Heavenly Father first introduces us to the knowledge about the part of our souls called the ‘will’ in Genesis 1:27(NLT). This verse informs us, “So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” We are created in God’s image. This means that we have an aspect of independence that allows us to make our own choices and decisions. Heavenly Father hopes that we will study His Word so it can guide us to make the very best choices and decisions. His Word will tell us about His expectations and commandments. It will tell us how we should act, think, feel, and speak. God hopes we will use our human-wills to partner with His Will, but often our wills fight against the very nature of God. This is the major problem we encounter in our desire for marriage, because what we think we want is often fighting against what God knows we need.
We live in a society that is getting further away from God’s standard. Many millennials believe His standard is outdated and that the Bible is not relevant to modern existence. Although this line of thinking is incredibly dangerous and dark, as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ who honor God, we need not worry. Proverbs 19:21(NLT) brings every attempt to subvert God’s Word to a screeching halt. It says, “You can make many plans, but the LORD’s purpose will prevail.”
God tells us in Malachi 3:6(NLT), “I am the LORD, and I do not change.” Our Heavenly Father is brilliantly magnificent in every way imaginable. He is glorious beyond glory, intelligent beyond intelligence, and beautiful beyond beauty. He is Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End. He is all-knowing, all-powerful, and everywhere present. He doesn’t need anything more to be who He is. Everything, and I do mean everything, exists solely for His pleasure. Hebrews 13:8(NLT) declares, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” So, God’s Word will never change. It is life to the hearer and doer of it, and its standard will forever be the judge of whether a life is lived poorly or well.
When it comes to our wills and the way we want to live our lives, even some believers will ignore what God has commanded, and then expect Him to be okay with it. This is never more true than in the area of physical intimacy. Some Christian women believe that God is okay with it being a matter of personal choice regarding whether to entertain sexual sin or not. 1Corinthians 6:19-20(NLT) has an altogether different approach to this matter. It tells us, “Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.” Heavenly Father is looking for His daughters to rise up and make the choice to honor Him with their temples. He doesn’t want them to allow anyone or anything to come between them and living righteously for their King. He wants us to have the kind of mind-set that no matter what temptation the devil throws our way, we will keep our bodies as the holy temple God has commanded them to be.
The first sentence in 1Corinthians 6:19-20(NLT) asks the question, “Don’t you realize…” It is asked rhetorically, with the expectation that this knowledge is Basics-101 in the beginner’s manual of spiritual maturity. It is asked to produce an effect, not necessarily an answer. It should resonate with every single woman out there who desires to partner up with a good man, because its wisdom reverses the curse of not receiving the blessing we desire most.
The Word of God teaches us how to live so that we keep His blessings flowing our way. Over time, I’ve had many conversations with single women that have entertained circumstances designed to interrupt God’s plan for their lives. Instead of fighting to honor God’s Word, they fight to keep the man satisfied by giving him their bodies. Not one second will they stop to consider that their bodies belong to God. Many of them never repent of this sin. Even if you aren’t aware or paying attention to what’s going on around you, you should pay close attention to what is going on inside of you. Your body is the temple of God; it’s where His Spirit lives. Surely, we cannot defile the temple, and then think those actions will be rewarded.
It is never worth it to step away from God’s standard. We must fight is to keep our minds and hearts anchored in the blessings that honoring His standards through obedience will bring. God tells us in Jeremiah 29:11 that He has a plan for our lives, and it is to give us a future and a hope in Jesus Christ, our Lord. God’s plan will prevail, it’s the plan that yields success and our very best well-being.
We can come up with all kinds of rationales and excuses for why we’re not getting closer to the treasures God has in store for us. Some of us even blame Him for not moving on our behaves. But the bottom line is that God always and forever knows what is best for us, and He will always hold us accountable for upholding His standard.
And the reality is that until we stop doing the things that hold us back and begin to do the things that propel us forward, we are not going to progress to a level that will be satisfactory to our hearts. Every ounce of our faith, believing, and being must be saturated in the truth that God has the best plan for our lives, and it is our utter and complete responsibility to align ourselves with it. Our bodies are the temple of God’s Holy Spirit, and we must not only recognize this, but we must honor it with all that we are. ■
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
“Is It Worth It to Step Away from God’s Standard?” written by Kim Times, edited by Reverend Fran Mack, for Sundie Morning Sistas ©2020. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord! SMS is dedicated to inspiring and encouraging Christian Women through the Word of God.