A few months ago I would say, I fell, but it's not my fault. I would blame money problems, relationship problems, work problems, or anything else that was bringing me down. But if we can blame something for a fall we will keep falling. Today, I am willing to take responsibility for my actions. Today, we can admit... We could study the key scriptures for quitting or we can fall. Do you really think you have had a mountain of problems compared to me this week (I apologize if you had a true disaster)? All of us had a bunch of problems. God told the Israelites to obey and to really believe what He said. Only a few of them ever changed and they wandered in the wilderness for 40 years. Many of them fell into sexual lust sins. Let me tell you what they should have said when they were tempted to fall (instead of blaming someone or something). They should have said: “I am considering putting my pleasure as a substitute for God. It will ruin my week and maybe my month and maybe my year. I am trading God's offer of real joy in for a day of pleasure. But instead, they blamed Moses for their problems, so God let them wander for 40 years. If you fall because of life's problems, print out the top 6 or 8 articles on how to handle problems better. Be aware that that is your trigger. Then, when problems arise... get to work reading those articles and do what they say. At some point, this better cycle will be a habit. At that point, you will start to gain more control. This article was inspired by Joyce Meyer's great book “Battlefield of the Mind.”
Turning from lust is a top 5 habit we need to acquire in order to quit. I will be adding to that compilation in 1 week because it is such an important habit. Second: 1 Chronicles 4 The Prayer of Jabez. “Oh that Thou wouldest bless me indeed and enlarge my borders, and that Thine hand might be with me and that Thou wouldest keep me from evil.” This passage is about why God created each of us. To enlarge our borders is to help others, and to fulfill our purpose. I wrote recently about how we can't have a vacuum in our lives. That we must be hot or cold, there is no middle. If we are trying to live without finding a Christian purpose we are in the middle at best. Addiction thrives when we are in darkness. It also stays firmly rooted when we are in the middle. Consider praying: “Father, show me what you want me to do.” Satan tricks dedicated Christians by getting them busy. Too busy to do what God wants them to do. Consider praying: “Father, show me what you want me to stop doing so that I can do what You want me to do.” This is a 100% true fact. I only quit for good when I stopped doing certain (non-lust-related) things, so I had time to do what God wanted me to do. Third, I am praying the above prayer of Jabez daily and meditating on it daily. Why? Because my life will be even better when this verse becomes even more true for me. The prayer of Jabez is important for quitting, for finding purpose, and for getting out of the middle. Pray it, meditate on it, and quote it often.
Great post! I think we can be busy and still focused on and connected with Christ in the midst of that. It is when we get disconnected from the Vine that we begin to wither. As long as we are vitally connected to him, we will thrive, whether life is busy or not.
If we are fulfilling our purpose I agree. If not, I think that praying (“Father, show me what you want me to stop doing so that I can do what You want me to do,”) is wise.
I was at a huge volleyball tournament and what one player was wearing (almost wearing) was not my fault. Background: I go to multiple volleyball tournaments every year, and I almost always turn instantly from lust. When I turn instantly, lust does not overwhelm me, and I can keep turning from lust all day. I can keep my peace and joy. But this was my first one in a few months, and the temptation was strong. So I “looked” for one second. I then stopped looking and started praying about turning from sin. But... when we give darkness an inch it will take a mile. I was overwhelmed with lust the whole day. I fought it off with constant prayer. I even started working on an article despite not having time to finish it. Key point: Turning instantly allows us to start to have peace and joy. I normally have peace and joy at volleyball tournaments, but not that time. Secondly, after I got off to this bad start I started praying about the cross. I took my sin to the cross. I thanked Jesus for the cross. Third, the day after I brought my sins to the cross I was looking at my Youtube history. It was filled with borderline stuff. I am pretty sure that going to the cross helped me realize that I was starting to slip a bit. I was going back to sloppy risky behavior. Today, I am going to up my standards on Youtube and other things. Last, Joseph instantly ran from lust. Consider praying: “Father, show me what my life can be like if I run instantly from lust.” Joseph saved his country. God has something great for you to do as well if you run instantly as Joseph did.
I've been there too, you get comfortable in a long streak so you start tolerating things you used to not tolerate. I think if we are to stay free for life, we can never get comfortable, we must always be on guard, and always rely on Christ. And always remember, he has set us free. And that we cannot be faithful while sinning. It's easy for lies to sneak in, that we can get away with our sin and our slipping. That our sin is not our fault. Or that the temptation is too big and we are not really free. But that is not true. Tao Jones often talk about exchanging lies for truth, and I am beginning to see the importance of that.
Some might say, “It's not my fault. Work/school/people/finances were bad. I can't help myself when life gets this bad. We have 3 options when life gets bad and we get tempted. #1 Turn instantly from lust, dig into scripture, pray fervently, read key articles, start doing other things, and continue to strive to fulfill our purpose or work on finding our purpose. #2 Consider our options, fight back with prayer, visit this site, and get busy doing other things. #3 Give in. Note: #1 works often, #2 works once in a while. #3 is bad. Second, never say, “This is what I do. This is who I am. I can't change. Consider praying: “Father, teach me who I am when I fight to do things Your way.” Third, plan on how to “Be Ready” for temptation “Every day.” When you are planning how to defeat satan before he even gets started tempting you... you are starting down a good road.
