Awesome man! Keep going for me it's temptation 10, perservance 1, boredom 7, stress 2 didn't have a good day
Thank you for joining me on this journey brother. We will make it out together! Just keep a tunnel vision. One thing that has specifically been pushing me recently is that I have come to the realization that nothing in this world can satisfy me. It's best stated by Solomon in Ecclesiastes that everything is vanity, a chasing after the wind. Regardless of whether its sex or money, gardening, camping, fishing, working out, etc., literally none of these things done under the sun will ever be enough to satisfy us, which is something that I have only been able to understand because of my recent grief and loneliness. But I've realized that it is absolutely pointless to pleasure myself because it will provide zero benefit to my spiritual growth and will not solve my problems. Once you accept that, embrace how crappy life is at the present moment, and believe that the only thing that can bring you out of that crappiness is fervently and passionately pursuing a relationship with God, it becomes a lot easier to deal with that temptation. Hope it helps!
I think you are touching on a very important point. Just as PMO doesn't provide lasting joy, also quitting the sin of PMO solely to check the box of not committing this sin, or any other, can be a fruitless trap. However, quitting the sin of PMO as an act of faith and love of the Lord is a step towards peace, joy and salvation. Paul said a lot about this in his letter to the Romans. For instance Romans Ch. 9 Vs 31 - 33 (NAB) "That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have achieved it, that is, righteousness that comes from faith;31but that Israel, who pursued the law of righteousness, did not attain to that law?32Why not? Because they did it not by faith, but as if it could be done by works. They stumbled over the stone that causes stumbling,[ 11]33 as it is written: "Behold, I am laying a stone in Zion that will make people stumble and a rock that will make them fall, and whoever believes in Him shall not be put to shame."
Day 24 Temptation - 6, Perseverance - 3, Stress - 8, Boredom - 8 I have a lot going on at work and I was getting to the point today where I would get on my phone every so often and scroll through instagram to look at women. I think this was because I was so bored and stressed out that I wanted some kind of relief. I was supposed to go meet up at a guys house for this bible study as well as meet the guy who is going to be counseling me, but on the way there I got in a car accident (my fault). I ran a red light because I was zoned out and I hit a girl in the side of her car. The damage wasn't bad, but they called the police and I managed to not get a ticket, thank god, but I know I will have to pay money and my insurance will go up. You know when you're having a bad and stressful week and then you hit someone with your truck? Yeah.. So I missed out on quality time with new friends and had nothing else to do the rest of the night but run and then find some random activity to occupy my time with as usual. But I am excited for this weekend since I'll be visiting family!
Temptation - 9(1), Perseverance - 8, Stress - 0, Boredom - 2 Yesterday I had another relapse, had an awfull start to the day, decided to skip reading my bible because I overslept and wanted to start working immediatly (which obviously was one of satans tricks), after a couple of hours I felt bored of work and instead of going back to reading the bible which I told myself I would do, I instead started scrolling mindlessly on phone, checking movies, first very innocent and afterwards got hit by urges, and well you know the rest.. Still to say it was a bad day wouldn't be right either. That's because directly afterwards I took a walk asking God for forgiveness, and after coming back home I did some household chores which felt good to do, because I had time to think in between. It's not the first time I've noticed I'm using my mobile way more than I should. I have an avarage of 2-3 hours a day, but I know that I could and should cut that down to 30min-1 hour. Because 9/10 times urges come from anything related to my mobile phone. I've attempted this before, and I'll try again. I put a note book near my phone now on a place I can't easily reach, then when I want to check my mobile I write down the time, so I'll clearly realise how much time I spend a day. On top of that I have to make it a rule to always read my bible before starting the day, no matter how I feel.
Sorry, indeed you had a miserable day but huge thanks to God you and the girl were not hurt. It could have been so much worse if either of you had sustained a serious life altering injury. Although it probably didn't feel like it at the time, with hindsight it is clear you are very blessed. Insurance expense, car repair, these things are definitely irritating and even infuriating but they aren't the most important things in life. So many times, I have failed to remember such thoughts. I wish I could go back in time and give myself a good talking to....
If we stop running to PMO and run to God in our grief and loneliness we will experience Him in a way we wouldn’t if everything was going smooth. He comes to us in the furnace and he wants to work on our character. I am praying you will experience this new closeness Brother and it will encourage you.
I love your daily check-ups. There should be an app to track those "Temptation = ..., Perseverance = ..." (because I mostly do my check-ins on discord via my phone)
Day 28 Temptation - 9, Perseverance - 5, Stress - 8, Boredom - 7 Welcome to me ted talk. Today I scrolled a lot through instagram and would occasionally click on a picture that sexually tempted me. I've realized that I do this when I don't have much joy during the day and I want satisfaction. It is not good for me to run to that in my times of trouble and loneliness. My perseverance wasn't too huge today, I wasn't that motivated, just went to work and then got off and went to hammock in the woods and then worked out, but didn't really spend any time with people except for at work. I was really anxious today, mostly about a first date that I have on Wednesday with a girl that I like. It is really making me anxious and being alone does not help at all. But thankfully tomorrow I have a church young adult group that I'll be at, so that'll keep my mind occupied. Boredom I would say was high but it was moreso just lonesomeness rather than boredom. Or I guess I'd say I was bored because I was lonesome. I still did a lot but I just did it alone. Other than that, this weekend was great, I got to spend a lot of time with family and friends back in my home town and it gave me a lot of joy. I don't have many people that I love here, but back home I get to spend time with a lot of loved ones.
I have had a lot of success with prayer in the past. Sadly, a few days back I decided to punt away my purpose by going backward. But now I am back on track. My favorite prayer which I pray instantly when temptation arises is, "Father, take away this spirit of lust and help me to turn aggressively from sin." I got this from my favorite quitting porn website "stop the addictions." Try this prayer, it helps.
Day 54 Temptation - 10, Perseverance - 2, Stress - 10, Boredom - 7 Halloween has always been the hardest day for me. One, because there are so many very sexually attractive females walking around in tempting outfits. Two, because I don't really have any friends who would be willing to go out with me, and the only reason I would want to go out would be to pick up hot girls, although I know that would only lead to sex. But it is so so tempting, especially since I don't have anything else going on tonight and it seems like everyone else does, it makes me extra envious and depressed, has always made me feel like a loser. But I think I'm going to go to the gym and workout and maybe read a bit. Also I am in a phase of not knowing what I want to do with my life and being unsure/scared for the future. Just so much uncertainty regarding whether or not this relationship I'm starting with a girl will work out and whether I am where I need to be in life. I've also realized that I always want more, I always crave the next best thing, and I feel like I'm never satisfied and cannot find joy regardless of what I achieve. I'm constantly hungry for adventure and for the next best thing, and if it's not that, then it's boring. Please pray for me ya'll. On the bright side, I'm about to hit 60 days of no PMO!! This is such a huge achievement for me, thank you all! I think this is the longest I have gone without pornography in my entire adult life. Thank you everyone on this forum
The fact that you realize this is hugely important. The promise of something better than what we have today, is just another empty promise of the devil but once we recognize what a fallacy this is, we can fight it. Your doing great, RiseAbove, keep striving and your discernment of the devil's tricks will grow and the power of his temptations will diminish. Congratulations!
1 Timothy 6 6 Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth. 7 After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it. 8 So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content. That's the goal. Now, how to get there?
Day 1 (The Restart) Temptation - 3, Perseverance - 7, Stress - 1, Boredom - 10 Since sometime last month I have been PMOing off and on almost every week. I think went a few weeks because I was busy and just had my mind elsewhere, but now I have covid and am stuck inside. I have been working remotely the last few days and have found myself having to work on monotonous and boring tasks, repetitively doing the same thing, therefore I've found myself lacking perseverance in my work life. However, I'm very motivated on other things like networking on LinkedIn and working on my drone photography, which is why my perseverance is a 7. I haven't even really been that tempted honestly. I look at women on instagram and tiktok and I WANT to have that feeling of lust, but it's just not there like it used to be, which is good, but then I still want that sense of pleasure to fulfill me in those moments of boredom or stress, so I still PMO even when I know it won't. I'm not really stressed out, since I've been kind of forced to cancel all of my plans this week, I only really have to focus on work and have some alone time for once which is good, so stress is low. Boredom is a 10 pretty much only when I have to work. The cause of my PMO recently has been boredom and low perseverance in my job. I don't get enough enjoyment out of my work so I go home and seek enjoyment elsewhere (Pornography). This is my new start. 1 John 1:9-10 and 2:1-2 "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us." "1 I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world."
