February 6th
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7 NIV
I’ve noticed a pattern in the devil’s lies. His temptations are designed to persuade us not to wait on the Lord. Ever since the Garden of Eden, Satan has marketed his temptations to people as enticing alternatives to God’s plan. These temptations encourage us to “self serve,” instead of trust in God for our needs and desires.
Sexuality is a vulnerable area that the devil frequently exploits. God’s plan for sexuality is for man and woman to live together in marital unity, enjoying deep intimacy with each other and God. God intended sexuality to be combined with love and commitment in order to bring the lasting satisfaction and happiness. Satan seeks to corrupt that union with lust and plant seeds of sexual addiction. Lust does not want to wait on anything and it only cares about itself. Satan uses it to entice people into the habit of not waiting on God for anything.
Developing a great marriage relationship takes work, love and time. Such a relationship will lead to a precious, satisfying sexual life. Satan tempts us with easy sexual alternatives that require less work, love and time commitment it takes in marriage. His alternatives include things such as pornography, masturbation, prostitution, fornication, incest, voyeurism, phone sex, fetishes, homosexuality and molestation.
If we yield to the temptations, the results can be devastating. Many of us may have already taken one of the devil’s counterfeits and plunged into sexual sin. One of the disciplines we need to learn in the recovery process is choosing to wait on the Lord for sexual pleasures and good things in general.
The psalmist said, “Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say on the Lord” (Psalm 27:14 NKJV).
We may have really blown it in life, but we can still return to God and resolve to wait on his provision for our needs. Nothing is impossible for God and he can restore and heal our sexuality. Though we may have taken a diversion from his path, God can certainly get us back on it if we trust and wait on him.
We can begin by asking God to create a pure heart in us and renew a steadfast spirit within us (Psalm 51:10). We can ask Him to give us patience and recognition of the lies the devil may tempt us with.
The practical application of this starts the next time you are tempted. You can choose to turn away from the temptation, and tell yourself, “Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:3-4 NKJV) and also, “They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house, and You give them drink from the river of Your pleasures” (Psalm 36:7-9 NKJV).
I urge you to step out in faith and believe that God’s blessings are worth the wait. Believe that God wants to bless you with pleasures that you can delight in and experience lasting satisfaction.
Questions for further thought:
In what ways have you tolerated lust in your life?
Is there a difference between lust and healthy sexual desire?
When we try to gratify lust, can we be successful?
Give some examples of how society pressures us to not wait on God.
Prayer:
“Father in Heaven, thank you for caring for me and loving me. Thank you for your abundant provision for me physically, emotionally, spiritually and sexually. I confess that I have been anxious about the needs and desires of my heart. In some cases, I have not waited on your provision and have sinned by trusting in myself as the provider for my needs. Please forgive me for that sin. Please help me to believe that you have good things in store for me and that you will provide for me as I trust in you. Please strengthen me to wait on your provision for my sexuality and honor you each day with obedience to your word. Thank you, Father! In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.”