To purchase the entire DVD set of the Summit Lecture Series, visit summit.org.
Pornography, by far, is the hardest addiction to break. But, it’s not humans who break it. It’s by the power of God alone. I see a couple of common things present in the people who I have seen who have wrestled with their addiction to porn, and come out of it, and God restores them. First is a true desire for God to heal them and to work in their lives. If someone is only 80% committed to this, healing isn’t going to happen. It has to begin with humbly realizing that it is an issue, that only God can heal them, and completely surrendering to Him. Secondly, there is a realization that it can’t be done by their own strength. It’s not possible.
In fact, this is what makes Christianity different from any other religion. Every other religion centers around the philosophy of “Pull up your own bootstraps, climb out of the hole yourself, do right things, and then you have salvation.” However, Jesus says, “Stop trying. You can’t do it. But I can.” In 2 Corinthians chapter 12, the Apostle Paul wrote “When I am weak, I am strong.”
In Alcoholics Anonymous, which was patterned after a Biblical model, the first step to healing is to admit that you have a problem. The ensuing steps calls out to a Higher Power to enter in and heal the alcoholic.
So, while it may seem depressing that you can’t do it on your own, it is even more ENCOURAGING that we worship a powerful God who can!
So, if you are struggling with pornography, find someone you know and trust and tell them that you have been wrestling with porn. There are few things more liberating than doing this, and even hearing someone else tell you, “So have I.”
Experiencing God’s grace pouring into that part of your life is the only way you can ever really move forward and experience what God has planned for you. Feeling God’s grace in the innermost part of your being is one of the most freeing things you can ever experience.
You see, Satan wants you to think that “If everyone knew what you struggle with, they would be ashamed of you, you wouldn’t belong in fellowship with Christians, so you should just keep it to yourself.” That is a lie from the pit of hell.
God loves each and every single one of us. He has a great, amazing plan for each and every one of our lives. Therefore, we need to prevent Satan from having even the slightest hook into our lives. Instead, we need to allow the grace of God, through His Word and His people, to pour into our lives. Through this, we can be set free from our addictions – even an addiction to porn.
It doesn’t matter how deeply you have gone, or for how long you have been consuming it, nothing is beyond God’s transformative work, and you can be restored.