by Paul Cook
I’ve been taking a closer look at the devil’s lies recently. I’m finding a pattern in his lies that I want to share with you. Satan’s temptations are designed to persuade us not to wait on God. Ever since the Garden of Eden, Satan has marketed his products to people as enticing alternatives to God’s plan, but without the wait. He encourages people to “self serve,” while dismantling their faith in God’s provision for life and happiness.
Sexuality can be an area of great vulnerability that the devil frequently exploits. God’s plan for sexuality is for man and woman to live together in marital unity, enjoying deep love and intimacy. Satan seeks to sabotage such love by tempting us to lust. Lust behaves contrary to love and corrupts us with selfish desires. It causes us to think more about gratifying ourselves than showing love to our spouse. It shouldn’t be a surprise that a sex-addict’s spouse can easily lose interest in sex, because he or she feels that their mate doesn’t care about them.
A person controlled by lust does not want to wait on anything, and especially not God. Developing a great marriage relationship takes patience, love, effort and time. Such a relationship will naturally lead to a satisfying sex life. Satan peddles his alternatives to appeal to the impatience that lust causes. For example, pornography delivers instant sexual pleasure without the love and commitment of marriage. Anyone who buys the magazine or clicks on the link can enjoy this pleasure, seemingly without consequence. The truth is that there are many negative consequences for buying the devil’s lies. Once separated from the bond of love in marriage, sex becomes powerfully addictive. Sex addicts can be led down any one of many paths like homosexuality and other perversions. The results are devastating, as lust takes root and engulfs the person in desires that can never be satisfied.
Many of us may have already taken the plunge into sexual sin. One of the steps in the healing 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 set our hearts to wait on him and walk in his ways. 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.
How do we wait on God for our sexual needs? First, we need to believe that God knows our needs and desires. He has good plans for us and wants to bless us when we follow him. Psalm 37:3-4 NKJV says, “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.” Second, we need to ask God to help us wait in faith for his provision for our sexual needs. Matthew 7:7-8 confirms that God will help us when we ask him to. Finally, we need to control our eyes and thoughts in obedience to God. Since the eye is a major inlet point for the soul, viewing evil things like porn leads us into more sin. Being obedient to God with our eyes may require us to stop watching a favorite movie or TV show, and certainly things like porn. Equally important, we must bring our thoughts into obedience to Jesus and cast down any sinful imaginations we’ve been entertaining (2 Corinthians 10:5). Learning how to control our thoughts is a discipline that takes time and practice to master. God will not abandon us to figure it out on our own. He sends the Holy Spirit to us to guide us in truth and counsel us on how to walk in victory.
If you’d like to stop giving in to the devil’s counterfeits and start waiting on God’s best for your life, you can begin immediately by asking God in prayer to create a pure heart in you and renew a steadfast spirit within you (Psalm 51:10). Ask him to give you patience regarding your needs and desires. Remind yourself of Philippians 4:6-7 NKJV, which says, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” When we bring our requests to God in reverence, we can rest in his perfect peace knowing that he will take care of us. I urge you to step out in faith and discover that God’s blessings are worth the wait.
Paul Cook is the founder of www.porn-free.org, a ministry dedicated to posting the truth about sex addiction and sharing the message of Jesus Christ. In addition to developing the website, Paul has been a guest speaker in churches, a guest on Christian television and radio broadcasts and an author of several articles addressing the aspects of sex addiction. Residing in Florida, Paul and his wife Marion have been married for 10 years and have two children.
Sexual Addiction, /The Beginning,/Accountability /Porn Addiction,/Progression of Porn /Changing Men,/There is Hope, /Waiting on God: the alternative to the devils temptations.