If there’s one prayer I’ve been certain of speaking often these days, it’s the prayer for the Lord to help me stay hidden. I don’t want to stay hidden as if I’m afraid to be seen by men but in terms of keeping me from the wrong men. I pray He reserves me for the man that He has in mind for me.

God proves to us time and again that He loves us, protects us and preserves us. That is a wonderful thing to realize, but when you are unsure of your purpose in your single season or wondering why you’re not in a relationship when you desire to be, God could also be reserving you.

So, what does it feel like when you sense that God is reserving you for your future spouse? Here are three possible scenarios that can happen under your reserved status:

You’re single, but nothing is wrong with you

You’re doing great things in life, content and trusting God. But many times, we are tempted to receive the thought that there must be something wrong with us because we haven’t been on a date or are “still single.”

When God reserves you, He could be doing so for several reasons. I’ve learned that it’s partly because He wants us to Himself in this season of singleness. That helped me understand that God wants to deepen our relationship before ushering me into my new chapter of courtship and marriage.

Sometimes, we just aren’t ready and God needs us alone and distraction-free to show us who we really are, so we don’t bring mess but only our best to our relationships.

We are called to be set apart, so there are plenty of things and people out here that don’t fit where the Lord is taking you. No matter what your family or friends say or societal pressure may suggest, being under God’s protection and preservation is so worth it because He loves you and sees you at your finished result in life and wants the best for you.

Get used to ghosting

“Ghosting” is a new term for disappearing without a trace, text, email or call. You meet someone or go out on a date, and everything is cool, and then—poof! They’ve seemed to forget who you are and how to reach you.

When you’re being reserved by God, you’re allowing Him to help you make the hard decision to cut people off who aren’t the ones for you. He’s saving you from potential heartache and headache when He has you on reserve for someone He has in mind for you to choose.

We often hear that rejection is God’s protection, and in this case, that’s exactly what it is. Often when we take matters into our own hands, we can get some progress, but we tend to make a mess of it.

By going at God’s green light, you won’t have to struggle to keep someone’s attention or try to prove yourself, things will and should flow naturally with the person He has for you. Find peace and contentment at the yellow and red lights in your single season, He may be saving you from going too far ahead and crashing.

You’ll have plenty of A-ha moments

Things will begin to click because you have a different perspective. Knowing that you’re being reserved by God will help you realize that there’s not much else you could do to speed things along. You won’t be worried that God has forgotten about you. Despite the lonely moments, you will understand that you’re on reserve. You could find a new confidence in your status and boldly proclaim that you’re on reserve for someone special, even if you haven’t met them yet.

You may realize and tap into more about yourself in your single and reserved season because the denial of your fleshly desires may reveal how much you can truly endure. With this mindset, you will understand why things just didn’t work out with others in your past.

The biggest A-ha moment is that you’ll notice your desires are starting to line up more with God’s desires for you. As believers, we can’t assume that God is going to keep us on reserve and not give us promises, glimpses of our future and line up our desires with His. These all come from deepening your dependency on God.

Being on reserve may feel like you’re being held back, but remember, the hand that’s holding you is the Lord’s. He has some good things in store for you, just trust His timing for your reservation is not to be wasted—but endured in confidence that you’re worth waiting for.

Hey BMWK fam, have you ever felt like you were being reserved by God in your single season?