Strongholds

Most of my life, as most men do, I have struggled with lust. It’s like a baby lion cub—fun and fluffy at first—but then it slowly grows and can completely devour a man.

It starts off innocent and small, a few images on Instagram of women, to a few links to twitch, then to only fans.

The extremity of this struggle can lead to divorce. Men can’t get enough from watching pornography; they then move on to a strip club, which may lead to a lap dance, and eventually, for married men, to cheating on their wives.

This is exactly what the evil one wants Christian men to do: to destroy the dream of marriage.

The problem is that we love the world—the desires of the world—and during times of vulnerability, we fall again and again. I have heard of men who have drawn up rules to help them, but these are just a few ideas that prevent temptation rather than cure it:

·       Have accountable brothers to talk to.

·       Don’t stay alone late “working.”

·       Avoid being overly active on social media.

·       If you have watched pornography in the last 24 hours, consider telling your wife—this can put the fear of God in you.

But these are just band-aids covering the main wound.

I was reading this scripture:

15 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them.16 For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world.17 The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.

And the Spirit interceded with me:

“The more time you spend with Me, the less you will have a desire to sin.”

The more I focused on a real relationship with Jesus and gave Him my whole heart, the more I could feel His warmth and gentle whispers in my heart. This slowly stopped the urges.

Every day I pray for the Holy Spirit to scan my soul and actions and reveal what I must repent for, so I do not disrupt the covenant I have with Him.

It’s like this: imagine sitting in a warm room with a fireplace, all the doors and windows shut. The fire keeps you warm and cozy. That’s what it’s like sitting with Jesus in your heart—warm, gentle, and loving. Now imagine opening a door and letting in the winter breeze; it becomes uncomfortable and may put out the fire. This is how we open doors to temptation—every time our eyes wander lustfully, we open a door and break that covenant with Jesus.

Now imagine Jesus is sitting right there in the room with you, and the fire is the Holy Spirit. Would you want to open that door? No—because you love Jesus and don’t want to put that fire out.

This is how simple it is: the more time we spend with Jesus, the less we want to sin. Period.

Jesus is the cure.