This may seem obvious as a question. “God? But he is the one to whom we sing hymns on Sunday morning and the one to whom we pray regularly.” Really? Is he really your God?

We often hear the children of God complaining about the One they call “Father”. They had asked God this or that, and they didn’t get it. Or they had undertaken a project, and they had asked God to bless it, and yet their project failed. “Why God didn’t do anything? I know that He has the power to do it, and I had faith in him, so why did this fail?” That may be because they have a bad definition of who God is.

The definition of God according to Merriam-Webster is: “the incorporeal divine Principle ruling over all as eternal Spirit”. This secular dictionary confirms here that the one to whom we give the name of “God” should be the one who has power over us. In our churches, we also often call him “King” and “Lord”. So it’s not a little genie in a bottle that will grant our wishes. He is not at our service, we are at his.

The most popular verses of spiritual motivators are Philippians 4.13 “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me”; Mark 9:23 “all things are possible to him who believes; and of course Matthew 21:22 “whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.” Motivators use these verses taken out of context to encourage their audience to realize their dreams, their own ambitions. Now Jesus did not die on the cross to give us the power to do whatever we want. We can do everything … when Christ acts in us. Christ has his own agenda for our lives, and if He is our God, we must follow this agenda, not ours.

Let us go a little farther into this thought. Galatians 5:18 says: “But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.” Did the law lead people to do good works, to be good people? Yes for sure! Now, with the coming of Christ, the way has changed. We no longer follow the precepts of the law to be saved, we receive salvation by grace, and then we are led by the Spirit. Law or morality should lead us, but the Holy Spirit, even “good projects”, or something that seems to be the “right thing to do”, it is not. Obviously, the Holy Spirit will never lead us to do something that is contrary to the Word of God. But He can lead us in a direction we may not have considered and may not please our flesh.

Singles, we do not need to follow the laws of purity. We only need to follow the Holy Spirit. In the fire of passion, when you are alone with a partner of the opposite sex, you do not need to question yourself about the limits you should not cross. You have only to follow the Holy Spirit. Place Him between you and the other, and you will see that your fire will change quickly. “I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.” (Galatians 5:16 NKJV)

We have to stop trying to do the right things. Rather, we must develop a good relationship with the Holy Spirit, give God back His role as Lord, submit to Him and follow Him where He leads us. Reading the Bible is good and even necessary, but prayer and communion with the Spirit of God is also important. It is on our knees that we will move in the right direction, even in our desire to meet our future husband or wife.

Singles: who is your God? Who are you following? Who are you serving?