Warning! Serious Territory Ahead

I’ve been working on this post for several days and each time I try to compose it, it flops. It just hasn’t been jiving, know what I’m sayin'? So yesterday I got up early and asked the Lord to show me what was missing.

He answered with something that I never expected and that’s what I’m going to share today. I personally have been giving this some serious thought and I hope you will do the same.

In my last post, we saw from James 1 that God’s law = perfect liberty.

I love the picture on Patty’s post below because God’s law is like those train rails- stay on them and they take us to spiritual abundance and intimacy with God. The law isn’t a fence meant to box us in or get us to perform or do things God’s way just for the sake of it. God’s principles are the path (i.e. the rails) to life, liberty, and blessing.

The problem comes when we turn from God’s principles. When it comes to sex, some of us may be living with sexual sins and perversions. Others of us may be withholding from our spouses. Still others of us may be living with deep fears that affect our intimacy. For many more of us, we are simply settling for second best and not making sex a priority or opportunity for connection with our husbands and with God.

Do you know what each of these hindrances is called? Idolatry. This is what the Lord answered me with and whoa Nelly! I thought that was pretty strong!

After all, aren’t some of our reasons legitimate? Take fear for example. I shared last time that my fear of being rejected and of failure causes me to self-protect. But hey, it’s just a fear, right?

Wrong. God calls it idolatry.

When I give in to self-protection, I am more concerned with my comfort than I am doing things God’s way. I trust “my own understanding” more than I trust God’s principles for intimacy. I value my own protection more than I trust God’s intentions for me.

Another example: A woman who is sexually unfulfilled and frustrated in her marriage turns to sexual sin for fulfillment and release. She knows God’s principles but she is too afraid that she won’t have an outlet if she gives it up.

Can you see the idol here?

It is not enough just to know what is right and wrong. This knowledge doesn’t empower. We are empowered by our core beliefs and values. When my highest value is emotional protection, it becomes an idol that empowers and drives my behavior.

On the other hand, when I believe what God says about intimacy and trust that those principles will keep me steaming down the tracks to spiritual abundance, I am empowered by that faith and am able to pattern my lifestyle and habits around it.

This is neither easy nor automatic, but it’s what we call “walking by faith.” It is a discipline that begins in the mind.

Patty has done a great job giving us some mental images (!) of what our sex life should be like with our mates. It should be exciting, joyous, pure, and intimate.

My question for you today is, Is there any idol in your heart that is preventing you from experiencing all God meant sex to be?

Here are a few things I see in my own heart. Each of them has been a value and can become an idol if I don’t allow God’s principles to over-value them:

-Desire to stay in control
-Fears (ALL sorts of them!)
-Self-protection
-Pleasure/ sexual gratification
- Self-absorption/ selfishness
-Hurt
-Unforgiveness
-Desire for stimulation and excitement

Girlfriends, the word for today is strong, but it is life giving. If we hold an idol in our heart, we will never be able to move on until it is removed.

Gideon provides a fine example of this. Before God sent him into the battle where He brought about a crushing defeat of the enemy (with a mere 300 men!) God told him to tear down the altar and the idol that his father had built. On top of those ruins, he was to build an altar to the Lord.

“Now on the same night the Lord said to him, “…Pull down the altar of Baal which
belongs to your father, and cut down the Asherah that is beside it. Then build an altar to the Lord your God on the top of this stronghold in an orderly manner.” Judges 6:25-26

Victory comes after we deal with the idols and strongholds, my friend. Some of our idols were erected early in our lives through the hands of others. We still have to tear them down.

In their place, we are to build an altar to the Lord in an “orderly manner.” There is a process to this and we are going to walk through it step by step. Amazingly, this is what this whole "Under the Covers" series was intended for from the start. From the ruins of our sexuality, we will see an altar, a temple, a cathedral being constructed within us to the glory of God!

And by the way, Gideon’s story tells us that our homes and world will never be the same for it. Praise God!

I’m at my word limit for today, but I just want to say that you won’t want to miss Monday’s post. A very special lady will be here to share her story of how she tore down her stronghold through Christ and how she is rebuilding her temple. Don’t miss it!

God bless you, my friend! Let's tackle those strongholds!