The following is an excerpt from, “Throw off Pornography”, the 4th book in the “Lord of My Life” series. You can download the complete book for free through Amazon Kindle, Apple Books or Barnes & Noble. You can also order the paperback version through the Amazon bookstore. Find direct links for all of these at ktfproductions.com under the store tab. Visit every week and receive weekly excerpts January through April of 2024.
PLAN FOR SURPRISE ATTACKS
Sometimes we can see trouble coming. If we know our triggers, we should be able to avoid them, or at least plan for them. But what happens when we are ambushed? What happens when a trigger comes out of nowhere? How can we defend against a surprise attack? The moment you decided to free yourself from the shackles of pornography, the devil was put on high alert. I’m not sure how much stock you put in the power or influence of the devil, but regardless of whether you believe in it or not doesn’t change the truth. He doesn’t want you to succeed. He doesn’t want you to be free. Knowing this, we should expect curve balls. 90 days is a long time to keep our spiritual antenna active. But I encourage you to continue the pattern of prayer and engaging the Holy Spirit. Continue praying that he will help you to put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. Don’t just say the words, actively prepare your mind and your spirit for combat. Men and women of battle need to be prepared in war and peace time. It can be spiritually exhausting but remember to focus on one day at a time. Focus on each day as it comes and find victory for that day. Surprise attacks will come. It would do us well to count on it.
It might also be helpful to have an exit strategy should an ambush occur, or a back door, if you will. If there is a fire in a building, there is always an exit strategy. When the alarm sounds, there is a plan that we should follow. Leave immediately. Walk, do not run. Meet up at a specific location. Marching orders are predetermined just in case. Likewise, we may want to implement an exit strategy should the devil catch us off guard. The main problem with a surprise attack is that when we are tempted unexpectedly, our defenses are down and due to our sinful nature, in that moment our flesh doesn’t want to succeed. When we are vulnerable, we want to give in. Sometimes a good exit strategy is simply to call out to God in that moment, even if under our breath. By simply whispering, “God help me,” the Holy Spirit may provide a way out. He may also take full control and chase the devil, or the temptation, away. Remember, he has the power to intervene when we are outmatched and clearly out of our depth. One of my favorite verses reminds me of this. It is from 2 Corinthians, chapter 12, verses 9 and 10 which says:
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
When we are weak, he can take control and through him, we are made strong. God knows we are mere humans. He knows that the spirit may be willing even if the flesh is weak. When you are ambushed, know that he is your strength.
QUID PRO QUO TRAP
Finally, I want to caution you. As you continue the journey of completing the 90 Day Challenge, please avoid falling into the “quid pro quo trap”. Just because you’ve decided to throw off pornography in an attempt to get your spiritual house in order doesn’t mean that God is obligated to give you a special blessing in return. He doesn’t owe you anything. Life problems that you had before the challenge may still be present. Bad things may still happen to you. If after successfully throwing off pornography your circumstances don’t turn in your favor, it isn’t God’s fault. He doesn’t owe you anything for your obedience. As believers in Christ abstaining from pornography and masturbation should be something we just do. I’m reminded of a parable that Jesus told in Luke, chapter 17, verses 7-10 which says:
“Suppose one of you has a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Will he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’? Won’t he rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink’? Will he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’ ”
When we throw off pornography, we are not doing God a favor. We are only doing what we are supposed to do. We are only doing our duty. It is always God’s prerogative to bless us if he chooses, but far too often we expect to be rewarded for something we should just do. I admit that I’ve fallen into this trap myself. It is human nature to want to be rewarded for a positive change in behavior. However, if we are honest with ourselves, we wouldn’t be rewarded for good behavior, we would only be rewarded for finally beginning to live like we should’ve been living all along. If you were a bank robber and all the sudden came to your senses and decided to stop robbing banks, should you be rewarded? Of course not. That would be absurd. Likewise, do not expect a reward, or special blessing, at the end of this journey. The only “reward” we should expect are the benefits that come from being free from sin. Freedom from pornography certainly comes with its own set of benefits. But, by becoming free, we’ve only brought our spiritual walk up to a level where many believers who’ve never struggled with pornography have been their entire life.
I remember my freshman year in college. When I received my acceptance letter, I was incredibly happy. I looked forward to taking college-level classes like almost every other college freshman. But I hadn’t passed the English portion of the admittance test. As a result, I had to take an additional English class that those who passed didn’t have to take. I had to overcome this hurdle just to climb to the same level the others were just at. And now, you are finding yourself in a similar situation with porn addiction. You have to throw off pornography just to arrive at a place believers who have never had a porn addiction achieve as a default. So, don’t make the mistake of thinking that you deserve a reward for normalizing your behavior. Freedom from pornography and masturbation is its own reward.