My broken heart had changed the lens I looked through and in the process had changed me, as well. No longer could I just go through the check-out line with my husband without being more than just annoyed about the risque' covers on magazines. No longer could I just sit through provocative TV commercials, go to swimming pools, or even walk through the mall without being reminded of my husband's struggle. Everywhere I went and everywhere I looked seemed to be interwoven with threats that sucked the life out of me. At times, these moments left me feeling so hopeless. I remember crying out to God, thinking, this battle can never be won in the world we live in today. Opportunities for lust are EVERYWHERE. Lord, how can we get through this...how can my husband possibly overcome this when he is bombarded with sexual images everyday??
I knew deep down that in reality, this part of the battle was not about my husband but about me and the choices I would have to make.
Day by day, moment by moment, I had to choose to surrender those threats and "stinkin" thinking to Jesus. I had to realize that my security was found in Christ alone. NOT in my husband. I had to learn to put things in perspective and not allow the enemy to steal my peace every time I found myself about to cave because of what I saw before me, especially when my husband was with me.
To threaten actually means to intimidate or to terrorize. Isn't that just like the devil? Make no mistake about it, the enemy isn't out to only imprison your husband with an addiction to porn but he desires to use your husband's bondage to take you captive, as well!!
So what about you, sweet sister? Do you, at times, struggle with feeling a sense of overwhelming hopelessness, fear, and torment? Is your security threatened in moments when you least expect it? If you have been on this unintended journey for very long, you know exactly what I am talking about. Can I just encourage you today! There IS hope! There IS freedom for YOU!!
God IS able to perfect ALL that concerns you. God is your REDEEMER, HEALER, and BURDEN-BEARER. God is working ALL things together for GOOD, even the situation and now find yourself in. He IS in control. Your steps ARE ordered by Him. He has PLANS for your life, plans to give you a HOPE and a future.
As a child of the KING, You already KNOW those things, right? Those are ALL great to know but knowing them in your head isn't enough. They need to get into the very fiber of who you are. We can know something to be true and yet we can react in a way that is contrary to what we say we know, especially when we feel threatened. Quite frankly, we can no longer live this way. At least that is what this broken girl decided. Because you know what? From my experience, it is NOT fun, NOT productive, NOT pretty, and NOT becoming to a woman who claims to KNOW Jesus! Allowing those kind of thoughts to consume you will do nothing but steal your peace. Honestly, it is a hellish way to live.
What we say we believe must be carried through to make a difference in our broken lives. Girls, it is an intentional choice you have to make every time you feel threatened or fearful. It is not easy to keep our emotions from controlling us, however it IS possible. We must not forget that God's divine power is at work IN us so that we can be partakers of His Divine nature.
2 Peter 1:3-4 says:
His Divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and Godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the Divine nature.
SO, if we replace those tormenting threats with one or more of God's precious promises His divine power and nature will help us to have victory in that weak moment. It seems simple enough but you and I both know that in those moments it is a fierce battle of the mind! We will lose every time if we don't make a choice to take those thoughts captive. Believe me, I have lost many a time! It takes work, it takes discipline and it takes a determined daughter of God to rise above the threats that come against her on a daily basis.
Dear friend, when those threats come which tend to trigger old emotions from the past or bring up ugly new ones, let them drive you towards the loving arms of Jesus instead of towards the pit of despair. Find a scripture, one of those exceedingly great and precious promises, to hold onto during difficult struggles and don't you dare let go! Remind yourself often that your husband's battle against lust is NOT yours to fight. Let God deal with your husband! You, dear sister, cannot fix him, change him nor protect him. God is the deliverer, not you and not me. The truth is, the only way to battle for your husband victoriously is on your knees!
Remember this; no matter how much the world tries to shove immodesty and promiscuity at us or our husbands, God's grace is GREATER still. We are NOT left powerless against the enemy's attacks.
SO, let me ask...how badly do YOU want to be free? Start today, start now and do NOT let those threats... whatever they may be, control you any longer! Be courageous and be determined, sweet one!
For the redeemed, THREATS are OPPORTUNITIES to deepen our relationship with our Savior and some days are full of them! The sooner we begin to respond to them with TRUTH the sooner those threats will lose their power over us! I am ready, how about you?
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