Pray While You’re Prey Weekly Devotions for Singles
When I was younger, I love Janet Jackson’s music. The first song I remember getting down to was “Control.” When I was 17, I did what people told me Did what my father said and let my mother mold me But, that was long ago…I’m in control! The song came out well before I was seventeen, but oddly enough, when I was seventeen, I made a choice that would change my life completely. I had graduated from high school and I was in my first serious, long-term relationship (okay, it had been four months, but when you’re a teenager, that’s long term). I really loved this guy and we were going to get married, but we had to go finish college first before we could actually get married. Now, I had vowed to God to remain pure until I was married. God had helped me out by not allowing me to have a real boyfriend until I was nearly an adult. But now, I was in a relationship that I knew would last forever and we were committed to each other; we just couldn’t get married because of school, so it was almost like we were married just not on paper. It’s amazing, as I write it, now it seems like a completely irrational justification for sin, but then, I think I truly believed it. I think I really believed that going to get married and being married were the same thing, so I broke my vow to God to stay pure. I put my relationship with my beau before my relationship with Christ because I was in CONTROL! Clearly, because I am writing this devotion series for singles, that relationship did not last forever. It took a while for me to regain control over my physical urges, which led to too many ill-advised relationships (one is too many, so don’t sit there and try to figure out a number). When I wrote Pray While You’re Prey, I was abstinent and vocal about it because, with God’s help, I had come back to my senses and chose to avoid sexual immorality, which is God’s will. And, just to be clear, premarital sex is included in sexual immorality. Nevertheless, as I stated in the book, I was not in any real relationship, so I had not been tested. And, when I did get into a real relationship again, I stumbled again. Why? Well, even though I was in control of my decisions, I clearly did not have control over lust and trust. The lust part is self-explanatory. I was, at the time, old enough to know that I should not put myself in a compromising position. But, older is not necessarily wiser, and sometimes, we think we know our boundaries and we can stop the inevitable at any point, but I am a witness that doing so is nearly impossible. Plus, when it comes down to it, I did not trust God. I had been in a four year relationship dry spell. I had finally met someone with whom I could see forever, and I did not want him to leave me. Had I trusted God, I would have placed the relationship in His hands and said, “Lord, Thy will be done.” But, I could not take the risk that His will was for me to be alone again, so I blatantly disobeyed God’s will in order to keep my man. Again, obviously, that did not work out too well because I am writing this devotion. Call me old-fashioned, but I do not think that men and women realize the spiritual impact of sex. We know the physical impact. We can most times calculate the emotional impact, but there is a spiritual impact as well that seems to be ignored. For me, submitting to the lust of the flesh caused significant spiritual damage. I did not think that God would or could love me again, but I am so glad that I was wrong. Not only does He love me, but now I have truly placed Him in control because the only way for me to control my body is with His help and His guidance. Abstinence is not impossible with God. Surrender control to Him and He will help you through this time of singleness and temptation. Prayer Thank You, God for being willing to take control over my life. Please forgive me for thinking that I could handle physical urges and passionate lust on my own. Lord, please help me to be wise enough to avoid compromising situations and to trust that You know what and who is best for me. In Jesus’ Name, Amen *Scripture quotations are from the New International Version ©1984, unless otherwise indicated.
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Pray While You’re Prey Weekly Devotions for Singles
Olympian Lori “Lolo” Jones, 29, made headlines a little while ago, and not because she made it to the London Olympics, where she could redeem herself in the 100-meter hurdles, after having fallen while in the lead at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Lolo was in the headlines on the news, on the radio, on the Internet because she said that staying a virgin is harder than training for the Olympics. Now, I am not what anyone would consider an athlete; I played three years of sub-par volleyball in eighth through tenth grade and I did win the Presidential Physical Fitness Award in sixth grade, but that is the extent of my athletic ability. When I watch track stars, or any other athlete for that matter, I cannot imagine the level of training that they go through to win races on the national and international levels. So, when she says that it is difficult, but staying pure is even more difficult, you know that staying a virgin is not easy. Many people wanted to chalk Lolo’s virginity up to some training ritual, but she very clearly stated that she does not intend to have sex before marriage because of her relationship with Christ. Now, people want her and Tim Tebow, the world’s most famous virgin, to date. I am not really interested in Lolo’s potential love life with Timmy, but her love life with Jesus is inspiring. Lolo Jones is right. Staying pure is complicated. It is complicated if you have never had sex. It is complicated when you are in a relationship. It is especially complicated if you have had sex and are trying to live obediently. God is not a cruel god. He is not trying to keep something wonderful and magical from us, but He wants us to enjoy it as married people. God knows the complexities of having a sexual relationship with someone. Those complexities are best handled by people who have committed themselves to each other through marriage. Lolo and Tim get that. It took me a long time, and several slip-ups, but I get it, too. To know that you are being obedient to God and showing Him that you love Him more than any person on this earth makes purity more precious than an Olympic gold medal or a Superbowl ring. You might not feel like you are capable of living according to God’s Will as it applies to sexual intimacy, but God is able to help you through it. It is one of many narrow doors of Christianity, but the benefits of obedience far outweigh the momentary pleasure of disobedience. No one said it is easy, but it is totally worth it! NOTE: I wrote this several weeks ago and it just so happens that it is getting posted as the Olympics are wrapping up. Tell me that's not God's timing. Lolo didn't take the medal stand, but I am confident that God has a bigger prize for her than silver, gold or bronze! Prayer Thank You, God for giving me the opportunity to show You how much I love you by keeping my body pure. Please forgive me for the times when I have not lived according to Your Will. Lord, please help me to be strong enough to refrain from sex until marriage. In Jesus’ Name, Amen *Scripture quotations are from the New International Version ©1984, unless otherwise indicated.
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Pray While You're Prey Weekly DevotionsI pray that this 52-week devotional honors Him and blesses you. Enjoy! Archives
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Pray While You're Prey Weekly Devotions by Toni L. Wortherly is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. |