The Bible is honest in sharing the sexual immorality of many people in the history of God’s people, but there was one person who waited seven years to sexually enjoy the woman he was madly in love with: Jacob! Jacob agreed to work for seven years in order to earn his marriage to his beloved Rachel, and he kept both of them pure during that time. He loved her so much that the long seven-year wait was worth it to him. The first step to purity is to believe it’s possible.

How Others See It

Joy Jacobs and Deborah Strubel: "We must see ourselves as God sees us: as unique, created, loved beings. We are not animals. We are capable of reasoning and weighing the possible consequences of our actions before we perform them. When we start with correct beliefs about the sanctity of human life, we can translate those beliefs into correct attitudes and proper actions. Only when we accept responsibility for our actions and their consequences will we be empowered to change."

 One of Satan’s lies regarding sexual purity is, “No one else has enough self-control to resist, why do you think you can?” Yet many people do resist every day—our society just doesn’t celebrate their dependence upon God. From the movies, other media, books, and pornography, you’d think that “everyone’s doing it,” but there are many who are not. Thankfully, there are also those who are vocal in encouraging people to “just say no!”

Excerpted from What's in the Bible for Couples © 2007 by Kathy Collard Miller, D. Larry Miller, and Larry Richards, Ph.D.  Copyright © 2007; ISBN 9780764203848

Used by permission of Bethany House Publishers.  Used by permission. Unauthorized duplication prohibited.