month on Revive Our Hearts! 

These life stages bring with them unique challenges, to be sure. But each one is also an opportunity to display the beauty of Christ. Our team has created a booklet to remind you of this truth. It includes thirty thought-provoking and encouraging quotes from Nancy to start your day—and it features selected photography from our team members from around the world for each day. On the hard days when you’re wrestling with the season you’re in, I hope you’ll pick up this booklet up and be encouraged.

It’s yours when you donate any amount to Revive Our Hearts in August. To do that, just visit ReviveOurHearts.com, or call us at 1-800-569-5959. Be sure to request your booklet when you do.

Today we heard Nancy say this:

Nancy: Most people will not have the gift of singleness forever. Most people will not have the gift of marriage forever.

Dannah: And that includes Nancy. In 2015, Nancy married Robert Wolgemuth, and you can see the entire wedding ceremony on YouTube. Just visit the Revive Our Hearts YouTube channel or find a link in today’s transcript at ReviveOurHearts.com. Nancy and Robert were married for ten years until Robert went to be with the Lord on January 10, 2026. 

Tomorrow, we’ll continue to explore singleness with Nancy. She’s going to share about where we find joy in unwanted seasons. And you know, I think we all need that wisdom! 

Whatever your life stage, I hope you’ll be back for Revive Our Hearts.

This program is a listener-supported production of Revive Our Hearts in Niles, Michigan, calling women to freedom, fullness, and fruitfulness in Christ.

All Scripture is taken from the NIV85 unless otherwise noted.

*Offers available only during the broadcast of the podcast season.