If you’re reading this, then you probably can relate with me that keeping yourself accountable from porn, or other sin, is difficult. Perhaps you deeply understand Paul’s sorrow when he wrote, “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.”
We long for freedom from the temptation of our struggle and the consequences of it. Jesus said that His yoke is easy and His burden is light. Is that true for you? Is your cycle of failure and shame an easy yoke? Is your frustration a light burden?
Don’t feel guilty if your answer is a bitter “no.” That was my answer for a long time, too, until a college Resident Director shared wisdom with me that transformed how I understand this topic.
Here’s the advice: there’s a difference between trying and training (Tweet This!).
Think of a successful athlete, someone who has won in their sport. Did they win simply because they tried hard? Did they win because of willpower? Did they want to win more than every other player?
While those desires are certainly aspects of athletic success, they aren’t the whole thing. Rather, this athlete’s success came about as a result of training, of channeling desire into discipline. No, not every practice will be perfect, yet there was consistent practice day after day.
Simply trying brings shame at the end of the day. Training brings success and emancipation.
So what does trying mean for you?
Have you fought to rid yourself of the addiction and guilt, with more failure than success? Or do you have a habit of disciplined training?
Do you assess why and how you should approach your recovery strategy?
Do you find the relapse triggers and have a plan to combat those thoughts?
Do you dwell on pure thoughts and God’s Word to slowly filter out your mind?
The time has come to quit trying. Trying doesn’t work. Start training and see what happens.
Quit Trying So Hard. by XXXchurch.com is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.