‘Get Busy Living or Get Busy Dying’
(Andy, The Shawshank Redemption)
Spiritually, we are busy dying when we continue to feed our sexual addiction. You know that. You can easily testify up close and personal, that the nature of the flesh is to war against the things of the Spirit. God intended for us to be in relationship. God created us to experience love and passion. But lust is the perversion of that God intended desire. Lust of the eyes, lust of the flesh, lust of the world. It becomes the substitute for not having that legitimate God-given desire fulfilled. Lust becomes overpowering when we haven’t found a path for God to meet us at our deepest needs.
Sexual lust is one of the most destructive forms of the garden varieties of lust. It is destructive and can end up controlling our lives. The personal pain, shame and humiliation, and the devastation it causes ourselves and our loved ones is a tragic reality.
The more we succumb to sexual lust, the weaker and more defeated we feel. The sense of hopelessness and despair from this sin can be crushing. It can lead to such a sense of despair that it seems easier to give up and quit than to keep going – maybe even walk away from the Lord altogether.
If you have read the book Every Man’s Battle, hopefully you’ve been working the program, and you are beginning to experience some breakthroughs — periods of sobriety — and you’re feeling that maybe gaining victory over this part of your life is a real possibility. Sexual purity becomes a possibility. The tools from the book and the action plan developed at the Every Man’s Battle Workshop will begin to translate into a lifestyle of sexual purity and a sense of self-respect that will gain momentum. So now what? How do you go to the next level?
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There is more to sexual sobriety
than not acting out.
As you begin to move through the stages of recovery, it will become evident that there is more to sexual purity than just turning away from the old sin. You need to replace it with something that is fulfilling and truer to God’s original design. There is more to sexual sobriety than not acting out.
Before long you will be ready to start looking towards the hills and mountains of your new life and can ask yourself, ‘What is God’s purpose and calling in my life?’ ‘What is God’s path for me now?’ and ‘What adventure has God set before me?’
Many men at the Every Man’s Battle Workshop say they felt that once their sexual sin took hold and the destruction took place, their sense of calling and the dreams God placed in their heart were shattered — a casualty of the lost battle.
Do not despair. Even though the destruction has occurred, the war has already been won by the Lord! This brokenness and reconciliation will become a part of God’s larger plan and a major force in your calling from here forward.
Don’t lose sight of Romans 8:28: And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose. God uses everything, nothing gets lost and nothing is wasted! So don’t give up hope! God can use this weakness to make you strong. What we view as failure can be used mightily by Him!
You might be surprised. Get busy living!
