The Bible contains precious pearls that enable us to live our single life (or any other challenge) in peace and without frustration. Among all the advice given by the Apostle Paul, here are three to be applied today!

Paul wrote several letters to the young churches to encourage them in their faith. Each of them had different challenges and were bombarded with particular influences of their region. Some of his words were specific to the particular church, but other recommendations were clearly beneficial to all believers from all the corners of the world. This is the case with the last verses of Romans chapter 12. Some points concern our service to the Lord, others address our attitude towards our brothers and sisters and some towards the outside world. But a particular verse gives advice to help our heart and mind. Three small exhortations that can make our life so much more serene, whether we are single or not.

“Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer.” (Romans 12:12 WEB)

Rejoice in hope

Christians, we should always be happy. Our joy does not depend on what we can get on this Earth, whether material or even relational. Falling in love is pleasant and the day of our wedding is certainly one of the happiest days of our lives. But all these little joys are nothing compared to the joy that is in God. No one can steal it from us. We can lose it if we do not take care of it if we let ourselves be conquered by human desires. However, we can always find it back in the arms of our Savior.

“Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, rejoice.” (Philippians 4: 4 KJV)

When we do not have what we desire, or we are not where we would like to be, our soul tends to be sad. Our spirit, however, looks towards eternal life and the power of God and remains confident. It is up to us to speak to our soul and let our spirit take control of our being. Let us remember that no matter what happens, with God, everything is possible. And if everything is possible, we always have hope. There is something to rejoice about! Not to mention that a cheerful bachelor is much more attractive!

Be patient in affliction

We always want to get out of difficult situations as quickly as possible! Yet the desert can be a very good school. God never promised his children a life without an ambush, but He promised to accompany them. “Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all.” (Psalms 34:19 KJV) There are difficult times, deciding to follow Christ often leads us to unpleasant places, but it is there that we develop our patience.

We don’t like to hear that we have to be patient, especially when it comes to finding a life partner. Being patient does not mean being inactive. We still have steps to take towards our promised land, but if the process seems too long, God asks us to manifest that fruit of the Spirit. The season you are presently in has a lot to teach you, to make you better, this will give you greater success in the next one. Don’t rush to enter the next chapter, take advantage of where you are right now and become stronger. “But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.” (James 1: 4 KJV)

Persevere in prayer

You asked God to help you find a partner. Do you have to repeat this need continually? Did He not hear you the first time you spoke to Him? Has He forgotten? Why should we persevere in prayer, then? Because prayer is a way for us to put our needs in His hands. Sometimes when we ask God for something we take it back when we feel He doesn’t act quickly enough! Or we start worrying again or get frustrated with our celibacy. When we pray, we give God our desires. It is a way to give Him back his place on the throne of our heart, to remind us that God is working on it.

Finally, prayer is a dialogue, let us not forget that! When we persevere in prayer, we let God tell us what we have to do in our circumstances. There may be several small flaws you have to deal with to increase your chances of finding a partner. God will do his part (the main one of course!), but He makes us work by His side towards fulfilling His promises. “For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s farming, God’s building.” (1 Corinthians 3: 9 WEB)