That’s the key, isn’t it? If we’re saying that being ready to meet the right person depends on being the right person, what does that really consist of? Here’s our definition: Being the right person means living out God’s purpose for your life.
This is where being a follower of Christ is so radically different from being an unbeliever. The world says, “Be your own man (or woman). Live life your way. Decide what you want and go for it.” Is that what God wants from us? In a word, no.
Whether we’re married or single, our purpose should be not to satisfy our own wishes, but to do God’s will. We’re to love God more and more, know him better and better, and follow him closer and closer. Living out God’s purpose for us, then, is a lifelong goal, and a noble one.
Isn’t this how Jesus operated? He said, “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30). (That’s hardly “Be your own man.”) He said, “I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me” (John 6:38). (That’s not “Live life your way.”) Jesus lived out God’s purpose for His life. He made His will align with the Father’s perfectly, and so He was not disappointed.
Permit us to ask you a personal question. Do you pray for God to give you a mate? If so, maybe you’ve been discouraged because the answer so far has been no. Maybe the letdown has even soured you on prayer altogether.
What if we said you could be confident of having your prayers answered? You can! Here’s how: “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us” (1 John 5:14). The key words there are “according to his will.” We don’t get what we want in prayer by bending God to our will through praying really, really hard. We get what we want by bending our will to God’s, so that we pray for what He wants.
This is the essence of living out God’s purpose for our life. We cultivate our relationship with Him. We follow His standards and teachings. We come to want what He wants. We seek His glory in all things and we try to fulfill His specific purpose for our lives. And in doing all this, we’re at the right place to receive God’s best for us at just the right time.
