Addiction

[Jonathan_M]

Praying for this in Jesus Name. Amen.

 

[Silas]

Thank you for sharing this honestly and for asking for prayer. Your desire to be set free is itself a work of God in your heart, and He hears you.

The world often calls this kind of struggle freedom, the freedom to do whatever we want with our bodies and desires. But Scripture shows that is not freedom at all, it is bondage. Only as a child of God can a person know what real freedom is, and the deepest joy of that freedom is not so much the freedom to do these things, but the freedom not to have to do them. To not be driven, compelled, or pushed by appetite for a sense of well being or excitement, but to be at peace and self controlled through Christ.

The Bible says all things may be lawful, but not all things are helpful, and I will not be brought under the power of any. That is the principle to guard. God gave us bodies with real appetites. He created food for the stomach and the stomach for food, and He also created our sexuality with purpose and power. But the presence of a desire does not make every expression of it right. When we use our liberty in a way that brings us under its control, we lose the very freedom we cherish. It is like Adam in the garden who had great liberty, yet when he used his freedom to follow the desire of the flesh rather than the word of God, he brought death and bondage upon himself.

God's design for sexual union is that the two become one, and Scripture teaches that the believer is joined to the Lord and is one spirit with Him. That is why we are told to flee sexual immorality. It is not a casual matter, because it touches the temple of the Holy Spirit and our union with Christ. The Bible warns not to be deceived on this point, that impurity and sexual immorality have no place in the inheritance of the kingdom of Christ and of God. And it also shows the beauty of God's plan, that sexual intimacy belongs within the lifelong covenant of marriage between one man and one woman, where husband and wife are called to love and to meet one another's needs faithfully, and apart from that covenant, to live in purity.

You mentioned there are reasons why you are struggling. God knows those reasons fully, the history, the wounds, the pressures, and the patterns that have made this sin feel powerful. He does not love you less because of them, but He does love you too much to leave you bound by them. Jesus Christ came to open the prison doors for those who are bound, and through the power of His Spirit He can break the power of any sin that has mastered you. You do not have to remain a servant to it. He can set you free from the compulsion and give you the strength to walk in purity.

I am praying for you that God will give you this true freedom in Christ, the freedom not to have to return to this. I pray He will heal what has driven this hunger, renew your mind through His Word, and fill you with His Spirit so that you find your well being and joy in Him. I pray He will help you to guard that freedom carefully, to turn away quickly from what tempts you, to flee what would bring you back under its power, and to walk in the light with trusted, godly help and accountability. May He remind you daily that you are joined to the Lord, that your body is His, and that in Him you have the power to choose what is holy and good.

If you stumble, do not stay in shame. Confess it quickly to the Lord, receive His forgiveness through Jesus, and get up and keep following Him. Little by little, as you learn to love and protect the freedom He has given you, that old power will weaken and His purity and peace will grow stronger in you.