Dying Slowly, Help! Options

[mike]

i'm addicted to porn, drugs, and alchohol; it's killing me and i can't seem to stop; i've prayed gone to meetings...i'm looking at a pile of porn on the floor that i've gathered and prepared to throw away...i've already deleted all porn from my computer. please pray for me! has anyone else beaten this?

[Steve]

Absolutely, Mike. People have beaten this with God's strength.

Although it may seem silly, I'm going to quote one of my favorite lines from the movie Dune. It's a line that I like, because it's relevant to our everyday struggles with the enemy: "The first step in avoiding a trap is knowing of its existence."

The devil sets traps for us on a grand scale, Mike. He watches us with a sick fascination and he wants to utterly destroy us. He knows our weaknesses and exploits them with maniacal precision. He sets up the temptation, lures us in, and enjoys watching us fall into one of these traps. They're everywhere, Mike. But if you know that they exist, you can avoid falling into them. God can open your eyes and help you to see them.

"Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." - 1 Peter 5:8

Right now, the devil wants to do the following to you:
(1) Destroy you with drugs
(2) Destroy you with alcohol
(3) Destroy your life with pornography

Don't let him! Pornography hurts relationships and sets up false-expectations in your life. It is a road to wicked things that you may never clear from your mind. The devil and this world will do all they can to keep you from living out your identity as one of God's chosen people. You are important to God, otherwise the devil would leave you alone. With the help of the Holy Spirit, we can rid ourselves of vices and sins that hinder our spiritual growth and dishonor the Lord Jesus Christ. God's gracious gift of eternal life calls for us to follow Jesus' example and to obey God's word. It calls for intense, dedicated, and lifelong effort.

"So rid yourselves of all wickedness, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all slander. Like newborn infants, desire the unadulterated spiritual milk, so that you may grow by it in salvation, since you have tasted that the Lord is good." - 1 Peter 2:1-3

This spiritual milk is God's inspired word, the Bible. I encourage you to pray to God about your weaknesses, read the scriptures and He will strengthen you. God also provides us with spiritual armor and I encourage you to read about it as well:

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." - Ephesians 6:10-17

The Shield of Faith is a defense against what the devil throws at us. He's not going to just shoot one flaming arrow at you, Mike. The devil will send a barrage at you, like he's doing right now. But God gives us the ability to resist and deny the devil a victory over us. Just this weekend, I went to see the movie "300" and there's a scene in the movie where a Greek warrior blocked a volley of arrows with his shield. Then he broke the arrows off the shield with his spear. I like to think that's what bothers devil the most. He attacks us with his fiery arrows and we block them and clean our shield. It must infuriate him when he can't get through to us. God wants us to trust in His protection. That's why he gave us a shield of faith.

Mike, we all stumble. I have been where you are now...and believe me, you are not alone in your sin. Ask God for forgiveness and strength in these areas of your life. Ask Him to pull you out of the mud and put you on solid ground. I encourage you to seek out a faith-based program to help you with your drug addiction and alcohol problems. Throw those magazines away and keep that computer clean. You will be tempted to come back to them, but deny the enemy. Pray to the Lord when you're tempted. And if you need help, please feel free to message me.

I will be praying for you, Mike.

[Big Al]

Mike, thanks for the post. You have reminded me where I came from and how God pulled me out of the mess that I got myself in. God pulls me out of my messes all the time.

I haven't beaten those things or sin; God thru Jesus Christ has won the fight for me. I encourage you to check out God and turn your life over to him. Let Him win the sin battle, we can't. Especially if I have set up habits my human body will be unable to defeat sinful habits.

Check out Isaiah 38:16-20

I'll be praying for you. Seek God and His will!

[Glen]

Wow! I just praise God He led us to set up these forums, so everyone could benefit from the experience and advice of each other. Mike, the answers that Big Al and Steve gave you are awesome. Let me add one little thing from my walk fighting sexual addiction.

If I choose to walk down temptation street and end up sinning...God lets me. However, if I choose not to go down the street and, instead, take every thought captive to Jesus, God helps me and strengthens me. The Bible never promises God will protect us from temptation, but He will help us keep from sinning. Here's what's cool about that! The longer I go, taking every thought to Jesus, the thoughts and temptations happen less often and with less power until they are very easy to manage. Here's why I think this happens! I believe the devil figures out that the temptations he's giving us are driving us to Christ...the last place he wants us to go. So, he backs off and tries another way to trick us up.

We'll be praying for you.

[mike]

thank you

[resonance]

First off, I 'd like to say that there are probably a lot more people with these problems than you think. The 'prince' of this world has set it up so that everything seems to be stacked against us. But the 'prince' is not the LORD, and the comparison is like holding a candle to the Sun. The mere fact that you have recognized your need in the midst of it all is sheer unignorable proof that He has not forsaken you and loves you.

God sees and judges all according to what is on the inside as well as your actions. That's not an excuse for our wrong actions, however, but it does give hope. Whenever you feel that temptation do whatever you can to run from it, as long as it doesn't lead into some other kind of sin. But be prepared to fall from time to time, as long as you are also prepared to get back up. It will be hard, but it will get easier, and WHEN you make it through you will be stronger for it. With His strength, which is so much better than ours.

Peace and prayers for you. Remember - God will NEVER give up on you, but you must remain open to His grace.

[Guest_Owen_*]

Hi Mike.

What do you see when you think of a life with no drugs, cigarettes, alcohol or pornography?

If you are anything like me, you see hopelessness, and no reason to live. This is a lie.

Our hope is in Christ, and our lives should be a reflection of this. We can defeat anything in His strength.

My Dad told me the second we take our eyes off Jesus, we fall, just like Peter did when walking on the water.

You are on the victorious side in Christ, the rest is a formality really. Be wary of the trappings that lead us away from God's Word.

Best Regards and with understanding,

Owen

[jenl]

Mike,

My ex had the same problem. Congrats to you that you even see the wrong in it and want to stop. He didn't along with his alcohol addiction we divorced. there are good websites and christain books you can get in the sublject that really helped me understand the dymnaics of the affliction. I think that would be a great place to start. God loves no matter and if you ask he will guild you to those things that can help you. Jenl