Silas
Beloved of All
Thank you for sharing these burdens so honestly. I have brought you and this man before the Lord and I want to encourage you from Scripture as you walk through this.
For your former boyfriend, I am praying for his recovery from the biopsy and for peace as he waits for results. Waiting is often the hardest part, and God uses these times of testing to develop patience and to teach us to trust Him rather than our fears. I am asking God to give him strength in his body, as you mentioned he carries many health concerns, and to comfort him emotionally and mentally in the uncertainty. More than physical healing, I am praying for his spiritual health, that God would open his eyes to any false teaching that has misled him and bring him to true saving faith in Jesus Christ alone. There is no other name by which we are saved, and only through faith in Christ can anyone know forgiveness and eternal life. I am praying that same mercy for all of your loved ones as well, that God would draw each one to Himself.
For you, thank you for your transparency about the struggle with sexual thoughts. What you are experiencing is common to many, and Scripture speaks clearly about it so you can have hope. Temptation itself is not sin. Even Jesus was tempted, yet without sin. The sin comes when desire is allowed to conceive and we choose to follow it. Every temptation presents a choice, whether to walk according to the flesh or to walk according to the Spirit.
Scripture describes the world in terms of the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. These do not come from the Father. Satan solicits us toward evil by suggesting we can have immediate fulfillment if we step outside God's path, but God never solicits anyone to sin. Lust promises satisfaction but it can never truly satisfy. The worst thing we can do with lust is feed it, because it only grows stronger and demands more until it masters us. The only cure is to starve it.
That means learning to deny yourself and to reckon yourself dead to sin and alive to God through Jesus Christ. You do not have to be mastered by the flesh any longer. You are crucified with Christ, and you can choose to consider that old nature dead and to live unto God. This is a battle for the control of your mind and heart, and God wants that control.
God is faithful and He has promised that no temptation has overtaken you except what is common to man, and He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able to bear, but will provide a way of escape so you can endure it. You must take that way of escape when He shows it. Often that means turning away quickly, removing yourself from the situation, and filling your mind with something else.
A practical way to fight is to hide the Word of God in your heart. When Jesus was tempted in the area of the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, He answered each time with Scripture, saying it is written. You can do the same. When a thought comes, answer it with truth from the Bible. Memorize verses that speak of purity and of your identity in Christ, and pray them back to God.
Remember also that God designed sexual intimacy to belong only within the lifelong covenant of marriage between one man and one woman. Outside of that, it is not love but lust, and it leads away from God. The world and its lusts are passing away, but the one who does the will of God abides forever. Do not set your affections on what will not last.
God can give victory in an area where you feel you have no control. As you consistently choose the Spirit over the flesh, starve what is wrong and feed what is right, you will find that God gradually gives strength where you once felt helpless.
My prayer for you is that God would renew your mind, guard your thoughts, give you a love for His Word, and make you pure as Christ is pure. Ask Him to help you recognize the escape He provides and to give you courage to take it each time, and to fill your heart with a desire for His will above all else. He is gracious and He delights to help those who honestly seek Him.
May the Lord grant healing and true faith to this man according to His perfect will, and may He grant you increasing freedom, peace, and holiness as you walk with Christ.
For your former boyfriend, I am praying for his recovery from the biopsy and for peace as he waits for results. Waiting is often the hardest part, and God uses these times of testing to develop patience and to teach us to trust Him rather than our fears. I am asking God to give him strength in his body, as you mentioned he carries many health concerns, and to comfort him emotionally and mentally in the uncertainty. More than physical healing, I am praying for his spiritual health, that God would open his eyes to any false teaching that has misled him and bring him to true saving faith in Jesus Christ alone. There is no other name by which we are saved, and only through faith in Christ can anyone know forgiveness and eternal life. I am praying that same mercy for all of your loved ones as well, that God would draw each one to Himself.
For you, thank you for your transparency about the struggle with sexual thoughts. What you are experiencing is common to many, and Scripture speaks clearly about it so you can have hope. Temptation itself is not sin. Even Jesus was tempted, yet without sin. The sin comes when desire is allowed to conceive and we choose to follow it. Every temptation presents a choice, whether to walk according to the flesh or to walk according to the Spirit.
Scripture describes the world in terms of the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. These do not come from the Father. Satan solicits us toward evil by suggesting we can have immediate fulfillment if we step outside God's path, but God never solicits anyone to sin. Lust promises satisfaction but it can never truly satisfy. The worst thing we can do with lust is feed it, because it only grows stronger and demands more until it masters us. The only cure is to starve it.
That means learning to deny yourself and to reckon yourself dead to sin and alive to God through Jesus Christ. You do not have to be mastered by the flesh any longer. You are crucified with Christ, and you can choose to consider that old nature dead and to live unto God. This is a battle for the control of your mind and heart, and God wants that control.
God is faithful and He has promised that no temptation has overtaken you except what is common to man, and He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able to bear, but will provide a way of escape so you can endure it. You must take that way of escape when He shows it. Often that means turning away quickly, removing yourself from the situation, and filling your mind with something else.
A practical way to fight is to hide the Word of God in your heart. When Jesus was tempted in the area of the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, He answered each time with Scripture, saying it is written. You can do the same. When a thought comes, answer it with truth from the Bible. Memorize verses that speak of purity and of your identity in Christ, and pray them back to God.
Remember also that God designed sexual intimacy to belong only within the lifelong covenant of marriage between one man and one woman. Outside of that, it is not love but lust, and it leads away from God. The world and its lusts are passing away, but the one who does the will of God abides forever. Do not set your affections on what will not last.
God can give victory in an area where you feel you have no control. As you consistently choose the Spirit over the flesh, starve what is wrong and feed what is right, you will find that God gradually gives strength where you once felt helpless.
My prayer for you is that God would renew your mind, guard your thoughts, give you a love for His Word, and make you pure as Christ is pure. Ask Him to help you recognize the escape He provides and to give you courage to take it each time, and to fill your heart with a desire for His will above all else. He is gracious and He delights to help those who honestly seek Him.
May the Lord grant healing and true faith to this man according to His perfect will, and may He grant you increasing freedom, peace, and holiness as you walk with Christ.
