The beginning of the year is always a good time to make life-changing decisions. If you want to see a change in your social status: don’t wait! No more excuses, this year you are moving forward!
Hopefully, you had a good holiday with your family, but we are sure you would have preferred to celebrate with a partner. What can you do to make this area of your life move in the direction you want it to? Waiting and doing nothing is not what God expects of you! If you have a good personal relationship with God, if you want to get married for the right reasons and you know it’s God’s will for you personally, it’s time for you to move forward.
God gives us all kinds of promises, but to fulfill them we all have to do something. This was the case for the Israelites as they faced the Promised Land. As the name suggests, God promised His people a land of their own, after many years wandering in the wilderness. A land of abundance and peace. But for this promise to be fulfilled, they had to do their part and conquer the enemies who stood before them. A colossal task that began to discourage some and their leader, Joshua, had to bring them back to order. “Then Joshua said to the children of Israel: “How long will you neglect to go and possess the land which the Lord God of your fathers has given you?” (Joshua 18.3 NKJV). If God has laid in your heart to share your life with a partner, what are you doing to see that promise come true?
For some singles, it’s fear that prevents them from taking steps towards interesting people. Sometimes, they are so afraid of failing, they even stay hidden in their basement, comfortable in front of the television. They are so afraid of being rejected that they do not move. Others are so afraid of making a bad choice that they don’t even want to show that they are available. But is it really fear?
In the parable of talents (or mines), three servants receive talents, a kind of currency of the time. The first two servants invest their talents, while the last one hides them for fear of losing them. “Then he who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours’” (Matthew 25.24-25 KJV). But the master’s answer is interesting. He did not call him a “fearful servant” but a “wicked and lazy servant” (verse 26). Where the servant saw fear, the master saw laziness.
When the master has distributed his goods, it is written that he did it “to each according to his own ability” (v.15). The master was therefore convinced that this third servant was capable, that he had the capacity to multiply his small talent. He trusted his servant, but the servant did not trust himself. If God has confirmed to you that it is His will for you to get married, it is because He trusts you that you will be a good partner. We are not talking about the call of your hormones or the impulses of your flesh. We are talking about that moment when you had the conviction that God wanted you to be married, that He wanted you to serve another one of His children for your whole life. If He has promised you this, He believes you have everything you need to bring it to fulfillment.
Take your fear and see it as laziness. Because if God believes in you, why are you there staying hidden? Yes, courage requires effort. Yes, we can get rejected or look ridiculous, but if God believes in you, who are you to doubt?
Christian singles have the least number of dates among all types of singles. They do not want to take a risk and make a mistake, they want to be convinced that this or that person is the one to marry before inviting them for a coffee: which is absurd! They do not want to talk too much about their celibacy (and even churches do not dare to talk about single issues too much) for fear of falling into sin or fear of making bad choices. But is it really fear? Or is it pride and laziness?
The Promised Land was a gift from God, but to acquire it, the people of God had to make great efforts. They made mistakes, and there were misunderstandings. There were days of discouragement and fatigue, but they persisted. The effort you will have to make this year may be to go out and participate in all kinds of activities. Maybe it will be up to you to organize them (write to us, Passion374 can help you with that)! You may have to get out of your bubble and invite some great people to have a coffee. Make a goal of doing an activity or even a date by each month. Not a one night stand! Just go for a coffee or visit a museum! Stop being afraid, do not hide, this year is the time for you to move!