A nice promise, a very spiritual quote written on an image portraying a lovely young couple holding hands. No wonder why singles start daydreaming! Unfortunately, sometimes these promises are not Biblical!

• God has prepared a special someone just for you

Usually, we get married once in our lifetime. Since God knows all things, He obviously knows who this person will be. But is it really the one God had in mind for us?

God gives us free will. He gave us the power to choose between life and death (Deut. 30:19) and Jesus also said that there were many paths, but only one leads to eternal life (Matt. 7.13-14). If we choose to take a different direction than the way God wanted us to take, we will not have the results God had hoped for us.

When we choose a person who matches our interests and our values; when our eyes are dazzled with emotions, we can have the impression that this person was specially designed for us. But that’s not the case. Even if God had prepared someone for you, if that person makes the wrong choices, you might never cross their path.

Don’t be disappointed to learn that this promise is not Biblical, it means that there is more than one person reserved for you, there are plenty!

• God will give your heart to someone who deserves it

What is implied here is that if you are a “good Christian” God will reward you by giving you another “good Christian”. When we are saved by grace, we know that we can’t “earn” salvation. Sometimes when we give in to temptation, we no longer feel qualified to receive God’s blessings. This feeling can lead us to believe, on the contrary, that when we do everything a good Christian should do, we deserve His favor and blessings. Now just as salvation is not obtained by works, Neither are His blessings.

The Bible is clear, all we deserve is death (Rom 6:23). We have access to God’s promises through Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. It is a gift from God. The person you marry will not be perfect, but they will be justified in Christ. They will never deserve you, Jesus alone paid the price to redeem you. Moreover, it’s not God that will give your heart to a person because this would impose His choice, and God lets us make our own decisions.

However, if you seek God with all your heart, if you are in love with Him and you seek His advice in all your decisions, He will show you the dark side of a potential partner. It will be up to you to decide if you want to engage yourself with that person despite their flaws, or if these defects are too important for you to give them your heart. See it is an advantage to remain in a strong relationship with the One who searches all of our hearts.

• Patience: you will meet the right person in God’s time

The time of God? God is eternal. He has no beginning, no end… so no time! (Heb. 4.7 and Rev 1.8) Again, God leaves us free to make our own decisions. So there are no fateful moments or instances where the stars align, where the only person we should marry will appear in a cloud of glory!

What is also dangerous in that promise is that it can encourage people to remain inactive. Waiting for God does not mean to be dormant. Prayer is a necessary, seeking for God’s advice is essential, but God wants you to do a few steps too (see the post “Seek or wait”).

“So when will I meet the love of my life?” This can be anytime, there is no “time” with God. Serve God with passion, follow His lead, and when He opens doors be available.

• God will give you a wife, because He said, “It is not good for man to be alone.”

We must put this verse (Gen 2:18) into context. God was in the creative process and there was only one human being on Earth. God wanted mankind to multiply and of course, Adam could not do this by himself! It was then not good for him to be alone. This verse is not talking about marriage. God never said that it was imperative for everyone to marry. His own son Jesus never married! In fact, the apostle Paul says that it’s even better not to marry (1 Cor. 7.8).

There is nothing wrong with wanting to get married. Jesus made it clear that celibacy is not for everyone (Matt 19:12). Now that does not mean that everyone should marry. Translating Genesis 2.18 by “It is not good to be single” is exaggerated and far from the truth.

• Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the partner that you have always dreamed of

This false promise is inspired by Psalm 37:4. The Passion374 team loves this verse : it is the basis of this whole project! But don’t make this verse say something that it doesn’t say!

The verse says: “Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.” (NKJV) Read this verse well : if you delight in the Lord, if your heart yearns for your Lord, then He will give you what your heart’s desire: which is Him! The verse does not say that if you are a good Christian, you will get any desire that comes to your mind! That verse encourages us to want more of His presence, because if we seek Him with all of our hearts, we will find Him (Jer. 29:13).

Finding Him is the greatest gift we can hope for. Being in His arms is the best moment of intimacy that you will ever experience : much better than all human relationships.