Overcoming Lust And Raging Hormones
We become more aware about the capacities of our body and we become curious about the opposite sex so we start to explore about them.
There is nothing wrong with learning about yourself, your body, and about others but we have to be careful.
It would be best that we learn about these things from our parents first or at least talk about these things with them so that we would know what is right and what is wrong. Hearing their advice or guidance could greatly help us to walk in the right direction.
Now the problem these days is that teenagers are becoming so alienated from their parents. Culture and mainstream media has severely affected the mindset of the youth so much that we try to cut ourselves off from our parents as much as we can. Instead, we are allured toward the company of our friends whom we think know and understand us better.
But what many people have realized, though it was too late and so the past cannot be erased, is that the limitations and boundaries that our parents set for us was not to torture us or lock us away from the world and give us a hard time but it was because they knew what was right and best for us. They did it out of love.
What we teenagers fail to realize and think about when we do foolish things is that we are not doing them because we have the freedom to do so rather we do them because we are enslaved. We do not realize that by following the sinful desires of the flesh, it will further imprison us and make us its slave. We no longer have control over ourselves but it is sin that has taken over.
We do not realize the gravity of sin and the consequences it brings into our lives. That is why many people are lost, miserable, and empty. Sin brings shame, guilt, and regret to our lives; the flesh can never be satisfied and it will continue to crave for gratification. It is an endless cycle and it will slowly consume us.
But I am thankful that we are not hopeless. We can be freed from the chains of sin and every negative effect that it has on our lives. By the grace of God, we can be forgiven of our sins through Jesus Christ and when He enters our lives, we will no longer be subject to sin but we will be slaves of righteousness. Through Jesus, we can have love, joy, peace, and our soul will have the satisfaction it longs for.
God gives us this promise in 2 Chronicles 7:14 saying, "If My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land."
Sin may have broken our lives and left us empty but Jesus can give us life and forgiveness. When we receive Him as our personal Lord and Savior, He will enter our lives and fix us. He will cleanse all the unrighteousness and clothe us with His righteousness. He will redeem us from our sin and forgive us. Then we can live a holy and righteous life for God through Jesus and by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Now, I assure you that when Jesus Christ is in you and when you are empowered by the Holy Spirit, sin will have no power over you. But still be watchful and vigilant because temptations will still come. Do not fall for them anymore and the moment you recognize those temptations, pray to God for Him to empower you and help you overcome.
From my experiences, I know that lust is perhaps the most enticing and explicit of all sins. We easily get entangled and addicted with it because the flesh gets temporary satisfaction and pleasure from it but it will only bring destruction thereafter. When you throw in a teenager's callousness and give him independence, that is a recipe for disaster.
Before I received Jesus into my life, I became addicted to certain things which I knew were sexually immoral and wrong, even though I lived and was raised in a Christian family. It created a rift between me and my parents and I became more frustrated and angry all the time. I lost control of my time and slept late into the night almost every day.
Whenever I was home alone and had nothing to do, I would do those things and then regret doing them after. I constantly prayed to God to forgive me and help me to overcome them but I always kept falling for the temptation. I never really had the power to break away from sin.
But then I came to know through my father that I needed to make a personal decision to accept Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Savior. So one Sunday morning at church, when they called for people who want to receive Jesus, I stepped out of my seat and went to the altar then I received Jesus.
From that moment on, I was never the same because Jesus changed me and the Holy Spirit filled me so that I can live a righteous life by His grace and power. He broke the chains of sin in my life and I am no longer enslaved by lust or any other sin because it is Jesus who rules in my heart.
Not only that, Jesus also enables us and gives us the power through the Holy Spirit to overcome any and all temptations that may come our way. Pride, greed, anger, deceit, jealousy, dissension, debauchery, and disobedience no longer have any hold on us because Jesus has freed us from all sin. Colossians 2:13 says that He forgave us all our sins. We only need to accept and thank Him for the forgiveness of our sins.
When I accepted Jesus into my life, He forgave me of all my sins and rid the bondage of sin from my life but as I said, I still got tempted. But Jesus gave us the power to overcome temptation and God always makes a way for us to flee from sin. He gives us a way out of sin.
God changed my life but it was not overnight. God continues to work in my life and continues to change me each day in every aspect of my life. I am grateful that God has helped me to overcome lust by His grace and the power of the Holy Spirit. There were certain things that I learned and did in doing this. One thing I did was to constantly pray and ask God's help and power to enable me to live a righteous life.
2 Corinthians 10:5 also says that we need to cast down every thought that exalts itself against the true knowledge of God and bringing them into captivity to the obedience of Christ. Basically, we have to keep our thoughts and our heart in check. We need to be mindful of what we let in our heart or thoughts. Meditate on God's Word day and night so that sinful thoughts would not have a place in our mind or heart.
To be able to do this, we also need to read the Bible constantly and meditate on it every day so that we can nourish ourselves with spiritual food and so that God can speak to us through His Word and give us our daily bread. I constantly asked for the Holy Spirit's assistance in the endeavor to fight sin and to become victorious over it. We also keep our eyes focused on Jesus instead of the things of the world.
I am always reminded by Romans 8:1 that there is no more condemnation for us who are in Jesus Christ because when He has forgiven us of our sins, we no longer have any guilt but we are living under His grace and righteousness. We are forgiven and freed.
So if you are experiencing trouble with any sin or keep falling to temptation, you can call out to God and pray that He deliver you from them and lay it all down before Him. If you desire to change and overcome the sin that troubles you, God will help you and give you power to overcome when you pray and surrender yourself to Him.
Lastly, remember the verse 1 Corinthians 10:13 which says,
"No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it."
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