Addiction to Adoption

I was a slave to pornography. From an early age and for the next 33 years, it ensnared me and nearly ruined my entire life. It threatened to destroy my marriage, tried to annihilate trust and distort all my relationships. I tried stopping on my own, believing I had the power within me to overcome, but every attempt ended in utter failure. Each time I stumbled, I promised myself and God I would never do it again. The next time it happened, I said the same thing. And the next time. And the next. I want to share with you the details of my addiction, not as a declaration of regret, but proof of an amazing and good God. I never want to revisit the past outside of the redeeming blood of Christ. I believe getting stuck in our past is a sure-fire way to keep us completely disengaged from the Father. It's impossible to approach the throne of grace with boldness if we're shackled to our prior life, wishing we hadn't done those things. Certain death is the only place regret will lead you. I believe almost every man on this earth has been affected by pornography at one time or another. It's everywhere. It's time husbands, fathers, brothers, pastors, sons, leaders, and teachers admitted there is a problem running rampant throughout the Body. Don't receive this as condemnation; it's a battle cry for freedom. When your identity is rock solid in Christ, there is no desire to fulfill the lusts of the flesh. When we know and recognize our Shepherd's voice, everything else contending for our attention will sound strange to our ears.