Troublesome Topic: Points of Encouragement for Someone Fighting Lust

1. God cares as much about the journey as He does the destination. We want to get to the destination as quickly as possible, be that in travel, in our careers or in our walk with God. The problem with that mentality is that we learn the most through the journey itself. If we were able to quickly get where we wanted to be, we would seldom learn anything. So expect this process to take time; don’t beat yourself up if it is going slower than you hoped it would – it always is. Focus on learning what God wants you to learn through the journey and before you know it you will look back and see that you have made considerable progress.

2. God can receive glory by means of the battle. Many of us ask, “Why am I still fighting this thing? I wish the fight could be over.” Yes, all of us want to live in continual victory, but the presence of a battle does not prove you are weak, it proves you are an active participant in a war. Always remember that the Christian life is warfare. If life feels like a war, that’s because it is a war! We have an enemy who wants to destroy us! An old saying goes like this, “if you haven’t met Satan face to face, you’re going the same direction he is.” You are a soldier in God’s army, your job is to fight spiritual battles; God is pleased when He sees you fighting. The problem is not the presence of a fight, the problem is if there is no fight – that means we are in our tent playing video games or sleeping while the other soldiers are risking their lives. Don’t let Satan tell you that there should be no fight and no struggle. The truth is that once you gain victory in one area, your adversary will attack you in another area. He will not leave you alone, therefore, there will never be an absence of a spiritual struggle unless you are no threat to Satan at all. If you are fighting against lust or some other temptation and have not yet arrived at consistent victory, don’t get discouraged. Keep fighting because God receives glory when His soldiers fight. Obviously, His desire is for us to live in victory, but there is no victory without a battle.

3. God focuses on the fact that you get up, not the fact that you fall down.

In our fight against habitual sins like lust, we tend to focus on the fact that we keep falling. This verse focuses on the part about getting back up again. The words “seven times” were probably taken as symbolism, in which case it meant “all the time,” i.e. “he’s always falling on his face.” But notice that this person who falls, gets up, falls, and gets up is called “righteous.” It is not the absence of falling that makes us righteous, but the commitment to confess our sins, ask for forgiveness, get up and keep fighting. This does not mean we should be satisfied with the pattern of falling and getting up again; our goal is to get past that stage. What it does mean is that Satan’s lies about falling should not be believed. When Satan tries to discourage you because you keep falling, shove Proverbs 24:16 in his face, get up and keep moving forward.

4. Ps 103:14 says that God “remembers that we are dust.” I love this verse. In all our discussion of God’s holy standard we need to keep in mind that God knows our weaknesses; He remembers that we started out as dirt.

5. It is helpful to understand how our brains are wired. They will help you see that “the renewing of the mind” (Rom 12:2) will not happen quickly, so hang in there and keep fighting. Therefore I recommend you read these two lessons that are very relevant here.

The next lesson is: Are You Floating Downstream or Swimming against the Current?