‘Now regarding the questions you asked in your letter. Yes, it is good to abstain from sexual relations. But because there is so much sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman should have her own husband. The husband should fulfill his wife’s sexual needs, and the wife should fulfill her husband’s needs. The wife gives authority over her body to her husband, and the husband gives authority over his body to his wife. Do not deprive each other of sexual relations, unless you both agree to refrain from sexual intimacy for a limited time so you can give yourselves more completely to prayer. Afterward, you should come together again so that Satan won’t be able to tempt you because of your lack of self-control. ‘ 1 Corinthians 7:1-5(NLT)
In our last devotional, we looked at 1 Corinthians 7:1-5 and a word to married couples on the importance of sexual intimacy. Today I want to continue in that passage with verses 7-9 and speak to singles,
For I wish that all men were even as I myself. But each one has his own gift from God, one in this manner and another in that. But I say to the unmarried and to the widows: It is good for them if they remain even as I am; but if they cannot exercise self-control, let them marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion.
If you are single, and you long for physical intimacy, and you sometimes struggle with your sexuality, and you want to be married, it is God’s will for you to be married. In fact, I can tell you that you do not have the gift to be single that Paul talks about.
On the other hand, you may be single and completely content, with no desire to be married. You need to know that does not mean there is something wrong with you. You just may be operating with a gift God has given you. In fact, Paul says it is better. You can serve the Lord undistracted that way.
If you do not have that gift, I believe it is God’s plan for you to get married. If you are tortured with unsatisfied desire, it is better to marry.
That does not mean to go out and marry the first person you would like to have sex with. You have to take this into the context of all of God’s counsel. You need to realize marriage should be the highest form of agreement between two people. No marriage should be entered into lightly or just based on physical attraction.
But if you are single and desiring to be married, I believe God does have someone for you.
from Develop God’s Heart For Others