A Way of Escape

“No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”

(1 Corinthians 10:13)

As we struggle through our addiction we need to not only know the end point on the map (being free from addiction) but also recognize where we are.

Most of us do not see all the subtle details of our cycle, and this is where having good biblical guidance from a mature Christian is very valuable. Get together regularly with someone who can patiently help you understand your cycle of addiction. This person can be a great accountability partner for you, one of God’s means of transforming your life.

God provides a way of escape amidst each stage of the cycle:

1. Identify the triggers – Recognize the times, circumstances, and situations that trigger the tempting thoughts. Are there certain people or environments that are triggers? Moods? Emotions? Are you most tempted when you are tired, angry, or feeling insecure. Does it happen mostly at night or in the afternoon or the morning? Knowing the triggers can move us to prayerfully ask God how he is providing a way of escape when a trigger arises. Talk with your accountability partner about the ways God might be providing amidst these triggers.
2. Identify tempting thoughts – Our sinful nature always makes less seem like more. We begin to believe subtle lies that the pornography will make us feel good. We justify the thoughts in our mind as harmless. Knowing how to more quickly identify these thoughts will move us to prayerfully seek out the biblical truths that overcome these lies. Talk with your accountability partner and brainstorm together the subtle lies we believe when it seems porn is calling out to us.
3. Identify the SUDS – What seemingly unimportant decisions do we make that often get us one step closer to indulgence? Knowing these will not only help us to avoid them in the future, but we can begin to prayerfully make a plan of proactive decisions that move us away from indulgence. Talk with your accountability partner about what SUDS commonly move you closer to the pornography. Prayerfully draft a plan of escape.
4. Identify the defeated interpretations – What thoughts go through our minds in the midst of indulgence that make us want to continue indulging? Recognize these beforehand. The next time we indulge we will more quickly see those thoughts and have God’s way of escape fresh in our minds. Prayerfully let God reveal to you and your accountability partner the truths from God’s word that will help you combat these lies.
5. Identify the feelings of guilt – Our own hearts are prone to condemn us (1 John 3:20). Brainstorm the ways you experience guilt and condemnation after you’ve walked away from the indulgence. Condemnation only leads to more defeated thoughts (”I’ll never get over this,” or “I’m unforgivable”), or it leads us into an attempt to climb up out of the pit ourselves. By contrast, God’s conviction leads us to run to Him, to recognize that our sin is yet one more example of our hopeless condition without Him. God provides a way of escape from our guilt by focusing our attention on the cross of Christ.
6. Identify our means of penance – Think of the ways you try to “make up” for your addiction. Is it renewing a commitment to more prayer? More activity in the church? Donating time or money to some worthy cause? While these are good things, when they are merely ways of making up for the evil we see in us, they may not be the activities to which God is calling us at the moment. Identify how you cope using penance, and recognize it as a false system of atonement. He will provide a way of escape from this kind of thinking, if we identify beforehand the right way of thinking about our sin and God’s forgiveness. Get together with your accountability partner and study the cross. A great book to start with is Death by Love.

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