Do you feel shame and condemnation?
Satan cannot make you do anything. He does not control Christians. So rather than try to overpower us, he works in more subtle ways. The devil’s first goal is to get you to sin. He does this by tempting us to act on the desires of the flesh which are often incited by the world around us.
Once we fall to temptation, the attack is not done. The devil knows Christ came to redeem us from every sin – past, present, and future (Hebrews 10:10). While a Christian is always covered with the blood of Jesus, our experience of Christ’s purifying work will be hindered if we do not choose to embrace His gospel constantly.
The devil’s desire is to tempt us to sin and then to shame us for sinning. He not only wants us to be tripped by temptation, he wants us to stay on the ground under the weight of feeling condemned for that sin. But as Christians we must never feel condemned. The Holy Spirit brings a conviction which leads to a repentance (2 Corinthians 7:10), but God never condemns those whom He has set free in Christ, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1).
So how does this relate to your unwanted singleness? When Satan can get you to live under the shame of your past rather than the purity of Christ, this will drastically impact your relationships. You will either date people you feel are as bad as you or you will stay single because you think no one would accept you for what you’ve done.
Satan especially loves to use shame regarding past sexual sin. He will tell you that you are damaged goods, that no one could love you because of what you’ve done in your past. If you live under this lie, this will keep you single or it will cause you to date low caliber people.
You must reject what Satan says and embrace what the word of God says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
