If you've ever struggled with sexual sin, you might have wondered why God would give us sexual urges at all. You've probably even asked God to take it away either for a season or forever, but we must learn instead to submit our sexuality to Jesus Christ instead of praying for it to be removed completely.
Think about this: Do you think sex is bad? It might be to the shock to many believers if I said that sex is not bad, it's actually good. I remember a prominent preacher who I really look up to say in a conference that sex was the best thing that ever happened to him but only when it came in the context of marriage.
We all have this stigma that our sexual urges are from the devil because they lead to sexual sin, but that's not true. God created sex and therefore is the author of sex. In Genesis 1:31a it says, "And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good..." (ESV). I'm sure God was also looking at Adam and Eve and at the sexuality he assigned to both of them when He said that.
Sex is a gift from God that He wants us to enjoy in the right context and at the right time. But when we take sex out of the context and timing that God intends for us to use it, it maligns and offends Him and His very pure nature. How do you think Steve Jobs would feel if He gave you a free iPhone and then you used it to scrub the floors? That's exactly how God feels when we misuse our sexuality.
But never should we think that the best and only option is for God to take back this wonderful gift. For one, it's embedded deep into you and to take out your urges would mean having to kill you off, and I'm sure God or you won't want that. Secondly, God puts it there for us to learn to trust Him and not our urges.
James 4:8 tells us, "Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you" (ESV). In times of our weakness, we are to draw close to God and rely on His Spirit to guide us to use the gifts that He bestows upon us in the right way. Taking our sexuality out is not the best way to do that. The best way to make the most of our sexuality is to surrender it at the cross of Jesus Christ and ask Him to cleanse us and our bodies so that we may glorify Him.
1 Corinthians 6:19–20 says, "Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body" (ESV).
