Are you discouraged by the battle that you face with porn each day?

We frequently find ourselves in the middle of a battle.  A spiritual battle that leaves us exhausted, frustrated and discouraged.  This battle is caused by the sexual sin in our lives.  Addictions to porn and masturbation are a constant part of this battle that never seem to end.  These battles cause us to feel as though we are perpetually under siege from the enemy.  Our addictions are the enemy.  A constant and seductive temptation that leaves each of us spiritually vulnerable.  Why do we continue to seek out these images?  Why do we continue to act out in so many ways?  The bigger question for some of us is why would God allow us to continue to struggle?   Why doesn’t he deliver us from these temptations?  Why doesn’t he just take it away once and for all?  The answer, although difficult to grasp sometimes, is so that we will grow in our dependency on Him. 

Paul talks about his own struggles in his letter to the Corinthians in 2 Corinthians 12. He talks about his thorn that he was given, a thorn to torment him, a thorn that he desired to be taken away.  There is so much to unpack in this passage.  First, we don’t know what his thorn represents.  Is it fermented grapes?  Is it greed?  Or is it lust?  That is the beauty of this passage.  We don’t know what the thorn is, and it doesn’t matter.  It represents all our struggles.  For some of us that struggle certainly extends to sexual sin.  A sin that again never seems to go away.   For Paul he points out how many times he asked God for help.  In 2 Corinthian 12:8 he states, “I asked the Lord three times about this, that it would depart from me?”  How does God answer this request?  His response to Paul is noted in 2 Corinthians 12:9, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in your weakness.”  Think about God’s response.  He is not saying “no” to us.  He is actually saying “yes” to us.  He said “yes” in the unexpected and undeserved love that He gave to us on the cross.  A love that is made perfect in the areas of our lives in which we struggle. 

How many times have you asked for God to deliver you?  How many times have you asked God to take it all away?  How many times have you asked the question, does God really care?   Never forget that God’s unwillingness to deliver you from your struggle is not a failure of God’s character.  It doesn’t reflect a lack of power.  It doesn’t mean that He doesn’t have a plan for you and your life.  And it does not show a lack of love for you on His part.  On the contrary, it represents His love that was solidified on the cross.  A love that is compassionate, gracious, and slow to anger.  A love that unites us with our creator.

37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[a] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.  Romans 8:37-39

God truly loves each of us despite our flaws and weaknesses.  God allows each of us (including Paul) to struggle and grow in our dependency on Him because of those struggles.  Again, I ask the question, are you discouraged by the battle that you are called to fight with porn each day? Just be reminded that it is through His grace that you are armed, equipped, and ready for the next battle that comes your way.  You have a spiritual ally in Jesus.  There’s power in that name.  Call on him in this battle.

 Question to consider, will you use the tools of battle that were provided on the cross?