Sisters,
I sat and pondered, for days, the question, “what is sexuality?”
I would sit, on my cozy couch, with my head back, thinking, pondering, and asking the Lord, “what is Your heart on sexuality?”
The Western World has made sexuality a center of their culture.
You see it displayed on billboards, in magazines, on commercials and on television.
The most innocent eyes are not protected from it as it has crept into cartoons, toys and children’s books.
In the Eastern World, in some cultures, they violently want to cover it up, deny it, dismiss the pleasure of it. Some cultures going to the extreme of castrating their men and women because of it.
Why?
As a child I was sexually abused, molested, objectified, and used.
I was stalked by predators and I eventually became one.
Sex had become an addiction, my body the weapon.
While I was reading in Proverbs 7, I realized the Proverb was describing me.
I was a seductress.
I used my body to lure men. And when they started to exhibit feelings, I would dump them.
I used my sexuality to fulfill my lust and harm men.
All I wanted was my next fix, a relief of tension, pain and anxiety.
Like a drug addict I chased the next high. I looked forward to moments I could escape through sex.
But it didn’t last long.
For thirty years, I have been in a love relationship with Jesus.
He took my broken soul, my fractured self-worth, my abusive behavior and my desperation for validation and love and restored me to who He originally created me to be.
I am by no means perfect, and I still tend to feel sorry for myself, but Jesus rescued me.
And in the rescuing, He shattered the shame of a blurred understanding of sexuality.
You see, my knowledge of sexuality was derived from a life of abuse and survival and I unknowingly fell prey to the lie that sex was love.
I thought I would find the love I would cry myself to sleep for, through sexual intimacy.
I didn’t know that the chemical reaction in my brain was a counterfeit for the love God had created me to experience through Him, His Son, and the Holy Spirit.
I also didn’t know there was a love He wanted me to experience through the community of the Body of Christ.
I did not know how to receive true love, just the artificial, counterfeit love that sexual addiction provided.
I think wisdom - if we are paying attention to our culture, sin, and broken families - is leading us to the question, “why is the enemy working full force to objectify women and emasculate men?”
“Why does the enemy want to confuse women and men about the value of their beauty and masculinity?”
“Why does the enemy want to deconstruct God’s design for sexuality?”
Here are three reasons:
You are created in the Image of God, (Genesis 1:27 NIV). God created you to be a walking representation of Himself on the earth. Men were created with certain physical features and women were created with certain physical features. Both men and women carry identifying qualities of God. God created you to express Him through your femininity. He loves your beauty, how you are unique. He created you that way and Satan hates it. Satan wants to distort the image of God on the earth so when viewed upon, God’s characteristics will not shine, His glory not be revealed. God created you to carry His glory and release Kingdom authority on earth. Satan will do everything to keep that from happening.
You are the temple of the Holy Spirit, (1 Corinthians 6:19NIV). The Holy Spirit lives in you and you have received the power and authority to heal, deliver, share the Gospel of Jesus Christ and lead people into an encounter with God. With the Holy Spirit living in you, you have received power from on high (Luke 24:49 NIV). You are a vessel of worship to the Living God and as you walk this earth, you usher God’s presence into everywhere you place your foot. This threatens the enemy’s territory. He knows when you are around, he loses ground. You carry God, everywhere you go.
Your body was purchased by Jesus, (1 Corinthians 6:20 NIV). Not only were you created in the image of God and house the Holy Spirit, God loves you so much He sent Jesus to die so that you could be reconciled to Him and avoid eternal separation. Satan works overtime to keep God’s prized creation separated from Him. He wants every image bearer to suffer, but through the precious Blood of Jesus, God took away Satan’s authority over every person who accepts Jesus as Savior. Luke 10:19 says “I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.” We will all face trials, but Satan knows when we put our trust in Jesus, he no longer can keep us from being healed and set free from sin.
Your sexuality reflects your personality.
Sexuality, carried through spiritual and physical purity, through truth, empowers your voice to break chains. The enemy is going after your body and soul. He wants to weigh you down and keep you physically sick and emotionally stuck.
Satan wants to disarm the power and authority you have been given by stealing your identity.
He wants to steal your destiny - who you were uniquely designed to be. He wants to silence you through shame and render you ineffective by causing a false sense of security in who you are.
If you have struggled with a blurred understanding of your worth and sexuality and have made choices that led to sin, self-destruction, or caused you to harm another, let’s deal with it now to begin your healing process so you can step into the wholeness and freedom Christ died for.
Follow these easy steps:
Repent – A lie is the opposite of God's truth. When we believe a lie about who we were created to be, we believe what Satan says over what God says. When we recognize this, we should tell God we are sorry and turn away from the belief in the lie; this is called repentance. Is there a lie you believe about your sexuality and/or identity, something that is opposite of who God says you are, through His Word? If so, tell God you are sorry for believing the false truth.
Release – After telling God you are sorry, give Him the false belief. For the majority of my life I told myself that I was unloveable. But God says in His Word that because of His great love for us He sent His Son, Jesus, to die for us. I repented, then I released the lie and once and for all I told God that I would not allow myself to believe that lie again. Sometimes it is hard to release a lie we have believed for a long time. I would say, "I'm unloveable" so I didn't think I was good enough to receive love. That is the opposite of God because GOD IS LOVE. It was necessary for me to release the lie - and the pain of it - over to God so I could move on into victory.
Receive – Ask God, “what do you say about my sexuality and identity?” If you ask Him, He will tell you. You can find the answer in the written Word, or you can take what you hear and check it against the written Word. If what you hear is confirmed through the Spirit and the Word, it becomes revelation knowledge and you can use the word as God's promise to you. Receive the promise, the truth about who you are. When God speaks to you, it is full of love and compassion and one encouraging word from God can change your life.
Women of God, you are precious, beautiful, unique, and designed with purpose. Women of God, I implore you! Carry your God-designed sexuality into your sphere of influence, embrace who you were created to be with confidence through purity and change your world!
~ Brigette Blair