Hope for Tomorrow

Maybe you’ve heard the dismal statistics relating to sexual addiction recovery. Maybe people you trust have told you that a person can never FULLY be free from this addiction. Maybe you’ve failed at your attempts to turn away from pornography or get a rein on your fantasies so many times that you’re becoming convinced that it is a waste of energy to even try.

But, it doesn’t matter what you’ve heard . . . or how many times you’ve failed. The truth is there IS hope! There are scores of men and women, who were once in the very same place that you are now, that are walking in freedom today. They no longer have to fear that “the monster” will come out if they’re alone. They no longer feel like the worst kind of hypocrite. They don’t have to be afraid that someone will find out about their double life. The heavy load of shame has been lifted. They know FREEDOM . . . and you can know it too!

It’s not easy. In fact, it may be the hardest thing you’ve ever done . . . but it is not out of your reach. For a very long time my husband was afraid that he was somehow uniquely sinful or far too broken to experience complete healing, but, over the years, his story has changed. This is what he says today:

“For the first time in my life, I truly KNOW that people who have struggled with sexual addiction, like me, can find a TOTAL healing. For most of my life I believed that I could get a good measure of healing, but that the addiction would always be sitting on my shoulder waiting for the opportunity to bring me down. I was convinced that there would always be periodic slips and their consequences to contend with.

Today, I can say I am enjoying a freedom that only God can give. I know that it is not just that I am trying harder to ‘do better.’ My heart has actually changed from the inside out. I first noticed it soon after I found out that one of the adult video stores I used to frequent was going out of business. Sadly, their closing wasn’t because there was no longer a demand for pornography, but because the owner felt he could no longer compete with the ease and convenience of accessing pornography on the  internet.

Anyway, a few days later I was heading out to do a few errands and the thought crossed my mind that I should stop by their big clearance sale ‘for old times sake.’ But, just as quickly as the thought came in, my mind countered it with, ‘Nah, I like where I am now. I don’t want or need to go back to that anymore.’ And, without another thought, I didn’t.”

—Excerpt from Now Choose Life! One Man’s Journey Out of the Grip of Pornography by Janet K. Wheeler

Recovery IS a choice. Not a choice to try harder, but a choice to surrender and let God heal the wounds and rewrite the beliefs that fuel our addiction.

“…I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, Listen to his voice and hold fast to him.”—Deuteronomy 30:19-20 (NIV)