When we desire to be in a relationship, it is normal, at times, to wonder why we are still alone and how to find a partner. But these questions should never turn into worries.
Several passages in the Bible address the subject of worry. Jesus Himself wanted to reassure us by promising us the help of His Father for all our needs. “Look at the birds in the air. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, but your heavenly Father feeds them. And you know that you are worth much more than the birds.” (Matthew 6:26 NCV). When we understand God’s love for us, we can trust that He will always be for us (Romans 8:31). And it’s important to stop our flow of negative thoughts because worry can be very destructive.
1. Worry keeps us from growing spiritually
Have you ever finished reading a chapter in the Bible and had no memory of what you just read? Your thoughts were elsewhere, you were preoccupied with something else, and so you didn’t pay attention to what God wanted to teach you. In the Bible, that is exactly the definition of worry. The word translated “worry” in Matthew 6:25 and in Luke 10:41-42 is the translation of the Greek word “merimnao”, which also means “to think about”, “to be concerned”, and “to be distracted by”.
When we allow worry to overwhelm us, the Word of God can no longer work in our lives. “But the worries of this life, the temptation of wealth, and many other evil desires keep the teaching from growing and producing fruit in their lives” (Mark 4:19 NCV). Jesus compares worries to thorns that come to choke the seed, which is the Word of God. If we let the desire to get married, or any other pressing desire, take over our thoughts, we will stop growing spiritually. The challenge is important: we must be vigilant.
2. Worry distracts us from our calling
If we can no longer grow spiritually, we will no longer advance in our calling either. God wants to take care of our needs so that we can meet His needs! It’s not that He can’t meet them Himself, or that He’s selfish and only thinks about His needs. It’s because He knows that when we serve God in our calling and work in the service He created us to do, we are truly fulfilled. Of course, marriage meets the desire for friendship, for partnership, but it does not fulfill us emotionally and even less spiritually. Only the Holy Spirit can do that. That is why God does not want us to be preoccupied with, among other things, our singleness.
That was what the apostle Paul referred to when he encouraged single people in his day. “I want you to be free from worry. A man who is not married is busy with the Lord’s work, trying to please the Lord. But a man who is married is busy with things of the world, trying to please his wife” (1 Corinthians 7:32-33 NCV). In verse 35, he considers worrying about getting married to be a distraction. “I am saying this to help you, not to limit you. But I want you to live in the right way, to give yourselves fully to the Lord without concern for other things” (1 Corinthians 7:35 NCV).
3. Worry Takes Us Outside of God’s Will
When a desire preoccupies us, it is natural to look for a way to fulfill it. However, if we do not put our desires and our concerns in the hands of God, we will find a logical solution that is outside the will of God. We only have to cite the example of Sarah, who gave her servant to Abraham to solve her problem of sterility instead of relying on God. Let’s not be like her! “Do not worry about anything, but pray and ask God for everything you need, always giving thanks” (Philippians 4:6 NCV)
4. Worry wastes our time
And all that time we spend worrying would be much more worth investing elsewhere! Let’s face it, what we imagined, most of the scenarios we fed into our thoughts, never came to pass. Perhaps that is why Jesus viewed worry as a waste of time. “You cannot add any time to your life by worrying about it” (Matthew 6:27 NCV).
In short, to worry is to waste our time, to waste our calling, to waste our faith! So let us be vigilant and refuse to worry today.