What a great reminder: Pursue the Lord and your spouse. (By the way, you can do this even if your efforts aren’t reciprocated—see the prophet Hosea.)
Ask yourself:
- Am I pursuing my spouse (if I have one) passionately?
- What are specific ways I can do this better?
5. Confess Sin Immediately.
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)
Therefore, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other, so that you may be healed. (James 5:16)
When I’ve struggled with the lust of the eyes, there are two things I do: First, I confess it to God. Although I know I’m already eternally forgiven for all my sins, I want to be practically restored back into fellowship with Him. Too many times when a person falls into the mud of lust, they allow Satan to step on the back of their head and push their face down deep into the sludge of shame. This can lead to even more sin. It’s like someone who’s trying to lose weight and breaks their diet by having a piece of cake, and then, out of shame, gives up and eats the whole cake. If we don’t immediately confess and forsake our lust, Satan can get us falling into a lust/shame spiral.
Ask yourself:
- Am I confessing my lustful thoughts to the Lord?
- Am I seeking to live out what I learned from the Scriptures I read?
- Am I groveling in shame instead of seeing my sin as crucified on the cross?
Secondly, after having confessed to God, I confess to a trusted friend. Someone once said: “We confess our sin to God for forgiveness. We confess our sins to each other to be healed.”
I have a small group of godly men I confess my sins to. We hold each other accountable with what we call “The Red Phone.” (In the old Batman TV show, the Commissioner used the red phone to contact Batman.) While these guys don’t wear tights (thank the Lord!), they come to my rescue when I’ve struggled with lust.
When that happens, I confess to them. We pray. I move on in victory.
The phone confessional works both ways.
Our mutual goal when it comes to lust is to walk in victory and not have to make the call. But when it happens, we face it, confess it, forsake it, and then move on.
Ask yourself:
- Do I have a friend or a group of godly friends who hold me accountable when it comes to sexual purity?
- Am I being 100% honest with them?
My prayer is that—whether you’re married or single—you’ll begin these habits immediately, put them into practice faithfully, and in doing so, stay pure unwaveringly.
This article originally appeared here and is used by permission.
