Encouragement for Today

July 14, 2025 How Sexual Struggles Keep You From Jesus DR. JULI SLATTERY Lee en español

“We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God …” 2 Corinthians 10:5 (NIV)

Jesus said the greatest commandment is to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mark 12:30).

In other words, the Christian life is about aligning 100% of who we are to God’s love and Truth. What an aspirational goal! Unfortunately, there are some areas of life that feel more difficult (even impossible!) to surrender.

I've heard one pastor comment that when we come to the Lord and get baptized, we are tempted to “hold our wallet out of the water.” We all have symbolic “wallets” that we are not quite sure we want to surrender to Jesus.

For many of us, sexuality is one of those areas, including our thoughts, opinions, and actions. But when we tend to withhold these struggles from God, it can keep us from a close relationship with Him.

There is a monumental spiritual battle raging around sexual issues. Most of us recognize it within our culture, but we have trouble seeing it in our own lives. We don’t see the subtle ways Satan uses past and current pain, questions, and shame to keep us from intimacy with the Lord.

Paul wrote, “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God …” (2 Corinthians 10:3-5, NIV).

This spiritual battle involves ideas and thoughts that set themselves up against us growing in our intimacy with Jesus.

Have issues around sex, marriage, and intimacy become a barrier between you and trusting your life to the Lord? Do you have a nagging question about His goodness, a shameful secret struggle, or a festering wound that keeps you from giving yourself completely to His love?

If so, my encouragement is to invite Him into the mess.

Jesus is not on the other side of the door of your home, waiting for you to make a change. Psalm 139:7-12 reminds us that there is nowhere to go from His presence. He is in the room with you.

God is not in the parking lot of your therapist’s office. He hears the questions you are asking about His goodness.

We cannot wage a spiritual battle in our own strength. We need the presence and power of God Himself. The Lord is not waiting for you to clean up the mess or settle all your questions. He simply says, “Come to me … and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28, NIV).

Jesus, I want to give You my life the way You have given me Yours. This wall of sexual shame has been a barrier to trusting You for too long. Today, I invite You in — acknowledging Your presence in my pain and questions. Please bring me to trust You with all of myself so I can experience Your redemption, freedom, and peace. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

OUR FAVORITE THINGS

What if God asks us to surrender not because of what He wants to take from us but because of what He wants to give? Surrendered Sexuality by Dr. Juli Slattery is a personal invitation to grapple with your real questions — the nagging ones that the Bible doesn’t seem to answer, the sin struggles that won’t go away, the shame that still haunts you — and let them draw you closer to God instead of farther away.

ENGAGE

Let’s be real — Christian messages on sex can be confusing, cringey, or just plain wrong. It’s time to clear things up with God’s Truth.⁠ At Authentic Intimacy, we aim to help you make sense of God and sex.

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FOR DEEPER STUDY

Matthew 11:28-30, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (NIV).

Mark 12:30, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength” (NIV).

In what specific ways have sexual issues become a barrier between you and knowing God’s love?

What is one step you can take to acknowledge and invite God’s presence into your struggles or questions? Join us in the comments today!

© 2025 by Dr. Juli Slattery. All rights reserved.

Proverbs 31 Ministries thanks Moody Publishers for their sponsorship of today’s devotion.

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