I have a question about the gift on singleness. If someone with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength loathes the very idea of being without a spouse from the blackest and most heartfelt depths of their soul, will God force them to be single their entire life? Will God give that person the gift of singleness though they hate it with a venomous hatred that cannot be put into words that would do it justice in the English language? Would God force this upon someone even though it would mean psychologically torturing them and will leave them with bitterness and rage toward God that will cause them to be unable to follow him in any functional effective manner? Would God do this even though it would severely damage the relationship between him and this person and possibly damn him in the end?
You have received many excellent responses so already, so I will just add a few verses to never forget when you become tempted to suspect that God is forbidding you from marriage:
"Now
the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to
deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared,
who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth." (1 Timothy 4:1-3)
It can't be more clear than that. If you feel convicted about sexual sin or considering marriage to an unbeliever, the Holy Spirit would certainly be behind that. If you feel that God is forbidding you from marrying altogether, the Holy Spirit is
certainly not the source. I want you to notice that it is the
Spirit who
expressly says that this is a doctrine of
demons that can only be propagated by hypocritical liars. The Holy Spirit would not express to you something that He expressly says is of demons and liars.
Therefore, you can be certain that God wants you to marry if you desire to do so, and only to do so within the Body of Christ (2 Corinthians 6:14-18). Anything else is demonic and heresy. Do
NOT believe it, and receive it with thanksgiving as one who knows this truth and enjoy the peace of God.