In love, as in all areas, it can be tempting to take a shortcut, put our faith aside, and get what we want. But God encourages us to stay on track because the reward is worth it.

There are days when we envy the unsaved. In fact, we envy the kind of freedom they have. They can do almost anything they want, with only a few immediate consequences. Finding a partner seems much easier for them because they don’t have as many “restrictions” as the children of God have. This isn’t only for romantic relationships, as Christians we face a lot of challenges that the unsaved won’t. These challenges can be tough and the temptation to put our faith aside to satisfy our desires is very strong.

We aren’t the only ones that experience this kind of discouragement. Many Christians in Paul’s day were living with the same temptation. Well, their challenges were not the same as ours: they were facing intense persecution including death threats, so the apostle thought it was time to encourage them. “So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.” (Hebrews 10.35-36 NIV)

This verse talks about eternal life. If we persevere in our faith, if we remain firm in our convictions despite the pressures and our desires, we will get the “reward” to be with the Lord for eternity. When we think of marriage and building a family, it’s easy to forget the ultimate goal of our life. Death and eternal life seem so far from our thoughts when being single is so difficult. Here, the apostle Paul encourages us to stay the course. “And, but my righteous one will live by faith. And I take no pleasure in the one who shrinks back. But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved.” (Hebrews 10.38-39 NIV)

A beautiful single woman in our church kept herself on track by telling the unsaved bachelors that wanted to date her : “I prefer to die unmarried and go to heaven than to compromise my faith and go to hell with you.” A radical attitude, but this kept her pure until she married a charming Godly man.

When we resist the temptation to give up on our beliefs, not only are we in a position to receive the reward mentioned by Paul, but we keep ourselves in the right direction for all sorts of blessings. God loves His children when we give Him our lives He sets all kinds of blessings on our path. As we keep walking the right path towards our ultimate goal, we will inevitably encounter those blessings. We just have to stay on track, as stated in Matthew 6.33 (NIV) : “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Our God is not stingy! “And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus” (Phil 4.19 NIV)

God wants to encourage you today to avoid compromising your faith because you’re tired of waiting. He knows how you feel; He knows it’s not always easy to follow His way; He knows that everything would seem easier if you acted like the world. However persevere in your faith, you will not be disappointed staying on track with God.