1 Corinthians 13:8
There are moments and seasons in life where God actually wants you to be isolated. Sometimes he needs to send us into the wilderness so we can be alone with him.
But he does this so we can then come back to other people and love them better than we could before. Sometimes we need to not be in a relationship so God can use our isolation to prepare us to be in a healthy relationship when the time is right.
So it’s certainly not healthy to be isolated for long periods of time. When we apply these ideas to romance, here are 4 signs God is about to end your isolation.
And I wanted to quickly let you know about my new book, Christ-Centered Dating: Pursuing a Relationship that Glorifies God. For those of you who purchase it before February 17th at 11:59pm, I’m also giving you one of my most important AGW University courses completely for free. It’s called 10 Steps to Meet The One.
More information about this new book and the bonus course can be found at the end of this article.
1. If God’s Purpose for Your Isolation Has Almost Been Fully Accomplished, This Means It’s Coming to an End
God isn’t just sovereign. He’s also providential.
Sovereignty is the word we use to describe God’s power to do whatever he wants, whenever he wants, and however he wants. Providence, however, is the word we use to describe God’s purpose in exercising his sovereign power. In other words, in everything God causes and in everything God permits, he has a purpose for it all. Isaiah 55:10-11 explains:
For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.”
God sent Jesus into the wilderness (Matthew 4:1), John the Baptist was a man who spent much time in the wilderness (Matthew 11:7), and David fled into the wilderness when Saul was hunting him (1 Samuel 24:1). All of these instances were caused or permitted through God’s providence, for he had a purpose for each of these men as they spent time in the wilderness. But none of their time in the wilderness lasted forever. Once the purpose for their isolation was accomplished, God brought them back to lead and serve others.
Likewise, when it comes to romantic relationships, God may have led you into a season of isolation because you needed it. There was a purpose for it. Perhaps you needed to heal from a bad relationship, study what the word of God says, or reconnect with the Lord in your heart. When the purpose for your isolation is accomplished, God doesn’t want you to remain in that isolation.
As Ecclesiastes 3:5 states, “[There’s] a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing.”
2. If Your Energy to Fight for a Relationship Has Been Restored Through Your Season of Isolation, This Is a Sign God Is Probably Going to End Your Isolation Soon
One of the hardest parts about dating is the energy it takes from you when a relationship doesn’t work out. It can be truly exhausting when you invest in someone and for whatever reason, that relationship never comes to fruition or it suddenly ends when you did not expect it. The emotional toll can be so severe that it literally affects your body, sapping the energy that’s needed to get out of the house and socialize with others.
When you are recovering from a relationship disappointment, some time in isolation can be healthy. Remember, after God created everything in six days, even he took time to rest. How much more will need to rest after we expel lots of energy? This is true even when it comes to relationships.
Remember, Christian love is not just about the love you have when you meet someone you connect with and value. Rather, Christian love is about the love of God welling up inside of you (Galatians 5:22). This type of love is not given to you through another person. Rather, it’s given to you from God himself and he wants you to give it away to another person (John 13:34). When your well runs dry, give God time to fill it up again. But then use it again.
Always keep on loving (1 Corinthians 13:8).
3. If You Were Using Isolation as Tool to Increase the Effectiveness of Your Repentance, Eventually This Tool Will Have Served Its Purpose for You
A hammer isn’t better than a screwdriver unless you need a hammer to accomplish your tasks. But when you need a screwdriver to accomplish your task, now the screwdriver is better than the hammer. Isolation is meant to be one tool in your spiritual toolbox. It’s only useful when you need it.
For example, when repenting, sometimes isolation can be useful. When we are isolated, we tend to experience more grief. And there is a form of grief that can be useful to us. 2 Corinthians 7:9-11 states:
As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us. For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. For see what earnestness this godly grief has produced in you . . . .”
Eventually, if you are using your isolation for healing purposes rather than just for nursing your depression and sadness about being alone, this season of solitude will come to an end. After a healthy, needed season of rest and repentance, God will restore your capacity to be in a relationship.
4. If It’s Time to Add Actions to Your Prayers, God Will Take You Out of Isolation
It was a regular practice in the life of Jesus to separate himself from everyone so that he could spend one-on-one prayer time with his Father (Mark 1:35, Matthew 14:23). But Jesus was no monk. His desire was not to live in isolation. Rather, he spent time in isolated prayer so that he could reconnect with the Father and so he would be empowered to love people.
This was the whole point of Jesus’ time in the Garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26:36-46). Jesus spend time in isolated prayer so he would be empowered to love people in the most lavish way ever expressed – on the cross.
Likewise, if you hope to love and be loved by another in a meaningful, Christ-centered relationship, you must prepare your heart in prayer. But then, like Jesus, that time of prayer ends and you must get up and go do what the Father has planned for you to do.
If you are a Christian single person who has been enjoying my articles and videos, I wrote this new book just for you. It’s called Christ-Centered Dating.
In this new book, I unpack a life-changing principle that I believe the church desperately needs to hear right now. If you feel called to marriage one day, instead of seeking to glorify God so he will then give you a spouse, I believe the biblical path forward must be to seek a spouse for the glory of God. When you make this shift in your heart, it changes everything about the way you operate in relationships.
And if you purchase this book before February 17th (11:59pm), I’m giving you one of my most valuable AGW University courses completely for free.
Follow these steps if want the book and the free bonus course:
Step 1: Before 2/17/2023 (11:59pm), purchase Christ-Centered Dating on Amazon in any format (paperback, eBook, audiobook) by clicking here: https://amzn.to/3Hc50Mv
Step 2: Email your proof of purchase to here: bonuscourse@applygodsword.com
(You can simply forward your Amazon receipt/confirmation email to the above email. Or you can also take a screenshot of the receipt/confirmation and send it to the above email.)
Step 3: Within 24 hours, once your proof of purchase has been verified, you will receive an email with the 100% off scholarship code for the free bonus course (along with the link to enroll in the course).
Step 4: Enroll in the course, 10 Steps to Meet The One. At check out, use your scholarship code. The course can also be found here: https://agwuniversity.teachable.com/p/10-steps-to-meet-the-one
Step 5: Enjoy the book and free bonus course! And if you find the book helpful, it would be a big blessing to me if you could leave a review on Amazon. This helps other people feel more comfortable purchasing the book and learning the important truths inside of it.
God bless!
Mark
