Pursuing Marriage

The last month of the year has begun, and for a while now I have been contemplating some goals for the new year. I’m realizing—hopefully not too late in life—that I’ve never really been great at setting and pursuing annual goals.

As I finish another year of singleness, it suddenly occurs to me to ask, Can I make marriage a goal for the new year?

Obviously, the answer is No. A goal has to be something that I can control. Marriage classifies as a desire.

But is it a desire I can pursue? If so, what does that mean?

And in light of God’s sovereignty, should it be something that I—or you—pursue?

Sovereignty indicates rulership and supremacy. If God is sovereign over my life and therefore my singleness, should I be doing anything to try to change my marital status? Or perhaps I can compare marriage to other desires that I can’t always control, like a career change. If God is sovereign over my life, should I assume that the job or career I have is His permanent placement for me, or do I have the freedom to work toward something new?

Somehow, I believe, God’s sovereignty works hand in hand with our circumstances, both the ones He intended and the ones He didn’t. I’ll be talking about that in future blogs. But in the meantime, what do you think about setting a goal to pursue marriage?