Single Shouldn't SuckSample

Myth number #2: You will finally meet the person of your dreams when you become totally content in your relationship with God.

I can just imagine God sitting in heaven looking at a live screen that resembles something like the New York Stock Exchange; the names of single individuals popping up across the screen and each one turning green as the 'contentment' bar reaches max capacity. "Ok Gabrielle, let's advance Justin to the next level of romantic relationship and let him jailbreak the singleness level. He read his Bible 346 times in the last 18 months and you know what that means: SPOUSE JACKPOT!" Ok, obviously I kid, but this is a real visual I get!

Oftentimes, we use phrases like this to lift someone's spirits and help redirect their attention back to God as the center of their satisfaction for life. While I understand the pure motive in an attempt to encourage, I'm wary of what statements like this also infer to our subconscious. We may walk away from conversations like this and conclude there's a lack in our faith or we're not doing enough to please God. We then begin to contrive ideas about how we can find this 'total contentment', shutting down our desire for a relationship, perhaps suppressing our feelings for someone, or thinking of ways we can earn God's approval to bring a spouse into our lives. But this idea is not congruent with the loving heart of God.

God is not a reluctant father nor does He manipulate, torment, or put a deadline on our desires based on our fulfillment of Him. Matthew 7:11 says, "If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!" Not to say God rewards disobedience, but He truly loves to bless His kids.

The truth is, experiencing contentment in our relationship with God will be a lifetime journey. We will never be so content that it unlocks bonus blessings. This isn't Mario Cart. This is life and it's full of wildly unpredictable twists and turns. We learn to cling to God through it all—in singleness, dating, marriage, and parenting. Philippians 1:6 says, "being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." We don't have to strive for contentment. We can rest in knowing what God began in us He is watching over, giving us both the will and desire to please Him.

WHEN we meet the person of our dreams is not contingent on the contentment we find in our relationship with God, but I will say our happiness and fulfillment of life sure as heck is. So I encourage you: pursue contentment, but don't stop there. Seek adventure in the beautiful life in front of you. Run after God and surround yourself with like-minded people. Chase your enthusiasm and master your craft. Chances are, you'll meet someone really special along the way.