To win this battle, you must be ready to fight two enemies – one from outside and one from within.
Enemy from outside
The enemy from outside is Satin. The bible said about him:
He was a murderer from the beginning (John 8:44).
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. (1 Peter 5:8).
The devil is highly intelligent, relentless, and incredibly experienced in battle. He has been fighting people for ages, encountering countless personalities and understanding their weaknesses. He knows how to manipulate and tempt humans. From the start, he is a murderer.
It feels unjust that your enemy possesses more information about you than you do about him.
However, Jesus comes along and says.
These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. (John 16:33).
Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. (Luke 10:19).
We’ll go into more detail about this when we discuss the fight technique, but for now, let’s focus on who is that enemy.
He consistently attempts to separate you from God as he understands that the closer you are to God, the less opportunity he has to pull you into his domain.
He is never get tired, he can fight all day, in that David cry in Psalms
My enemies would hound me all day,
For there are many who fight against me, O Most High ( Psalms 56:2).
When you draw near to God through prayer and reading the Bible, you find yourself in God’s protection.
For in the time of trouble, He shall hide me in His pavilion; In the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock. (Psalms 27:5).
As long as you remain close to God and hold on to Him, He will swiftly defend you, even if you got separated for a short time.
Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name. (Psalms 91:14).
The devil hates when you receive blessings from God because it reminds him of his fall from heaven, plus these blessing grants you power over him. If you ever slip back into his domain, he will aggressively attempt to detach you from God, causing you to lose all the blessings you recently gained, and then he will immerse you in a cycle of guilt and depression. Leading you to unimaginable depths of sin. He will crush you, leaving you unable to stand again, echoing Jesus’ prophecy of a more miserable ending.
Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there. And the last state of that person is worse than the first. (Luke 11:26).
We have an enemy who desires our souls and exploits our weaknesses. One of his best tactics is to deceive Christians into thinking they can conquer this battle through their own strength, causing them to overlook the fact that sin has already claimed many lives, even those who were once strong.
To be successful in this fight, it is crucial to know his tricks. As the Bible declares:
So that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs. (2 Corinthians 2:11).
In the upcoming posts, we will cover some of Satan’s tricks, helping you become familiar with his strategies.
Enemy from within
The second enemy we confront in this battle is internal, embodied by our addictions, habits, and vulnerabilities. Our upbringing, our relationships with family, friends, and our perception of church fuels it. Our insecurities about our ability to overcome this habit further amplify its strength.
The most significant danger originates from within us. The urge that we long for. Galatians 5:17 states this in the Bible.
For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. (Galatians 5:17).
The time spent addicted to pornography weighs in our lives, affects our decisions, and prevents us from pursuing what we truly desire.
Our minds become conditioned to accept porn as the new normal, hindering our desire for a life with Jesus, just as Paul mentioned.
For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who does it, but sin that dwells within me. (Romans 7:15-20).
This is the struggle we all face in our fight against pornography. Please understand this:
you and the sin you commit are two separate entities. God creates you in his image. Even though we make mistakes and give in to temptation, it does not define who you are. The sin is like a stranger who invades your heart and makes itself comfortable, and we let it happen with its deceiving attraction. Now, it has claimed your heart and commands your ship, putting you under its hypnotic spell. Despite knowing what’s right, you persist in doing what you’ve been doing for a long time, which has been proven to be wrong.
Our struggle against our desires drains a significant amount of our energy, as we mistakenly believe we are fighting Satan when we are battling our own inner lust.
Satin may bring you websites, relationships, shapes, and pictures. He knows that your weakness already exists and that you crave it, but that’s all he offers. From there, your body takes over the fight, similar to Paul’s statement that nothing good lives in his flesh.
God, you are mighty and holy. Why do you allow me to look away from you? I feel like I’m sinking into deep water with no hope of escape. I’m drifting further and further away from you. You know I don’t want this, but here I am, repeating the same mistakes repeatedly. Please take the small part of me that resists and amplifies it, so that I truly don’t give in to temptation.
I’m seeking your help to heal. The only thing a man can promise his doctor is that they will show up for their appointment.
Here I am, ready for my appointment, and I have faith in your ability to heal my heart.
My heart is broken, yet your voice reminds me of Ezekiel 36:26.
I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. ( Ezekiel 36:26.).
Maybe my heart is not willing to walk with you now, but St Paul said:
for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure. (Philippians 2:13).
Also, In Ezekiel 36:27 you said:
And I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. (Ezekiel 36:27).
My lord, you stated you will cause me to walk in your statues, so why am I struggling with my weaknesses and not careful to obey your rules?
However, I understand the reason behind my continued failure. Despite being provided with the determination, I am easily enticed by my own cravings.
But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death. (James 1:14-15).
Oh God, my desires lead me into sin, and when I lose control, death is imminent.
My heart to you as a rocky land, with shallow soil and thorns everywhere. No matter how many times you sow your seeds, I always stumble and regress. However, like David, I cry out for a new heart, oh Lord. A heart can yield a harvest of a hundred, sixty, or thirty times the seeds that were planted.
My dear, I understand the temptation and your lack of desire or motivation to pray. However, I encourage you to push yourself and dedicate just 5 minutes to God. I have faith in God that you will soon experience the reward.
keep praying for 5 minutes (step1)
winthisbattle
