Stuck in a Sin Loop

[step_by_step]

I've been battling with the same sins for years. I desperately want to be free from it but I just can't seem to get away. I go through periods of time where for weeks, I'm clean of it. But then something triggers it again and once I start, it's a sickening addiction that's so difficult to stop. Satan is fighting me hard lately because I've been getting deeper in my faith with Christ, so I had another relapse.

There's no one in my personal life that I can talk to about this currently. So that isn't an option yet.

How do you deal with difficult addictive sins that are hard to beat? What steps can I take to get myself out of this rut?

 

[“Paisios”]

I've been battling with the same sins for years. I desperately want to be free from it but I just can't seem to get away. I go through periods of time where for weeks, I'm clean of it. But then something triggers it again and once I start, it's a sickening addiction that's so difficult to stop. Satan is fighting me hard lately because I've been getting deeper in my faith with Christ, so I had another relapse.

There's no one in my personal life that I can talk to about this currently. So that isn't an option yet.

How do you deal with difficult addictive sins that are hard to beat? What steps can I take to get myself out of this rut?

I have found prayer to be the most helpful, as cliche as it sounds. The Jesus Prayer, being short and succinct, has helped me immensely, though it may not be helpful for everyone.

But I do believe prayer in general can be helpful for many reasons: firstly, God wants us to ask for help and often grants it when we ask; second, the very act of starting prayer in the midst of temptation connects us with God, and can remind us from Whom we are separating when we sin; thirdly, the act of prayer can distract us from worldly vices and help our focus on our Lord.

 

[St_Worm2]

I've been battling with the same sins for years. I desperately want to be free from it but I just can't seem to get away. I go through periods of time where for weeks, I'm clean of it. But then something triggers it again and once I start, it's a sickening addiction that's so difficult to stop. Satan is fighting me hard lately because I've been getting deeper in my faith with Christ, so I had another relapse.

There's no one in my personal life that I can talk to about this currently. So that isn't an option yet.

How do you deal with difficult addictive sins that are hard to beat? What steps can I take to get myself out of this rut?

Hi Step_by_Step, the Bible tells us that God will fulfill two wonderful promises for us if we are willing to follow what the verses admonish us to do first. Here they are:

Psalm 37
4 Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.

Psalm 119:9,11
How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Thy word. Thy word I have 'treasured' in my heart that I may not sin against Thee.
​

The question is, how does someone "treasure" God's word in their heart such that they can keep it regularly, even in the face of those sins that we fall prey to most often? For me, it required something more than regular Bible study/prayer, it required the memorization of His word (just FYI, I mean specific, topical verses or passages, not entire chapters or books of the Bible )

When I finally became a Christian (at age 30) I had to endure a HORRIBLE "thought-life" at first (because of all the garbage that I brought along with me in my mind/memory from living such a sinful life in my 20's). So along with renewing my mind daily .. e.g. Romans 12:2, I needed to find a way to empty it* of all that stale, fowl garbage as well, which I did by filling it will something FAR better, God's word.

*(one of the weird things is this, when you fill your mind with God's word in this way it seems to leave plenty of room for more "good" stuff, and no room for anymore of the kind of garbage that you've just gotten rid of )

Memorization is hard work to be sure, but the resulting spiritual blessings (both to you and to those the Lord brings across your path), will far outweigh any amount of work you put into it! For instance, it becomes much more difficult to sin when the HS has a number of perfectly memorized verses that He can bring to the forefront of your mind whenever temptation strikes.

If you'd like to do some memory work, PM me if you'd like to as I'd be happy to help you get started.

Yours and His,
David
p.s. - see the Navigator's, Topical Memory System (which comes as an Apple or Android app now if you prefer .. this is the system that I use to memorize Scripture).

Psalm 1
1 How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,
Nor stand in the path of sinners,
Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!
2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
3 He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in its season
And its leaf does not wither;
And in whatever he does, he prospers.​

.

 

[gym_class_hero]

in addition to praying and being in the Word, you have to take logical steps to avoid the sin. I used to binge drink, so I had to limit my exposure to friends who liked to drink a lot and avoid places where I would be tempted to do so. When we fall we have to remember that God is faithful and just to forgive us but we have to do some work to avoid the vicious cycle. Satan wants to use our shortcoming to defeat us moving forward so we don't live victoriously or help others find faith in Christ.

 

[Tharseo]

I will share my personal experience with you, not to show off but to demonstrate the power of God.

I, myself, was heavily addicted to playing video games, for over a decade. I skipped classes and made sick leaves so to play video games (sometimes I ws really sick because I slept so little).

Then on one occasion, I experienced the Lord. It happened to me that God himself is so wonderful that I found nothing attractive in video games, but in God alone. I dropped this addiction within minutes, like I have forgotten what I have been doing for a decade, and never looked back, as of today.

This is my experience, and does not happen to everyone. But the principle is the same: do you find satisfaction in God, or do you find it in what you are addicted to?

John 4:13-14: "Jesus answered and said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.""

So I encourage you, seek the living water that gives satisfaction forever. Reading the Bible is a good start. Meditate His words with the desire to love God and to obey His commandments. You will find His words are so wonderful that you can experience the truth of them when you practice them.

Do not focus on the failure you find yourself in. For now, control them so that it does not prevent you from seeking the Lord. If needed, make precautionary acts and make yourself far from the things you are addicted to as much as possible. Your focus, however, should be to find joy and peace in your fellowship with God.

I know a brother who is addicted to his phone throw his phone to the rubbish bin. If that is what it takes, by all means do it. For God rewards us if we make effort to be a slave of God, not a slave of worldly things.

 

[St_Worm2]

in addition to praying and being in the Word, you have to take logical steps to avoid the sin. I used to binge drink, so I had to limit my exposure to friends who liked to drink a lot and avoid places where I would be tempted to do so. When we fall we have to remember that God is faithful and just to forgive us but we have to do some work to avoid the vicious cycle. Satan wants to use our shortcoming to defeat us moving forward so we don't live victoriously or help others find faith in Christ.

Hi again @step_by_step, I agree with @gym_class_hero, you need to begin to practice turning away from whatever causes you to sin as well. It's hard to do, especially at first, and you will (non doubt) fail and need to ask Him for forgiveness. But as you keep at it, it will become easier to do (and Satan will give up and move on to somebody else .. temporarily anyway ).

After all, the Lord promises us that if we resist the devil, he will flee from us .. e.g. James 4:7. So keep on "battling" by 1) taking any bad thoughts captive to Christ as soon as they come along .. e.g. 2 Corinthians 10:5, 2) always remembering to look for the way(s) of escape from temptation that the Lord is providing you with .. e.g. 1 Corinthians 10:13, and 3) by remembering how much He loves you and that He has promised to forgive you, cleanse you, and restore you to full fellowship whenever you sin by simply confessing/asking Him to do so .. 1 John 1:9; Hebrews 7:25.

Yours and His,
David

 

[S.O.J.I.A.]

on top of what's already been mentioned, it will be important to find someone whom you trust who you can disclose your issue with and have them hold you accountable and encourage you in your fight with your addiction.

 

[Not me]

I've been battling with the same sins for years. I desperately want to be free from it but I just can't seem to get away. I go through periods of time where for weeks, I'm clean of it. But then something triggers it again and once I start, it's a sickening addiction that's so difficult to stop. Satan is fighting me hard lately because I've been getting deeper in my faith with Christ, so I had another relapse.

There's no one in my personal life that I can talk to about this currently. So that isn't an option yet.

How do you deal with difficult addictive sins that are hard to beat? What steps can I take to get myself out of this rut?

The fact that you recognize that you can’t overcome yourself with yourself is actually you being taught by God. This teaching needs to go deeper still. Not only do you need to be so sick and tired of your sin life, you need to be, and are being brought to a place, where you would willingly enter in to death, rather than sin and lose your fellowship with God. For our salvation in Christ is a absolutely complete one. Where the believer is to walk in newness of life in the here and now. But this walk that is free from all “sins unto death” cannot be brought to manifestation in the believers life till he would rather, die than sin. For this is the absoluteness of our salvation in Christ; scripture says “that when Christ died we died” so we might walk in newness of life. But this newness of life can not be experienced by the believer until he has been brought to the end of himself. Where he sees that there is absolutely no hope of him ever being able to stop sinning. Yet his heart cry’s out from deliverance, and will settle for nothing less. It is when this place is reach the believer sees that the only hope for him to stop sinning is for him to really and actually die. When the believer is brought to this place that he would willingly die rather than sin. He cry’s out to God for his death. For he sees that his death is the only way for him to be freed from himself. It is when he sees the need for his death, that the scriptures that tell him to “reckon himself dead unto sin but alive into God” takes on such life, and a new depth, and meaning. And the purpose of such scriptures become real to him and become his lifeline. It is than in quite desperation he casts his whole self into the mercy’s of God to be helped by Him and Him alone. He than willingly gives himself up to death, picks up his cross, crucifies himself to this world and all it contains. He reckons himself dead unto sin as scripture tells him to do. Than by simple faith, turns the faith of his heart to God, and will not be moved. For he has tried everything else, and he sees that unless God does it, it will not get done. His heart stays fixed on God as his only hope. For untill this point is reached, he will continuely try to help God out. For death to self is a most hard thing to come into, but it is the only way to be freed from yourself, and as scripture calls it the “old man and his deeds”.

Hope these words help and give you hope. For there is great hope in Christ to walk in newness of life, in the here and now, to the heart that will settle for nothing less. Once by experience the believer learns to reckon himself dead to sin by faith, in any and all situations. He comes to see the command to “reckon himself dead unto sin but alive unto God” becomes the most blessed command ever given. It becomes his very life. Blessed are those that are willing to pay the price to be made free from sin. For walking in newness of life, most assuredly awaits such a soul.

Blessings,

Much love in Christ, Not me

 

[Snflwrgrl]

I've been battling with the same sins for years. I desperately want to be free from it but I just can't seem to get away. I go through periods of time where for weeks, I'm clean of it. But then something triggers it again and once I start, it's a sickening addiction that's so difficult to stop. Satan is fighting me hard lately because I've been getting deeper in my faith with Christ, so I had another relapse.

There's no one in my personal life that I can talk to about this currently. So that isn't an option yet.

How do you deal with difficult addictive sins that are hard to beat? What steps can I take to get myself out of this rut?

I’m glad you reached out! Have you ever heard of Celebrate Recovery? I’ve heard really good things about it and it’s offered nationwide so there’s a good chance there’s one in your area. I encourage you to look into it. Don’t lose hope!! God knows your heart’s desire. I will be praying for you, for God’s direction, strength, and peace. You are not alone.

 

[UnprofitableServant]

I've been battling with the same sins for years. I desperately want to be free from it but I just can't seem to get away. I go through periods of time where for weeks, I'm clean of it. But then something triggers it again and once I start, it's a sickening addiction that's so difficult to stop. Satan is fighting me hard lately because I've been getting deeper in my faith with Christ, so I had another relapse.

There's no one in my personal life that I can talk to about this currently. So that isn't an option yet.

How do you deal with difficult addictive sins that are hard to beat? What steps can I take to get myself out of this rut?

I personally suggest to try and have someone to help hold you accountable (i.e., every time you do the sin, you confess it to someone and apologize). This type of accountability can work miracles if done sincerely. The book of James says for us to "confess our sins one to another". What is interesting is how James talks about physical healing right before the quoted verse above. From experience, I know when I am stuck in sin, I just don't feel like myself. It is as if there is a weight on my shoulders. After I share it with someone, however, I feel relaxed and like my normal self.

This teaching of sharing our sins one to another really helps build strong relationships and smash our pride. Now a days it is difficult to find that person you can really open up to and share your sins with, because people want to have this image that they don't sin and are perfect. If we are willing to smash our pride and come to one another for support, then the devil will have TWO people that he needs to get through to keep us in sin.

If you want, you can PM me and we can share a bit more privately on this, or you can share it openly with the rest of us (whichever you prefer). I am suggesting this because you mentioned that you don't have any one close to you that you can do this with. If you do, then I suggest you start confessing ASAP and see God work to root out this sin.

In peace

 

[2PhiloVoid]

I've been battling with the same sins for years. I desperately want to be free from it but I just can't seem to get away. I go through periods of time where for weeks, I'm clean of it. But then something triggers it again and once I start, it's a sickening addiction that's so difficult to stop. Satan is fighting me hard lately because I've been getting deeper in my faith with Christ, so I had another relapse.

There's no one in my personal life that I can talk to about this currently. So that isn't an option yet.

How do you deal with difficult addictive sins that are hard to beat? What steps can I take to get myself out of this rut?

1st Step: Realize that this isn't all your fault--realize that, despite the typical chutzpah that places ALL of the fault at your own doorstep, that human society and the Devil have some portion of the guilt to blame for helping to create and feed the impulses you are now daily or weekly having to 'bat away.'

How does this realization help? It helps by waking you up to the fact that you've 'been had,' and the anger that should arise out of this realization can help motivate you to take more concerted steps to Walk in the Spirit and stand against the waves of the Enemy.

But that's just the 1st Step.

 

[SleepingAtLast]

.

 

[aiki]

I've been battling with the same sins for years. I desperately want to be free from it but I just can't seem to get away. I go through periods of time where for weeks, I'm clean of it. But then something triggers it again and once I start, it's a sickening addiction that's so difficult to stop. Satan is fighting me hard lately because I've been getting deeper in my faith with Christ, so I had another relapse.

There's no one in my personal life that I can talk to about this currently. So that isn't an option yet.

How do you deal with difficult addictive sins that are hard to beat? What steps can I take to get myself out of this rut?

Romans 13:14
14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.

"Put on the Lord Jesus Christ." That is, clothe yourself with Christ. How? By trusting in him as your Saviour and Lord. Those who are Christ's have been clothed in his righteousness and are thereby justified before God and free from the power of sin.

"Make no provision for the flesh." That is, stop putting yourself in the path of temptation, in proximity to those things that tempt you to sin. A porn addict, then, should get rid of his cell phone, his PC, movies, books, magazines - anything by which he can access pornography. An alcoholic should stay well away from bars, from liquor stores, and should throw away all liquor currently on his premises. And so on.

Romans 8:13
13 ...if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

It is only by the power of the Holy Spirit that anyone is able to overcome sin. But His power is greatly hindered from its transforming, empowering work in the believer by their unconfessed sin and refusal to live in moment-by-moment surrender to the Spirit.

Romans 6:11-13
11 Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts,
13 and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.

Every genuine child of God is "dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus." This is a fact of their new life in Christ. (see also Galatians 2:20; Galatians 5:24; Colossians 3:3). Despite what a believer might feel or experience, the truth is that they are free from the power of sin. But until a believer knows and begins to live according to their spiritual position in Christ (being dead to sin), they cannot experience the truth of it in their living.

Romans 12:1
1 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.

Surrender is the key to victorious Christian living. A life that is not surrendered moment-by-moment to God is a life that has refused His transforming power. The believer's life has not been given to them for their own purposes but for God's. Until a believer accedes to the will and way of God in how they live, they cannot experience the flow of His power in their lives. And without His power, the Christian life is impossible to live.

James 4:7
7 Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

John the Baptist said, "He must increase, but I must decrease." (John 3:30) Both Peter and James wrote of humbling one's self under the mighty hand of God. (James 4:10; 1 Peter 5:6) This is what it means to submit to God. He calls the shots; He leads the way; He is the center of our living. And when He is, the devil must flee; for he does not face a vulnerable, wayward sheep in the wilderness of disobedience, but a saint of God, living in the power and victory of Christ.

 

[david tyler]

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