Obtaining wisdom and guidance about whether I should move

Jessica,

You have raised some good questions, and I'm glad that you want to seek God's will for your life.

In responding to your post, I have quoted you and have placed this text in blue. My response follows in black.

"I am a single Christian 25 year old girl who lives with her parents. I am wondering whether God wants me to move out."
and
"I have a chance to go be a part of a "discipleship community" down in Colorado, and live with other godly girls around my age. I went down to Colorado in August for a retreat, and maybe it was just me, but I felt this PEACE when I was there. I can't explain it. Am I supposed to go down there? I have no one to ask for advice about this sort of thing, either. Could someone please help me?"

Jessica, I can so relate with you. I'm a single (almost) 40 year old Christian who lives with her parents. I have had the same mental struggle that you are now going through -- whether to stay or to move. You want to do the right thing, but you are not sure what that is.

Personally I put James 1:5 into practice. I encourage you to do the same and pray asking God for wisdom to make the right decision. Trust God with your living situation knowing with your head and believing with all of your heart that He will reveal to you His will for your life (Proverbs 3:5-6).

You may be interested in reading an article I wrote about finding the best way to go when facing a difficult choice.

"I had moved out before, to go live with my aunt, and my relationship with Christ thrived as a result."

Jessica, I am glad that you are aware of when your relationship with Christ thrives and when it doesn't. However, your relationship with Jesus should grow and remain steadfast regardless of where you live or any other circumstances.

I think it would be a good idea for you to explore through prayer and Bible study why your relationship with Christ is stronger when you are away from your family's home so you can take the necessary steps to have a consistent relationship with God.

Some possible reasons are:

1. Unconfessed sin always weakens our relationship with God. Ask God to point out any sin in your life that you need to confess and repent of it.
2. God may be testing you to strengthen your walk with Him. There will be times in your life when you will not feel particularly close to Christ, but that doesn't mean anything is wrong. That is when you must live your life as Christian by faith alone and not your feelings. Your feelings will deceive you, but faith in God will not.
3. Temptation often come after a high point in our spiritual lives, and it sounds like you had a high point in August at the discipleship community in Colorado. If you are undergoing temptation, you may not feel like you are thriving while you are in the midst of a spiritual battle; you need to put on the full armor of God so you will be fully equipped.

Regardless of the reason, you should consistently pray, study your Bible, memorize Scripture, obey God's commands, worship and serve Christ because a growing, thriving relationship with Jesus takes time and commitment.

"I have been really antsy, lately. Perhaps it's "just want to be married and have my own house" kind of blues that I'm struggling with..."

God will not withhold any good thing from you (Psalm 34:9-10). Use this season in your life to get to know God and His Word better. As a young single Christian you will be able to serve God in ways that you would not be able to do if you were married so make the most of the opportunities that God gives you. Also, be patient with God's timing. God is never early or late; He is always on time with His provisions for His children.

I find that when I focus on my relationship with Christ and serving Him, I don't have the desire or the time to dwell on what I don't have, such as a husband. I would encourage you to focus on what you do have and trust God to meet your every need. There will be times when this this be not be easy. During those time, pour out your heart to God in prayer and tell Him what you are feeling.

"...but my mom is older, and our house is full of stuff, and it's not as clean as I'd like. It discourages me and depresses me, because it just seems like my mother just doesn't care about whether her family lives in a neat and clean home."

Housework is a full time job, and if your mother works outside the home, she is carrying a very heavy workload. Besides having too much to do, your mother also may not have the energy and strength to keep the house as clean as she did when she was younger and/or it may take her longer to do the chores.

Exodus 20:12 commands us to honor our father and mother. You can do this by helping your father and mother with chores that need to be done around the house. This is an area where little things really do count. If you see something that needs to be done, do it, such as washing dishes, taking the clothes out the dryer and hanging them up, setting the table for meals, run errands, dusting, taking out the trash -- the possibilities are endless because there is always something that needs to be done to keep a home running smoothly.

"P.S. It's hard for me to find a job that I want to do, as well - how would you suggest I go about attaining necessary job skills, if say I want to be a receptionist, but don't have the training? What would you suggest?"

This is a tough situation, particularly with today's economy. Can you obtain the necessary skills and experience through a volunteer job at your church, other ministry or charity? Do you know of someone in the career field that you are interested in? If so, ask them for suggestions and possible leads for a job.

Jessica, no matter where God wants to you live, the type of job you have or your marital status, remember that God has plans to give you a future filled with hope (Jeremiah 29:11).