When we give our life to Jesus, when He becomes our Savior and Lord, we become the temple of the Holy Spirit. Which is very advantageous for someone that is single. This week, let’s look at the first 4 benefits.
In Galatians 5.22-23a, the apostle Paul lists the benefits of listening to the Holy Spirit. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” (ESV) The word “fruit” here comes from the Greek word “Karpos”, which means: the result, the benefit. His power in us is often the antidote to many bad habits or a balm against our torments.
The 1st benefit: our fears disappear, thanks to His love
Because of our human nature, and because we live in a fallen world with bad news surrounding us, it is no surprise we have fearful thoughts. We all have different ways of fighting these fears, but the most effective way is by bringing our thoughts back to the love of God.
“There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.” (1 John 4.19 ESV)
Among the most common fears of singles is making a mistake. We may be afraid to date someone, not being fully convinced that this person is the right one for us. Now, as everyone changes in life, and we can not control others, we need to rely only on God when we make our decision. If God has given you the green light, and you know that God loves you, you will be able to overcome this fear. (You can also read this text to help you)
Along the same idea, the love of God will also help us overcome the fear of commitment. It is also His love that will sustain us if we get rejected. Because yes, we may be rejected by revealing our feelings, but if we know that God loves us more than anyone in the world, it will hurt less.
The 2nd benefit: we get rid of discouragement, thanks to His joy
We get discouraged when we look at what we do not have, instead of looking at what we have. When this feeling comes to visit us, we must speak openly with the Holy Spirit, for He will help us to look at what is truly essential: our salvation. Knowing that our eternity is assured, joy will return quickly. “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.” (Phil. 4.4. ESV)
The early Christians were sometimes very poor and at risk of being tortured and killed, but according to Paul, they kept their joy. “For in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part.” (2 Cor. 8.2 ESV) We can be in “extreme poverty”, or in a lack of something, as the verse says, but we will still have “abundance of joy”, thanks to the Spirit of God in us.
The 3rd benefit: our wounds are healed and are replaced by His peace
Rare are those who never got their hearts broken once in their life. Emotional wounds can leave scars on our soul that can prevent us from being open to other relationships. But Jesus came to die on the cross for our wounds, even those of the heart. When we accept His forgiveness, we forgive others, and it is only through forgiveness that healing can sprout.
“And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 4.7 ESV)
The 4th benefit: we are able to wait for the right person, through His patience
“The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty.” (Proverbs 21.5 ESV) It is when we are tired of waiting that we fall into bad company! We start looking in places where there are no Christians singles on fire for God and do things that we later regret. We start in a direction that seems to get us toward our goal, but it makes us move away from God.
When we are tired of waiting, instead of taking things into our own hands, let’s talk to the Holy Spirit. Let us pour out our heart in His presence and let Him encourage us and bring out the patience He has placed in us.
These are the first four benefits of having a good relationship with the Holy Spirit. Next week we will present five more.
(This and the following article are from the September 23, 2017, conference. You can view it in full on our YouTube channel.)