Finding Your Purpose Before Dating
I was reading my bible the other day and came across a passage in Genesis that made me reflect on why it is so important that we have our own individual purpose in life as we begin pursuing another person. The passage was found in Genesis 4 and it says “After Cain killed Abel (Genesis 4:8) God punished him by making him a “restless wanderer on the earth” (4:12)Cain said to the Lord “My punishment is more than I can bear” (4:13).”
What struck me with this passage is that his punishment was something we as adults strive for all the time; VACATIONS. We basically work hard to go and be wanderers on the earth, travellers, not working or doing anything with our hands but just resting and taking time to wander the earth, and explore God’s creation.
We often see people on our social media highlight reels people who travel and wander the earth, exploring from place to place and don’t appear to be doing anything else. So now why did Cain say that becoming a restless wanderer was more than he could bear. He wasn’t in physical pain, or agony? He wasn’t dying? He still had food so why was this punishment so severe? It’s because we are born on purpose for a purpose. We aren’t meant to be restless wanderers on this earth. It’s important that you are finding your purpose before dating.
Over the past few years I have seen it happen time and time again. People have lost jobs, gotten laid off, lost family members and friends, businesses went under due to covid, and so much more. They feel they have ultimately lost a sense of their purpose. We saw a lot of this happen during covid – those who found new purpose, started businesses, or found something to put their hands to during covid, they thrived during that time and those that didn’t really struggled with it.
Finding your purpose before dating allows us to be chasing our individual purpose instead of chasing someone else as a purpose that is when we become stagnant and when we feel lost, anxious or stressed out. We start putting our value into being with this person instead of putting our value into the God who created us and what He created us to do and who to be.
I myself have done this many times where I have stepped into a relationship and expected the other person to now be my ultimate purpose in life. I wrapped my whole life around them, spending all my time with them and forgetting about everything else. I had lost myself in my relationships, my sense of vision, goals or purpose because ultimately I wanted to give all my time and energy into this person who I thought was my end all be all.
But the truth is the best relationships are achieved by living out God’s purpose and plans for your life, and letting that something else help the relationship. If you are only living for each other and aren’t striving after the purpose God has called you to, you will expect the other person to fill voids in your life that only God can fill. So keep finding your purpose before dating.
We were made for a purpose. Let God be in the driver seat and show you the purpose he has placed on your life.
Finding your purpose before dating is ultimately finding out who you are and what God has called you to be in this one short life we have to live.
Written By Michelle Apples
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