i beleive that the majority of people fail to understand the chemistry or the framework of lust, so they cannot truely cure it.
one thing you must first understand is that lust and all other sin, is not something you do, but something you are.
you do not get it out of your life, you must change yourself.
jesus said that the sins that come out of a man, come out of his heart. james said then when we sin, were drawn away by our own lusts.
i dont think we will ever overcome lust as long as we continue to think that is something we must simply avoid doing, or when it comes, we think it is the devil, and that it isnt us.
but it is us.
and we must go through a process of change, we must be made holy righteous, and then holiness and righteousness will come forth out of the actions of your body.
there is a great diffrence between
the devil offering you something, and you saying, no, i dont want that and you turning and walking away.
and people who are bound to pornography, touching yourself, and all sorts of sexual fullfillment that are not godly. these people whom make it a lifestyle, even though they strive to end it.
the first is the devil, the second is the corruption and inner infestation of the man.
when people go through much pain and agony and travail to end the working of lust, and still fail 99% of the time, as is abundantly common in this day and age. it is becuase they are not struggling with and outside force, but they are attempting to change who they really are, and it simply is not possible, becuase that is who they are, they are striving to not do, the only thing they can do.
ive known lust as well as anyone i beleive, and from the years of experience ive had with it, i beleive i have come upon some principles that are key to ending it.
key #1
that you must ask god to come and make you holy, before you can act out holiness in your body.
this is something i have rarely heard of people doing. yet, i beleive it is too important to ever neglect.
we are born sinners, and that is our very nature, that is how we live, that is our chemistry, thats what we do.
paul in rom ch 7 told us about a "law of sin" that was in his members, or body parts. that when he heard the law, that he should do right, the law of sin would not allow him to obey it. it would literally overpower him and make him do what he did not agree to do and what he hated.
i beleive that is why people fall to lust and all other sins much of the time, i dont think it is a lack of strategic thinking, but them simply not being able overcome sin in themselves.
then paul says in very beggining of chapter 8, that now he has been set free from the "law of sin" that was in his body, by the power of the "law of the holyspirit of life".
we must simply pray to god, asking for him to send the holyspirit to us that he would come into our lives and change us from evil, to good.
people may avoid some sins on their own, but i beleive that bondadges, things that seem to tear us, hurt us, take us through great agony when we attempt to end them, cannot simply be avoided.
becuase it constantly flows out of the inside of us. and we cannot get away from ourselves.
like a man, striving to go without food. from inside him comes a great hunger and pain, and he is cast into great travail, because he is struggling with the very essence or nature of his own being.
becuase he was made to eat, and he is struggling with himself.
when lust is a major part of our lives, it is not an outside force, but an outworking of what we are inside. and it hurts to try to stop, becuase we are revolting against the very nature of own bodies.
you must ask god to come to you, and move upon your body like he moved upon the waste land of the earth in gen 1.2. and change you, and make you into something diffrent. you have to ask him to change you. you cannot change yourself.
think,
how often do we do surgery on ourselves? we cant.
we must always have another do it for us.
key#2
and it must renew this godly process daily.
it is never a one time fix, but it is a process that takes time.
and you must not fail to put it into effect every day of your life.
it flows from relationship with god, god being a person, our relationship with him comes from fellowship, it must be continued forever.
becuase the "flesh" never leaves us, but the holyspirit can come upon your body and press the flesh down till it no longer effects you, but this must be maintained.
all in all,
the key to overcoming lust or any sort of bondadge in our lives to lay before the lord and cry out for him to come and change us.
he must literally change your desires, and remove sinful stimulants from your body and being.
the holyspirit comes and moves upon your body when you go to him and meet him in your prayer place, and causes divine change. like he moved upon the earth, it was waste, dead, pointless, doomed, nothing good could come from it, but the holyspirit moved on it, and changed it into something holy and righteous.
you have to daily find a place where you can pray and spend time with him, and as you spend time with him, he will do this for you.
and you must not ever cease to continue doing it.
i am overcoming my old lusts by leaps and bounds now becuase every morning i get alone with god and ask him to move upon me and make me holy and he does. he doesnt control my actions later, but the struggle is gone, and all i have to do is yeild to his power in my life, it comes down to decision now, and no longer is it a struggle. the holyspirits power is what does the struggling for me now. its so much easier.
make it a daily thing that you get in the presence of god in prayer and ask him to change you. to fill you with his spirit, so hes the only thing that ever comes out of you. and he will literally change you from one thing to another. it all rests upon your time and experience with god in your prayer place.
and continue this daily.
sorry, i was begginng to ramble. but i do this when i talk about the love of my life.
It seems if you allow youself to sin in one way, the whole "slippery slope" sequence comes into play, and you find yourself commiting sins you never thought you would... Anyways, please give me some advice, or at least your thoughts, it would be greatly appreciated.
