Overcome Porn: The 40 Day ChallengeНамуна

People often ask if it’s truly possible to be free from porn. They may feel they’ve tried everything and are beginning to despair. They may believe recovery isn’t possible, at least not for them.

Freedom from porn is possible. Many people have been there and felt the same way, but have since found lasting recovery. For Christians, no matter how entrenched in porn you are, God’s grace is bigger, and He is able to do more than we can ever hope or imagine!

Before we engage in practical steps, we need to keep in mind these three important truths to begin battling porn addiction effectively. 

1. You should think about sex. The purpose of sex is found in the first commandment in the Bible, from God to humanity. “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the face of the earth” (Genesis 1:28). Christianity does not want the annihilation of sexual desire. It’s about the reorientation of it for the sake of love. Sexual desire is a God-given gift which should propel us to make a gift of ourselves to our spouse. Lust, on the other hand, doesn’t propel us to give—it compels us to take.

2. Freedom is one day at a time. Freedom is not so much a destination we reach as it is a daily decision we make. Your goal today is not, “Okay, I’ll never look at porn again!” Instead, it is, “Today, I resolve to be the person God made me to be, and one thing that means is this: today I will not get sucked into lust and pornography.”

3. You should struggle with the temptation to look at porn. Many Christians seem to think that the word “struggle” is synonymous with “give in to.” Struggle means the opposite! It means “to contend with an adversary or opposing force.” If you struggle with pornography, recognize that you have an opportunity—an opportunity to tap into a massive outpouring of God’s grace.

In this video, Matt Fradd talks about the important mentalities we need to have if we are going to flee from temptation. Tomorrow, we’ll get really practical, but today, we need to lay some groundwork. 

Reflection

• Which of these truths resonated with you the most?
• How can you begin to internalize these truths?