Finding freedom

All that had to be shared with my friend the second time we met. With his help and prayers, over the next few weeks all this started to get dealt with. It was not always easy and sometimes the battles were quite hard. One night, towards the end of March, I did give in. I had chalked up 72 days. It gave me a new determination to manage to go 90 days. By this time, I had started to share my challenge with a few other friends. As I shared more, the freer I became. Testifying to what God was doing was setting me freer. By this time too, my wife knew what I was sharing and was excited by seeing me entering into greater freedom.

One of the other friends I shared with gave me the scripture 1 Thess 4:1-8. Verse 6 especially seemed to say to me that I was wronging and taking advantage of my brothers by the thoughts I had of them. I repented of this. In fact, I specifically asked one Christian brother for whom I lusted most to forgive me, in a sense, on behalf of all the others.

Towards the end of April, I suddenly noticed I had not had a desire to masturbate or lust for about 4 days. I realised I had come to a place of freedom I had never known before. Not only that, I never even had dreamed such a place of freedom existed. I knew I would still have to face times when it would be difficult, but now I had a new goal. This place could be reached and returned to if or when I fell. I was overwhelmed with joy. I could not believe it. I wanted to testify to everyone about the goodness of God to me. The Son truly had set me free indeed. Why hadn't anyone ever told me this place existed? I can testify to that now. It does! I'd thought if I stopped masturbating, I'd die. Well, I haven't, (or perhaps, I have at last) and most of the time, I really don't miss it at all.