Week 3 | Day 4 | Wholeness

Command:

Do not commit adultery [do not lust]. Matthew 5:27-30 (NIV)

Read:

You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit them together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! It is amazing to think about. Your workmanship is marvelous—and how well I know it. Psalm 139:13-14 (TLB)

Reflect:

My parents never taught me about “the birds and the bees.” Well…actually their version of it went something like this… “Don’t have sex before you get married.” Full stop. There was no “why” behind it. It was just, “Don’t do it.” I never really felt comfortable asking my parents anything related to sexual intimacy because they were clearly not wanting to have that conversation. I got my sex “education” from my friends who had boyfriends. Oh, and yes, the nuns at school. Needless to say, I didn’t really have the benefit of cultivating a healthy understanding of sexual intimacy. 

I wish I had known then what I know now - that God created me as a wonderfully complex being, with both a body and a soul to be honored, cherished, protected, and loved. Would I have saved myself years of trauma had I known? I’m not sure about that. To be honest, I feel distant from God when I allow lingering guilt and regret take over. And yet at the same time, I know that even there, God continues to meet me and heal me, in order that I may be made whole again. God is redeeming those broken parts of my life as a testament to his faithfulness and love for me.

React:

Do you feel estranged from God because of lingering guilt over sexual sin? Scripture tells us that God is a close as your breath. Would you allow him to heal you?

Pray:

Father, thank you that your grace abounds and your love covers all our sins. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex, and for making me whole again.