What is one specific thing you believe God has called you to do in your single years? That’s a tough question—and one I’ve definitely tried to figure out.

There are not many specific teachings in the Bible to women who have yet to get married or want to get married. For sure, although some of these options might be well and good, God doesn’t want any of us to just sit, soak, and sour at home while scanning the personals section of your local newspaper and fasting for the rest of your life daily for a husband.

God might not have spoken a lot about single women, but he did give three tasks in 1 Corinthians 7:34 specifically for unmarried women.

“The unmarried woman careth for the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit:”

Be Busy with the Lord’s Work

This girl was not turning into a wallflower while waiting for a mate to come along. She was not growing bitterer by the day about her lack of prospects.

Instead, she was busy serving God in the ministry he had called her to fulfill. God’s work and his alone are to be the main priorities in our single years.

Be Holy in Body

As she was unmarried, she kept herself pure and holy, set apart for God and if he willed marriage, her future husband. Pure in body goes much deeper than any sexual connotation; it also serves as a powerful reminder to be holy in our dress, words, and actions.

Flirtatiousness and defrauding of men is absent from her repertoire. She was set apart for one thing—holiness before the eyes of God. Furthermore, she was able to practically apply the words of Proverbs 31:12: “She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life”

She Was Holy in Spirit

The second task covered the outward, but this third one addresses the inward. Emotions are tricky, TRICKY little things and can stir up desires that God is not ready to fulfill.

Our spirit is our mind, will, and emotions together. Holiness of mind impacts the books we read, the music we listen to, and the entertainment I watch. These fuel our spirits in one of two ways—positively or negatively.

I remember during one period of my life, I couldn’t even listen to the clean, yet still love songs sung by a popular easy-listening artist. Every time I heard the words to his gorgeous ballads, I would find myself longing to have a guy in my life to personify the words. It eventually came to the point where I knew that I needed to give up his music for that season of my life because it was affecting me spiritually by stirring up feelings of discontent and longing that God wasn’t ready to answer.

Holiness in this area might even be harder for some than holiness of body. Don’t hesitate to surrender your spirit over to Christ in these crucial areas. The Bible might not say much about the waiting years, but what it does say is powerful and quite the challenge. Honor God first—and leave the rest to him.

After all, don’t forget what Max Lucado said: “A woman’s heart should be so hidden in God that a man has to seek Him just to find her.”