5-Day Devotional: Dating and Purity 

Feb 11, 2026 | Sunday Messages

5 Day Devotional

Love is powerful and alluring, and that pull can either lead us toward God’s best or blind us to warning signs. Over the next five days, you’ll explore how Scripture forms wise, pure, and life-giving rhythms for dating, marriage, and the inner life. Each day will help you replace cultural scripts with God’s wisdom so your love grows with clarity, honor, and purpose.

Day 1

Song of Solomon 1:2-3

Love can feel intoxicating, like a fragrance that draws you in before you’ve even thought it through. Scripture doesn’t deny that pull—it names it. The danger isn’t that attraction exists; it’s that allure can become a filter that makes you ignore what you’d normally notice, excuse what you’d normally question, and rush where wisdom would normally slow you down.

God designed love, romance, and desire with purpose, but feelings are not the same as guidance. When chemistry becomes the main decision-maker, we can end up practicing a pattern of impulsive attachment that later becomes regret. God’s way invites you to honor what you feel without being ruled by it, so you can see clearly and love wisely.

  • Where have strong feelings recently made it harder for you to think clearly or act wisely?

  • What warning signs do you tend to minimize when you feel emotionally drawn to someone?

  • What is one practical way you can slow down and invite God into your decision-making this week?

  • What does it look like for you to enjoy attraction without letting it become your compass?

  • Pray honestly: ask God to help you see people clearly and love with wisdom, not just intensity.

Day 2

Proverbs 4:23

Guarding your heart isn’t about being cold or closed off; it’s about protecting what shapes your life. Your heart is a doorway—what you repeatedly allow in will eventually steer your desires, your choices, and your relationships. In a culture that normalizes blurred lines and undefined situations, God calls you to be intentional about what you nurture.

Purity is bigger than physical boundaries; it includes what you feed your imagination, what you normalize through entertainment, and what you permit in secret. If you want a love that’s healthy long-term, you can’t consistently practice patterns that train your soul to crave secrecy, novelty, or emotional escapism. Guardrails aren’t punishment—they’re protection for the kind of love you’re praying for.

  • What influences (media, conversations, accounts, habits) most shape your desires right now?

  • Where have your boundaries been unclear, and what has that confusion produced?

  • What is one guardrail you need to rebuild to protect your heart and mind this week?

  • How might your private habits be training you for the kind of relationship you don’t actually want?

  • Choose one accountability step today (a trusted person, a filter, a schedule change, or a firm boundary).

Day 3

Romans 12:2

Culture offers loud advice about dating: move fast, keep it casual, avoid commitment, and follow whatever feels good in the moment. God’s wisdom often feels “backwards” because it’s not built on using people or protecting yourself with cynicism; it’s built on becoming a person who can love with integrity. Transformation starts when you stop letting the world write your relationship script.

Renewing your mind means you start evaluating relationships by fruit, not hype. Instead of asking only, “Do we have chemistry?” you learn to ask, “Is this shaping me toward Christlikeness?” This shift brings clarity: you can spot manipulation, avoid confusion, and pursue relationships that honor God and bring peace rather than turmoil.

  • What is one cultural dating message you’ve absorbed that conflicts with God’s wisdom?

  • When you imagine your future (or current) relationship, what fruit do you want it to produce?

  • What questions could you ask early to seek clarity instead of drifting into confusion?

  • Where do you need to stop outsourcing wisdom to trends and start submitting to Scripture?

  • Write a short prayer asking God to renew your mind and give you courage to live differently.

Day 4

1 Thessalonians 4:3-5

God’s will includes your holiness, which means your sexuality is not an isolated part of life—it’s spiritual ground. Purity is not just “waiting until marriage”; it’s learning to honor God with your body and your desires in every season. That includes the ways you seek comfort, intimacy, and escape when you feel lonely, stressed, or unseen.

For married believers, purity still matters because covenant love is protected by faithfulness in mind, body, and attention. For singles, purity prepares you to love with self-control rather than demand. In both cases, the goal isn’t shame; it’s freedom—being so anchored in God that your desires become a place of worship instead of a place of compromise.

  • Where are you most tempted to seek intimacy outside of God’s design (in fantasy, secrecy, or screens)?

  • What emotions or situations typically trigger that pull, and what do you usually do next?

  • What does honoring God with your body look like in your specific season of life?

  • What boundary would best protect your covenant (or your future covenant) right now?

  • Replace one compromising habit this week with a life-giving practice (Scripture, prayer, community, service, or exercise).

Day 5

1 Corinthians 6:19-20

You “play like you practice”—what you rehearse in private and in dating becomes what you bring into marriage and long-term commitment. If you practice inconsistency, secrecy, or self-centeredness, those patterns don’t magically disappear with a ring. But if you practice honor, clarity, restraint, and intentional pursuit, you build muscle memory for love that lasts.

God’s way works because it treats people as sacred, not consumable. Your body and your relationships belong to the Lord, which means your choices can become worship. When you date with purpose, pursue your spouse with intention, and keep your inner life pure, you’re not missing out—you’re training for a love marked by trust, peace, and joy.

  • What relationship patterns are you currently practicing that you would not want to carry into a lifelong covenant?

  • In what ways can you practice honor and clarity in your relationships starting today?

  • If you are married, what is one way you can “date” your spouse with renewed intention this week?

  • If you are single, what does dating with purpose (not pressure) look like for you right now?

  • Write one commitment statement you can live by this week that reflects, “I belong to Jesus.”