3 Signs God Is Saying, “I’m Preparing You for Marriage”

1 Corinthians 7:7

Here are 3 signs that usually mean God is saying, “I’m preparing you for marriage.”

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1. If God Is Humbling You to Accept You’re Not Equipped to Pursue a Life of Singleness, This Is a Good Sign He May Be Preparing You for Marriage

Do you know your own pride towards marriage could be one of the main hinderances to you being prepared for marriage? Many Christians believe marriage is a lesser calling than singleness, as though if you really love God, you will choose singleness. They walk away from passages like 1 Corinthians 7 and say, “Well, I do really love God. But I also really want to be married. Maybe I don’t love God as much as I thought.”

This unbiblical logic is often due to a poor interpretation of 1 Corinthians 7. While this passage does specifically state that singleness is better than marriage (1 Corinthians 7:38), it does not say singleness is better than marriage for each individual person. Singleness is better generally speaking because it allows people to focus more on the Lord (1 Corinthians 7:32-35). But throughout 1 Corinthians 7, Paul makes it very clear that the choice between singleness and marriage is not a general choice. Rather, it’s an individual’s choice that should be made by considering personal factors.

For example, if someone has a sex drive they struggle to control, 1 Corinthians 7:2 and 1 Corinthians 7:9 state it is better for that individual to marry. In 1 Corinthians 7:36, Paul states that if someone really wants to marry, they should get married. In 1 Corinthians 7:7, it clearly states that each individual is either given the gift of singleness or the gift of marriage. And according to 1 Peter 4:10-11, we are actually commanded to use our God-given gifts for God’s glory.

All that to say, in pride and because we have been misinformed about the meaning of 1 Corinthians 7, many people think they should remain single even though they really want to get married. No, if you truly have the gift of singleness, you will want to be single. If you want to be married, you don’t have the gift of singleness. You should be humble enough to accept God has called you to pursue marriage.

I’m not saying you will get married for sure. I’m simply saying you should not be the type of person who is actively working to stay single like someone should do when they really know God has definitely called them to singleness, like God did for Paul (1 Corinthians 7:7).

If you want to be married and if you would be better equipped to serve God in marriage, the humble thing to do is to accept this and pursue marriage rather than singleness.

2. If God Is Helping You to Be Content in Jesus Even If Marriage Never Happens, This Is a Good Sign He’s Actually Preparing You for Marriage

Now it’s time to balance out what we just talked about in in point 1. While it’s good to embrace the way God has designed you individually when it comes to having the gift of marriage or the gift of singleness, it’s also important to realize we live in a complicated world where many of our good desires often go unmet. Sometimes these desires are simply delayed and sometimes they are completely denied.

In either case, even if you know God has called you to pursue marriage one day because you desire this gift and have the biblical signs for this gift, you still must get to that place in your heart to where you are fully content in God regardless if you ever get married or not. While marriage is a good gift from God, it is not “the” gift from God. You can have joy without marriage. You cannot have joy without God (Philippians 4:4, Philippians 4:11-13).

In fact, it’s also true that you will not be able to fully enjoy marriage until you are first fully content in Christ. When our hearts are not fulfilled in Jesus, nothing else satisfies. But when we are fulfilled in Jesus, we are then free to enjoy lesser blessings in appropriate and biblical ways too (Psalm 16:1-3).

3. If God Is Helping You Live the Type of Spiritual Life You Want in Marriage While You Are Still Single, This Is a Good Sign He’s Preparing You for Marriage

It’s a dangerous myth to believe that marriage will solve your problems. No, marriage will actually enhance your problems. Like a crack in a rock that fills with water that then freezes and makes the crack even bigger, so too will marriage find your weak points, get inside of them, and make them even more noticeable.

While God uses this process in marriage to sanctify the Christian even more, it’s also true that we should realize that marriage is not a miracle that will heal your wounds, solve all your problems, or finally make you happy.

Rather than waiting for marriage to come and fix everything in your life, God wants you to start living right now the spiritual life you desire to have (Ephesians 1:3, Ephesians 5:14-16). Don’t wait for something to happen one day to make your life better. Always accept that the only moment you are guaranteed is the moment you have right now.

By walking with the Holy Spirit to be sanctified into the person you long to be one day, you are going to be much more prepared for marriage if God does give you this blessing.

And if you are someone who wants to learn more about biblical relationship principles, feel free to visit AGW University before the September 1^st deadline. To learn more, click here.