This devotional is adapted from my new book, Sex In A Broken World: How Christ Redeems What Sin Distorts

There are two things that you should expect, both as a human being and as a follower of Jesus Christ:

You should expect to suffer, and you should expect suffering to impact your sexuality.

That's a discouraging and potentially awkward way to start, isn't it? Keep reading - I pray you'll find hope at the end!

Here are a few ways you can expect to suffer sexually:

• You will suffer through the temptation to take your sexual desires – which God hardwired you with - outside of the clear boundaries that God has set.
• You will suffer being blindsided by sexual temptation at the mall, on your computer, when watching Netflix, or, when you're doing a Google search on your phone.
• You will suffer women exposing their bodies in public or men treating women like they're little more than physical toys for their pleasure.
• You will suffer the hardship of trying to protect your children from all the sexual danger out there, while you work to keep your own heart pure.
• Because you know of all the seductive temptations that exist in the world, you will suffer issues of trust with those you love.
• Some of you will suffer sexual abuse.
• You will suffer misunderstanding and mockery as you try to stay inside God's boundaries while living in a culture that laughs at the thought of sexual boundaries.

You know this already, but it's worth reiterating: you are a sexual being, but that aspect of your personhood lives not in a sexually healthy world, but in one that is deeply broken.

Governments can't fix this brokenness, institutions of higher learning can't fix it, and physicians can't fix it. This world and all its brokenness cry out for one thing: a Redeemer. That Redeemer is Christ, whose forgiving and transforming grace is the only hope for us, our world, and our sexual brokenness.

I will say more about sexuality, brokenness, and grace in the coming weeks, but I want to leave you with three wonderful words: "God for us" (from Romans 8:31 - "If God is for us, who can be against us?")

Where can hope for a healthy, godly, and morally pure sexual life be found? God for us.

Let it echo in your mind: God for us. Let it ring in your heart: God for us. Let it shape the way you think about how to live God's way sexually in a world that ignores him and rejects his wise and loving plan.

Let these words give you courage in the face of confusion, misunderstanding, and temptation. Let them give you hope when you feel defeated by sexual temptation.

It's never just you against the giants of suffering and broken sexuality, because by grace, God really is for you.

Christ never promised a life free from sexual struggle, nor did he promise that we will not suffer.

No, he promises us that in all these situations, he will be with us, in us, and for us.

And that's reason to continue.

God bless

Paul David Tripp

This devotional is adapted from my new book, Sex In A Broken World: How Christ Redeems What Sin Distorts

Reflection Questions

1. How have you experienced suffering specific to your sexuality recently?
2. How have you experienced temptation specific to your sexuality recently?
3. What practical steps can you take today to apply "God for us" to both your suffering and sexuality? Be specific.
4. Do you know someone experiencing sexual suffering and sexual temptation? How can you share "God for us" with them this week?