Sex, Power & God

Sex is treated like a game in public and a coping tool in private, but the fallout shows up in our mental health, our relationships, and our sense of worth. We go straight at the hard question: what makes “disordered sex” so destructive, and why does it keep spreading across cultures, age groups, and even religious backgrounds? Along the way, we talk through premarital sex trends, what drives them, and why easy access through technology can quietly reshape desire, boundaries, and expectations.

We also slow down and get honest about what sex does. It is spiritual, emotional, and biochemical, not “just physical.” Pair bonding hormones like oxytocin and vasopressin can deepen attachment, while misuse can fuel shame, fear, control, and disconnection. We separate intimacy from sex, because being known and safe is the real foundation, and we explore a vivid metaphor for sexual integrity: the right key and the right lock, meaning God’s definition and a covenant mindset that protects love instead of consuming it.

From Scripture, we look at both beauty and warning: poetic portraits of marital love, clear guidance on mutual consent, and sobering examples of sexual abuse and power misuse that ripple into family collapse. We end with hope for anyone feeling trapped, traumatized, or desperate, and a reminder that healing is not something you fight for alone. If this helped you, subscribe, share the episode with a friend, and leave a review so more people can find truth and recovery.

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Transcript

elcome And Purpose

Dina LaFargue Augustin 0:00

Welcome to another episode of the Dripline Healing for Your Soul. I pray the message today will build and strengthen your character, your resolve, your faith, and understanding of just who you are and your purpose in this earth. The last few episodes I have focused on disordered sex, its abuse and misuse, and how it creates utter destruction in the world and its origins. You see, more people are involved in disordered sex and its abuse and misuse in all types of illicit sexual activity compared to those who create war. According to the Judeo-Christian God, sex is designed for true intimacy between a mature man and woman that are prepared to bond for life and raise a family according to God's ordained plan for mankind and the world. Anything outside of that is disordered. But why is disordered sex and its misuse so problematic? It is problematic because sex is a powerful exchange of energy, being spiritual, biochemical, physiological, and emotional to say the least. So what does disorder mean? Well, disordered means messy, to put it bluntly. Other synonyms are chaotic, sloppy, filthy, and confused. Illicit is a term that means forbidden, lawless, immoral, illegitimate, and unethical, just to name a few. I can confidently say that the majority of the world's adult population is or has engaged in disordered andor illicit

hat Disordered Sex Means

Dina LaFargue Augustin 2:00

sexual activity at some time or other in their lives. Resource supports it. Research supports the idea that most nations have steadily seen a rise in those engaging in premarital sex over the past 50 years. And with the teens under the age of 16, the numbers are also increasing, especially in Western Europe and in the US. Now, mind you, I'm not including those engaged in prostitution or those that are the victims of sexual trafficking. Now, while there is no single world percentage for premarital sex due to massive regional and cultural variations, researchers generally observe that it is nearly universal in Western developed nations, but significantly less common in conservative or highly religious societies. Following is a regional breakdown. The prevalence of premarital sex defined as sexual intercourse before the first marriage. In North America, it's approximately 95% between adults before the age of 44. Europe, most Western and Northern European countries reports rates over 80% among young people. In Italy, it is reported as high as 85%. In Latin America, research suggests a high prevalence with a study with a study of students ages 13 to 17, showing a 30.5% rate of ever had sex, mostly premarital sex at that age. Africa, the prevalence varies. Sierra Leone reported 62.9% among young women, while studies in Ethiopia found rates ranging from 11 to 48%, depending on the specific population and urban rural status. Asia, rates are generally lower, reflecting more conservative social norms. China reported as low as 10.1% in some studies. Nepal approximately 13%. India, less than 10% of young females, and 15 to 30% of young males. The article continues. Religious affiliation is one of the strongest predictors of whether an individual will engage in premarital sex. And I find this study amazing. It says a major study of over 30 developing countries found the following percentages of respondents reporting premarital sex by religion. Jews, 94% reported premarital sex. Christians, 79% of premarital sex, Buddhists, only 65%, Muslims, 43%, and Hindus only 19%. Now we know studies can be structured depending upon what they want to find, because in other studies I've found that in Hinduism, premarital sex and training and sexual slavery is rather common and prevalent. However, I go on. Trends, the age of marriage. As the median age for first marriage increases globally, the window for premarital sexual activity has expanded. That makes sense. Gender gap. In many traditional societies, there's a significant disparity. Men are often much more likely to report premarital sex than women. Urbanization and technology. Studies show increased access to the internet and mobile phones, along with living in urban areas, are consistently linked to higher rates of premarital sexual activity. Wow, we're in trouble. Now before I continue, let me consider one scientific religious position about creation because I have discussed creation earlier, the fall of creation in previous podcasts, the infiltration of fallen angels that had an impact on sexual activity in this earthly realm, and how their influence and their evil and spiritual influences contaminated mankind and thus perverted man's relationship with God. To continue, I believe it's important that we

remarital Sex Data And Drivers

Dina LaFargue Augustin 6:40

understand or at least consider that the earth did not create itself. There is no such thing as nothing, and that from order chaos cannot come forth. Chaos does not create order. There was nothing God made that was bad, evil, chaotic, or unintentional. Science cannot disprove God, rather, science proves him. For the atheists, the agnostic, or those outside the Christian Judeo faith system, let's take a listen to this YouTube Holiness podcast entitled Professor Disproves Evolution with Science and Proves Biblical Creation. Bear with me one moment as I set it up.

Speaker 7:28

Let me ask you this question, which is why are you so interested in this biblical story as opposed to any other biblical story?

Speaker 1 7:35

Well, that that is because, first of all, Jesus believed in the flood model, and it's the it's the basis for the entire authenticity of the Bible. If you can prove that the Genesis story is false, you have destroyed

reation, Evolution, And Meaning

Speaker 1 7:50

the entire belief system that on which Christianity is based. So that's why we use this model to show people that Noah's Ark was real and that the story is true.

Speaker 8:00

Well, couldn't the story have been symbolic metaphor for other kinds of events that took place? How about creation? Couldn't that have been symbolic or metaphorical in the language that's there?

Speaker 1 8:11

Well, it it is possible, but when we look at the uh four postulates of creation and we compare them with the four postulates of evolution, only the postulates of creation have been observed. Evolution is based on four major ideas. None of them have ever been observed. Number one, that life comes from non-life. We have not one single example of life coming from non-life. Number two, that all the life forms that we have today came from single-cell life forms. Many people do not know that while we do have single-cell life forms that we call bacteria, we have no two-celled life forms, we don't have three-cell life forms, we don't have four-cell life forms, we don't even have five-cell life forms. That is, we go from single-cell bacteria to complex life forms. So there's no evidence that all life comes from single-cell life forms. The third postulate of evolution is that time and chance drive evolution forward, of course, and time works against evolution. The chance of one simple 100-unit protein coming together by accident, is this is a very big number. Time and chance make evolution absolutely impossible. The fourth posture that evolution is based on is that what we see today, minor genetic variation in species, is evidence of macroevolution. So because cats are different colors, dogs are different sizes, that means that fish turned into cows. And of course, we know that that's not true because uh Mendel proved that all the genes that exist today, you can shuffle them around, but there are no new genes that were created. Let's let's think about the four major postulates of creation. Number one, where there's a design, there must be a designer. We see codes in DNA. Codes are evidence of intelligence because you have to translate from one language to another. We have not a single example of that happening by accident.

Dina LaFargue Augustin 10:07

After listening to this articulation, it is most helpful to understand that no, we are not accidents, we are not random, and we were and are made in the image of a supreme being that has intelligence beyond any other being that exists or will exist. In short, we are all of God and for God. We are all made with a specific purpose, with specific talents and gifts, and we are all his property, we are not our own. And in receiving Christ as Lord and Savior, we are temples of his Holy Spirit

our Worth Is Not Sexual

Dina LaFargue Augustin 10:50

and become bodies of Christ or part of the body of Christ. Yes, God calls us his own. We are not to be used, we are not to be abused, but we are here to fulfill his desire in us. And yes, that involves living the God ordained destiny that he has written for us, and he has written it in love, because God is love, he is the originator of love. And the verse below hints at how everything about us is beautiful as God designed us so. Psalm one thirty nine verse thirteen through fifteen reads For you formed my inner word parts, you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works, my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. So you see, no one's value is in how many women one can slay. No one's value is in how much money one is sold for or prostituted. Think about that. Luke chapter twelve, verse six and seven read, Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies, and not one of them is forgotten before God? Why even the hairs of your head are all numbered? Fear not, you are of more value than many sparrows. So men know your worth is not proven in how many women you can take advantage of. Your value is not in how much money you can make. And women, even though you may have been objectified, you are more than an object to God. You are his beautiful created daughter. Ephesians chapter two, verse ten reads, For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. So while men may seek how many women they can devour, that behavior may be more closely related to an expression of fear, fear of not being man enough. So in order to prove one's self-worth and one's manhood, a belt of notches representing each female conquest is held in esteem instead of the character of God. It is not the same, mind you, as having a highly abnormal sex drive that seems uncontrollable. These two things are very different, and that might be discussed later, but better left for psychologists and psychiatrists. Now, I'm not trying to be a sex therapist. I'm only pointing out that sex today has become a tool to manipulate others or to satisfy one's character flaws as opposed to its original intent, which is in Godly intimacy and pleasure between one married man and woman. Sex for ego and sex for money and sex for mere fleeting moments of pleasure all lie outside the parameters God has established. Matthew 16, verse 26 reads, For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? This is a warning. The character and the condition of our soul is more important than any other pleasures that we might seek in this world to fulfill holes that exist in our hearts and in our minds and in our emotions. To be fair though, I will interject with medical information regarding the real purpose of sex in humans. The article by the Georgia Center for Menopausal Medicine says sex in humans is multifaceted, serving biological, emotional, and social needs beyond just reproduction. While its evolutionary, biological role ensures survival by mixing genes for adaptable offspring, it also strengthens pair bonding, enhances mental and physical well-being through hormone release, and promotes intimacy. It says biological reproduction and evolution, sex drives specify survival

ex And The Human Body

Dina LaFargue Augustin 15:30

by facilitating genetic variety. Pair bonding and intimacy, sex releases oxytocin, the love hormone, and vasopressin, promoting attachment, bonding, and monogamy, which are crucial for long-term infant care and relationship satisfaction. Listen to that. Next, it says pleasure and bonding. Humans and some other species are rare in having sex for pleasure rather than just procreation. It is used to strengthen social and romantic bonds. Health and well-being. Sexual activity provides physical benefits, including strengthening the immune system, improving cardiovascular health, aiding sleep, reducing pain, and lowering stress, releasing endorphins. Next point, stress reduction. Sex acts as a stress relieving activity that reduces cortisol levels and enhances emotional well-being. Next, emotional connection. Beyond the physical aspect, sex serves to express affection, love, and emotional closeness between partners. Now, with that said, what does God say about this? Well, in an article by Jason Roach posted October 30th, 2019, he says there are four things God wants us to know about sex. One, it's a gift from God. The casual observer might think of Christianity as a religion that says no to sex, when in fact the opposite is true. The Bible teaches that God is not ashamed of sex. He invented it. Genesis chapter 2, verse 24 supports it. In fact, the 1 Timothy chapter 4, verse 4 tells us that everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving. Therefore, enjoying what God invented his way and giving thanks for it is how to do religion right. In fact, forbidding people from enjoying sex in that context is not described as holy, but actually demonic. And he makes another point by saying, sex is not the only way to experience intimacy. Listen, this is so important because we often confuse sex with intimacy. And if it is not shared in the proper parameters, then true intimacy does not exist. But true intimacy is about being known deeply by another person. It can happen in family relationships, friendships, and in sexual relationships. Now, in the article posted on revivearhearts.com, unlocking God's design for sex, it expresses one of the clearest and helpful guides on God's position about sex and how to achieve it or how to even avoid its misuse and abuse. It goes on to say that the process of trying a bunch of wrong keys and a lock, then finally finding the right key could illustrate a lot of things in life. But one that strikes me as particularly applicable is our view of sex. That may seem like quite a jump, but

ntimacy Beyond Sex

Dina LaFargue Augustin 19:20

stick with me, the author says. One flesh. Sex was created and is defined by God. We see this established again in Genesis chapter 1, verses 27 through 28, and Genesis chapter 2, verse 24. Then described and displayed throughout the Bible, God's creation, man and woman, God's definition, man and woman leaving their parents and joining together in the conventional marriage relationship. Vows made before God as witness to become one flesh. That quote unquote one flesh coming together has the purpose of both bearing children and intimately uniting the man and woman. It is also a picture of the relationship between Christ and his church, us. So while children are a probable result of a husband and wife's sexual relationship, so too are closeness, commitment, comfort, pleasure, and putting the covenantal relationship between Christ and the church on display. The article goes on to say, unlocking the best gifts of sex. Going back to my original example, says the author, God's definition of sex is the lock, and the married men and women are the key. Though sexual sin may allow us to experience some aspects of the rewards and pleasure of sex outside the covenantal relationship God designed, the only key that can unlock both the purest pleasure and clearest metaphor of Christ and his church is a married man and woman. There is unmatched beauty and bold declaration of the gospel as a husband and wife walk in obedience to God's plan and pursue holiness in their sexual relationship. The article continues. Sometimes the keys are wrong. An unmarried man and woman may have a sexual relationship, but that will never unlock the full intimacy and pleasure God intended for sex. The pleasure of sex without this covenant commitment that sex is designed to illustrate falls short of God's design. It says two women or two men may have a sexual relationship, but again, that will never unlock the full intimacy and pleasure God intended for sex, that relationship does not match God's description or design. It never will. While certainly sexual pleasure andor temporary satisfaction may result, the fullness and glory of God's purposes will not happen in those relationships ever. And sometimes, the article continues, the right key might be trying to fit in the wrong lock. A married man and woman may have a self-focused view of pleasure. A married man and woman may have an understanding of sexual intimacy that has been warped by media, pornography, or even discussions about sex with other people. If your primary understanding of what happens in a sex relationship comes from sources like these, then you probably have the wrong lock. A married man and woman may have sexual sin or abuse in their past that has misshaped their understanding of the intimacy and pleasure God has designed. Consider that. So the two essential questions to ask when it comes to a right view of sex are Do I have the right key and do I have the right lock? Get both right, the author says, and you're on the path to a life filled with healthy intimacy, blessed by God. The article continues to say in its conclusion, God's design for sex to include deep connection, pleasure, and a desire to love and serve your spouse is the only way God will be fully displayed and glorified in a married couple's relationship. If your understanding of sexual intimacy has been impacted by sin, abuse, or distorted cultural examples, then seek redemption from the Lord and his word. It's essential, I say. Recognize the problem, the author says. Confess it to the Lord, then by the power of the Holy Spirit and the truth of God's word, turn and walk in his way. There is no sin that the blood of Christ cannot and has not covered. There is no darkness God's light cannot break into. This is powerfully described in 1 John chapter 1 verses 5 through 7. It's entitled Walking in the Light. This is the message we have heard from Him and proclaimed to you that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with Him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us. In continuing, it says that God forgives us and that God knows us and knows us very well, and God is there and here and very present to lead and guide us and to live to deliver us from our sin, from our weaknesses, from our failures, from our ignorance. Now the Bible is filled with sexual histories of people involved in healthy and unhealthy sexual relationships. God gives us his blueprint and exposes the ugly side of sexual abuse and then the beauty and pleasure that can be found in healthy sexual expression. Following are some of the verses that express this beauty. Proverbs chapter 5, verses 18 through 19 read, Let your fountain be blessed and rejoice in the wife of your youth, a lovely deer, a graceful doe. Let her breast fill you at all times with delight, be intoxicated

iblical Pictures Of Healthy Desire

Dina LaFargue Augustin 26:31

always in her love. In the Song of Solomon, chapter four, it reads, Your lips are like a scarlet ribbon, your mouth is lovely, your temples behind your veil are like the house of a pomegranate, your neck is like the Tower of David, built with courses of stone, on it hang a thousand shields, all of them shields of warriors. Your breasts are like two fawns, like twin fawns of a gazelle that browse among the lilies. Until the day breaks and the shadows flee, I will go to the mountain of myrrh and to the hill of incense. You are altogether beautiful, my darling. There is no flaw in you. Come with me from Lebanon, my bride. Come with me from Lebanon. Descend from the crest of Amana, from the top of Seneer, the summit of Hermon, from the lion's dens and the mountain haunts of leopards. You have stolen my heart, my sister, my bride. How beautiful is your love, my sister, my bride. How much better is your love than wine and the fragrance of your oils than any spice? Proverbs thirty, verses eighteen through nineteen say there are three things that amaze me, no four things that I don't understand how an eagle glides through the sky, how a snake slithers on a rock, how a ship navigates the ocean, how a man loves a woman. On the website heartlight.org, the article Together in Christ provides a clear interpretation of this poetic expression. It says The whys and hows of love remain a mystery. What captures the heart of one person with another? What stirs the yearning to share life with another? What motivates the unpredictable affections of one human faithfully being able to support, love, and walk beside another for a lifetime? For believers in Christ, these questions remain mysterious but not unanswerable. We believe the Holy Spirit empowers us to love and also guides us in our decisions as well as guiding us to those we come to know. In fact, this author says, the power of self-sacrificing, faithful love is the greatest of all spiritual gifts. We call this agape love, the kind of love defined by God's actions for us in Jesus. So the power behind this mysterious and deep spiritual love for one another is rooted in the nature and example of God. We love in this way because we are taught, shown, and empowered to love this way. Still, the way of love between a man and a woman remains shrouded in mystery. Such affection involves attraction, desire, interest, yearning, commitment, need, presence, sacrifice, tenderness, and a host of other elements that enable true love to last between a man and a woman. And again, this is made possible by knowing Christ Jesus, the one whose perfect love was evidenced and example by him giving his life for all of us, no matter where or how we find ourselves. Now the flip side to this perfect expression of love is when sex is misused and abused. Sex is not to be used as a weapon, but sex is used and to be expressed by married couples. In First Corinthians chapter 7, it reads, Married couples are to fulfill their mutual sexual desires, emphasizing that spouses have authority over each other's bodies, not themselves. It advises against withholding sexual intimacy except by mutual consent for prayer, and encourages resuming regular intimacy to avoid temptation due to lack of self-control, highlighting mutual respect and sexual commitment. Hence, we are not

ex Misused In Marriage

Dina LaFargue Augustin 31:10

to withhold sex as a weapon, and hence we are not to force sex on the other partner. There is a marital duty a husband and wife must fulfill. There is body authority that we must acknowledge. There is mutual consent and prayer that should take place, and we are to prevent temptation and pushing the other away by withholding sex. In the Bible, God was clear about what happens when a wife or woman is abused or tainted by sexual promiscuity or violation. You can go to www.thehopeline.com to read about Bible verses and to receive help if you are in a sexually abusive relationship. There are several women exampled in the Bible. These are historical, actual women that suffered severe abuse, rape, or sexual exploitation. And it is often highlighted in patriarchal violence in this ancient world. You see, in societies where we see patriarchy as the mandate for living, we often see more abuse and sexual violence and women

exual Abuse In Scripture

Dina LaFargue Augustin 32:30

being oppressed and objectified. Some prominent examples in the Bible of sexual abuse is Dina, who was raped, Tamar, who was raped by her brother, her half-brother, but yet still incestuous, Hagar, who was exploited and abused by Abraham, and given over by Sarah to have a baby, Levite's concubine, who was gang raped and murdered, and others who dealt with sexual stigma, such as Bathsheba, or the woman with chronic bleeding. Again, it seems that patriarchal systems have been problematic throughout time. God created Adam and Eve as equals. Even though Adam was made first, Eve was in him and of him. Yes, they were equal, but they had different roles to fulfill and different gifts to be utilized for the benefit of God's kingdom. Yes, their skill sets were different, but they were to operate side by side with one another, having full authority over God's creation. Yet, when they fell, mankind decided to pervert godly order and women suffered. Men abused their authority, and women suffered for it. In the instances that follow, we can witness a list of women that I've already mentioned that were taken advantage of by family, friend, or foe. And as a result, the order of the entire family became corrupted. Again, Dina was raped by Shechum, a prince, after which her brothers massacred the city. She was never heard of again. She was silenced and perhaps traumatized. Tamar in 2 Samuel chapter 13, raped by her half-brother Amnon, the son of David. She was then discarded. David's other son, Absalon, sought revenge. He rebelled against his father, King David, who never addressed her pain or the son's incestuous violation against his own sister. As a result, the kingdom fell. The Levite's concubine in Judges chapter 19. This one was gangrate throughout a night and left for dead. Fallen men seeking sexual perversion, wanting a visiting man, were given the concubine instead and literally raped her to death. Hagar, Sarah's servant, who was sexually used by Abraham to bring forth a son, and later cast out due to the disorder and the infighting between the two. Lot's daughters in Genesis 19 offered by their own father Lot to a mob to be raped when men of perversion came to his doorstep in heated lust, seeking to engage in sexual activity with the two men visiting. Those two men were actually angels who had come to rescue Lot and his family. Bathsheba in 2 Samuel 11, taken by King David in his role, obviously, in authority, who would dare turn down the king? His misuse of power led to the death or the murdering of his own soldier and friend. It is known that King David spied on this married woman, impregnated her, and then killed her husband to hide the crime. Later, the baby died, and David's family over time became compromised as a result of his own guilt and inability to discipline his own family members because of that guilt and subsequent confusion about how to discipline properly when God has shown him so much mercy. Then there's Gomer, who was married to Hosea. She was referred to as the adulteress wife and used as a prophetic metaphor as how we are acting with God. Then there are the wife sister narratives. Sarah (who was twice given over to a king) and Rebekah also given over. Their husbands being so afraid that their wives due to their beauty that the men would be killed that they gave them over.

Dina LaFargue Augustin 37:22

Yeah, instead of fighting and protecting their wives, they gave them over to these men. Thankfully, with God's providence and wisdom and power, God protected these two women. But it's just another example that the men felt more for their own lives than the lives of their women, of their wives. Each marriage and family suffered when concubines or multiple wives were taken. Although God tolerated these traditions, his disapproval was evident in the fact that dysfunction and betrayals were obvious and varied. God is all knowing, and God is the source of all wisdom. His order is perfect, his way is perfect. Let's listen to Galatians chapter 5 as it talks about life by the Spirit. Starting in verse 13, you, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free, but do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh. Rather serve one another humbly in love, for the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command. Love your neighbor as yourself. If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other. So I say, Walk by the spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary

alk By The Spirit

Dina LaFargue Augustin 39:00

to the spirit, and the spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by the spirit, you are not under the law. The acts of the flesh are obvious sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery, idolatry and witchcraft, hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, and envy, drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other. Isaiah chapter 1, verse 11 through 15 read. To those who call on his name, who pretend to adore him, who offer lies and lead others astray, to those who seek disingenuous forgiveness and pretend to humble themselves before God, but who commit all forms of atrocities in the dark, whose actions are contrary to his ways, he says, When you come to appear before me, who has required of you this trampling of my courts? Bring no more vain offerings. Incest is an abomination to me. New moon and Sabbath and the calling of convocations. I cannot endure iniquity and solemn assembly. Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hates. They have become a burden to me. I am weary of bearing them. When you spread out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you. Even though you make many prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are full of blood. Listen, God is speaking. He has made known to us what is appalling to him. He has made known to us what will result in his rejection of us. We cannot pretend. We cannot mock God. We must listen to his word and pay attention to his ways and live in godly order. He has warned us. But if we allow God to fill our hearts, his Holy Spirit will dwell in us and will change us. We don't have to do it by ourselves. I had a conversation with a young lady this week about how desperate she was and how she has contemplated suicide. But in that same conversation, she was not ready to fully accept God's way and his will. It just seemed too hard for her. But I expressed to her that God does all the work. All we have to do is submit. All we have to do is

ope For The Desperate

Dina LaFargue Augustin 42:35

receive him into our heart. We can't fight the temptations, the temptations by ourselves. We cannot fight the power or overcome the powers of darkness by ourselves. But God gives us his promises. God has given us victory, and that victory comes in knowing Christ Jesus and accepting him as our Lord and Savior. God's comfort is for those who have been abused, misused, traumatized, and forgotten, and to those who have not even known him. This is the word of the Lord as it is written in Isaiah chapter 61, verse 1 through 3. The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the suffering and afflicted. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted, and to announce liberty to the captives, and to open the eyes of the blind. He has sent me to tell those who mourn that the time of God's favor to them has come, and the day of his wrath to their enemies. To all who mourn, he will give beauty for ashes, joy instead of mourning, praise instead of heaviness. Psalm 9, verses 9 through 10 The Lord is a shelter for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. Who know your name trust in you for you, O Lord, do not abandon those who search for you. Isaiah chapter 43. When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up. The flames will not consume you, for I am the Lord your God. John chapter 16, I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you may have trouble, but take heart, I have overcome the world. So when we seek for intimacy in others, seek God first. When we seek trust, seek God first. When we desire the company of another, seek God first. God is always available. His love is unending. And he will guide you into a true, healthy relationship with someone who knows him. He will provide the partner with whom you can build a godly relationship with. Trust him to do that. Ask him to do that. And if you have been abused, seek help. If you have been abused, keep your eye on the Lord, for he will surely deliver you in due time. Until next time, be blessed, be at peace, be in him, be saved, and be hungry for truth. For truth does drip, and truth is Jesus Christ.