Fallen Heroes: A Devotional for Dads Who Struggle With PornНамуна

There, you’ve done it. 

You climbed the Matterhorn. You ran the marathon. You quit porn. 

But is there anything tangible to show from these experiences? You can tell war stories. Maybe you have a few souvenirs you picked up along the way. But it doesn’t capture the full experience. 

How will you help your kids avoid the same pitfalls that tripped you up when you were younger? 

If you’re like me, you struggle with this. You’ve experienced some victories by God’s grace and learned some things. But after sharing your war stories, you wonder, “Is there anything more than some old reminiscences? How do I pass it on?”

Psalm 68:15-18 pictures the Lord as a triumphant superhero leaping through the mountain-tops. The rocky ridge manned by enemy combatants has become a peaceful resting place. He’s done it all. He won the war, and now He’s collecting tributes from the defeated rebels. 

But He leaves us with more than reminiscences of His victorious grace. Ephesians 4:7-8 comments on this verse and tells us that this victory is actually the basis for spiritual gifts. Jesus conquered sin and death and received tributes from the conquered enemy, and that victory forms the basis for spiritual gifts. 

Think about what this means. When the grace of God empowers you to defeat a sin in your life—such as looking at porn—God is at the same time using that experience to uniquely equip and empower you to build up his kingdom and your family.

If you’re climbing the mountain of victory over porn, you don’t just have some stories or souvenirs. You have Spirit-filled gifts that equip you to help others—especially your children.  

Reflection:

1. Reflect on your struggle with porn. Where were you a week ago? A month ago? Where are you at right now? 

2. Identify one or more gifts that you have received through your struggles with lust and porn. 

This might be difficult, so I’ll give a personal example. My struggles with lust revealed to me how much I needed to trust God to overcome weakness. When I wasn’t being tempted, it was easy for me to feel like a strong super-Christian. Lust showed me that I needed God’s grace. 

3. Write down one or two ways that your growth might equip you to help your children.