Daily Power #191

As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. (Ps. 103:12)

Knowing the origin of a sinful struggle can be helpful but doesn’t necessarily make it any easier to overcome. The first time I saw pornography, I was in the fifth grade. My buddy Steven had found his dad’s stash of Playboy magazines, so he invited me over after school. Thumbing through those pages, I didn’t even know why I liked what I was seeing there.

It just intrigued me and I felt this rush of adrenaline and it was so exciting. At the same time, I felt such guilt. I felt so dark and so dirty. It only got worse when I went home and saw my mom. She was like, “Oh, son. I love you. You’re such a good kid.” I was thinking, No! I’m horrible. I’ve been looking at Miss February for hours. I felt so bad.

I prayed for God to forgive me and promised never to do it again—until the next day after school when Steven invited me over to check out March and April. For a long time, I struggled with the lustful desires those images ignited and felt like I would never overcome the shame, guilt, and burden of being this horrible person.

But after becoming a Christian, I realized that when I focus on the problem, I only give it more power to invade my thoughts and lure me into familiar temptations. Instead, I focus on Christ and the way he has overcome the power of sin and death in my life. Yes, I understand how this struggle started in my life, but greater still, I understand how it ends.

Power Lift

Jesus, I am no longer bound by the old struggles and temptations because you have defeated sin once and for all.