Embracing Celibacy: Part I

I’m sure most of you have heard the saying, “The best things come to those who wait!” Those use to be the last words I wanted to hear. After all, we are living in a “popcorn” generation, where everything comes almost instantly. The rapid advancement of technology is teaching not only our kids, but us, that we shouldn’t have to wait for anything.  I believe that we have inherited, what I will call, the JG Wentworth syndrome: “It’s mine and I want it now!” I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but that is not how life often works. Ecclesiastes 1:9 (NIV) says, “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.” What this scripture tells me is that someone before JG Wentworth, had this same ideology. It didn’t work for them and it won’t work for you either!

Sex before marriage is outside the will of God.  The bible teaches us that our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own” (1 Corinthians 6:19, NIV). Our bodies were never meant for sexual immorality but for the Lord (1 Corinthians 6:13).  When we indulge in sexual activity before marriage, we commit sin against our own bodies. The bible, therefore, warns to flee all sexual immorality. We know that the Holy Spirit overshadowed Mary and she became pregnant with Jesus. I believe it’s also important to note that Joseph did not touch her until Jesus was born. “But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus” (Matthew 1:25). You mean to tell me Joseph had to wait even after they were married? Yep. Joseph waited until Jesus was born before he touched his wife. For me, this showed Mary’s body being used as a temple of the Holy Spirit!

There is a blessing waiting for you.  The story of Ruth is one of my favorite stories.  It depicts how one decision can change the rest of your life and even affect the lives of others. Little did Ruth know that there was a blessing waiting for her on the other side of her decision! Ruth 2:11-12 (NIV) reads: Boaz replied, “I’ve been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband—how you left your father and mother and your homeland and came to live with a people you did not know before. 12 May the Lord repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.” Ruth’s decision to leave everything that was familiar to her to pursue something totally unfamiliar, I’m sure, was uncomfortable for her. But because of her love for Naomi, she went. As a result, she received her blessing-Boaz! Although there are many reasons why people say they have premarital sex, the bottom line is that we are fulfilling the desires of the flesh and not of the spirit. The bible tells us to walk in the spirit and not in the flesh. “Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires” (Romans 8:5, NIV). You cannot serve two masters; you will either love the one or hate the other (Matthew 6:24).  

You are worth the wait.  I believe that this has been the hardest thing for me to really get. You are worth the wait, ladies! The bible tells us in Ecclesiastes 3:1, “To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.”  Did you know that if a butterfly comes out of its cocoon too early it will die? Did you know that you have flowers that die in the winter but will bloom again in the summer?  Did you know that David did not immediately take the throne as king? Jacob WORKED 7 years for Rachael’s hand! “So Jacob served seven years to get Rachel, but they seemed like only a few days to him because of his love for her” (Genesis 29:20, NIV). God is so awesome that you don’t even have to look for him, he will find you. Proverbs 18:22 reads: “Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the LORD!” If your husband hasn’t found you yet, maybe God still has him in surgery!