Why do we continually struggle with the same sin (even though desperately wanting change)?

[tafadzwa]

Why? From past personal experiences and looking at the life of other Christians i have to ask why we sometimes struggle with certain sins continuously. For extended periods of time sometimes lasting for years. Despite wanting change and become better people.

I know of a certain pastor (some of you might also know the story - details are not important here). He struggled for about 16 years with a particular sin, and it wore him out to the extend that he showed symptoms of a cancer patient. Literally. Loss of hair, sleepless nights, vomiting, lethargy e.t.c He knowingly said it was cancer, he knew it was not, when in actual fact the truth was that he was too ashamed/embarrassed to admit his real sin to his family, his church and his community. People prayed for this cancer patient. Their pastor. A man with a family. Serving God. Of course we all know whatever is hidden will be brought to light. People later knew the truth. At an agonizing time. Though. (Being a popular pastor from a known church, the media had a party - you guessed right.)

He had an addiction from age 12. This man suffered wanting to change for a good 16 years. Think about that. Why that long?

This story is one of the most mind boggling stories about sin which i can totally relate to. But never have a satisfactory answer to. Does God allow us to keep suffering for that long even when we have reached a point of desperation. I believe this man reached a point of desperation well before that 16 years. He desired change. He did. But he just could not stop his addiction.

Try Understand me here.

 

[Brad Huber]

Its not enough to want to live righteously or want to defeat sins that plague us. You have to want to do it for the right reason first of all. If you want to do this so that you can seem righteous in the eyes of others, God will not help you. The Lord says if you love Me, you will obey me. If you have the Holy Spirit inside of you, the power to refuse temptation is already in you. I assume its a sexual sin, since you wont speak of it. Its one of the most common sins that plague us, even after the infusion of the Holy Spirit. God made us sexual beings, so sexual sins are the hardest to eradicate while still being good husbands and wives.

If you are single and burn with lust, find a "Christian" partner, marry, and treat each other with respect and love while fulfilling your sexual desire. If you are married, then every time you lust for anyone other than your partner, fill you mind with scriptures, repeating them over and over, replacing the dark thoughts with good scripture, preferable one that deals with the power of God to overcome sin. The power is within any spirit filled Christians, you simply must stand against the sin. And if you fail at times, remember that God's grace is sufficient for you, and ask for forgiveness.

 

[Bendito]

Why? From past personal experiences and looking at the life of other Christians i have to ask why we sometimes struggle with certain sins continuously. For extended periods of time sometimes lasting for years. Despite wanting change and become better people.

I know of a certain pastor (some of you might also know the story - details are not important here). He struggled for about 16 years with a particular sin, and it wore him out to the extend that he showed symptoms of a cancer patient. Literally. Loss of hair, sleepless nights, vomiting, lethargy e.t.c He knowingly said it was cancer, he knew it was not, when in actual fact the truth was that he was too ashamed/embarrassed to admit his real sin to his family, his church and his community. People prayed for this cancer patient. Their pastor. A man with a family. Serving God. Of course we all know whatever is hidden will be brought to light. People later knew the truth. At an agonizing time. Though. (Being a popular pastor from a known church, the media had a party - you guessed right.)

He had an addiction from age 12. This man suffered wanting to change for a good 16 years. Think about that. Why that long?

This story is one of the most mind boggling stories about sin which i can totally relate to. But never have a satisfactory answer to. Does God allow us to keep suffering for that long even when we have reached a point of desperation. I believe this man reached a point of desperation well before that 16 years. He desired change. He did. But he just could not stop his addiction.

Try Understand me here.

When Satan tempts us we look at the sin thing...We don't look at the fact that we ARE the righteousness of God in the anointing (Christ). Then while looking at the 'sin' we are being tempted with we are drawn in....If this certain pastor would consider himself dead to sin, and alive to the righteousness of God things would happen differently....God showed me once....'When you see Satan is tempting you, do just the opposite...You will frustrate him instead of being frustrated by the sin and he will soon stop tempting you with it.

In other words we wrestle with sin and lose because we concentrate on the wrong things. And of course we do not use the Word which is our sword...Swiftly swack the tempter with your sword!

 

[tafadzwa]

Its not enough to want to live righteously or want to defeat sins that plague us. You have to want to do it for the right reason first of all. If you want to do this so that you can seem righteous in the eyes of others, God will not help you. The Lord says if you love Me, you will obey me. If you have the Holy Spirit inside of you, the power to refuse temptation is already in you. I assume its a sexual sin, since you wont speak of it. Its one of the most common sins that plague us, even after the infusion of the Holy Spirit. God made us sexual beings, so sexual sins are the hardest to eradicate while still being good husbands and wives.

Thanks for the response Brad. Firstly. the reason i left out many details on specifics is because i don't want to draw attention again to this pastor's identity. Secondly, i did not mention the specific sin because i know of other Christians struggling with different types of sins. I gave that example because it is a common one you are most likely to have heard. But then it applies to any other sins too. Just another example; I know of a brother who struggles with drinking. It messes up his relationship with his wife often times but he desires to change. He knows the consequences are not worth the pleasure while you drink and talk nonsense. Yet he struggles to fight it off.

 

[tafadzwa]

Its not enough to want to live righteously or want to defeat sins that plague us. You have to want to do it for the right reason first of all. If you want to do this so that you can seem righteous in the eyes of others, God will not help you.

When we genuinely want change as Christians we want to please God because we know he is not pleased when we struggle with the same sins. Is it not? I'm not talking about wanting to please people around and appear righteous. No. We go and pray and cry out to God in private. Ain't that right? Desperately wanting change and freedom. Yet we struggle for extended periods of time. Years. Stuck in a rut. There a lot of things (consequences) to consider that are caused by Sin. The ultimate COST i believe is death. But if you sit down and see how expensive the cost can be e.g. losing a wife, losing a family, losing a job, losing friends, losing dignity e.t.c The cost is always not worth it. People struggling with sin know this.

After having aid all this, they sometimes really disappear to be stuck not knowing a way out. I believe some commit suicide at this point. I hope you get me.

Just a question to you Brad: How many times have promised God you would not repeat a certain sin but did the same thing again........ Despite telling God the last time...... that you knew better and you weren't gonna do it anymore.....and whatever else you said to God that moment.

 

[tafadzwa]

@Bendito - good working advice right there. I just wish it were that easy. Many people (Christians) would not struggle as much.

 

[Brad Huber]

When we genuinely want change as Christians we want to please God because we know he is not pleased when we struggle with the same sins. Is it not? I'm not talking about wanting to please people around and appear righteous. No. We go and pray and cry out to God in private. Ain't that right? Desperately wanting change and freedom. Yet we struggle for extended periods of time. Years. Stuck in a rut. There a lot of things (consequences) to consider that are caused by Sin. The ultimate COST i believe is death. But if you sit down and see how expensive the cost can be e.g. losing a wife, losing a family, losing a job, losing friends, losing dignity e.t.c The cost is always not worth it. People struggling with sin know this.

After having aid all this, they sometimes really disappear to be stuck not knowing a way out. I believe some commit suicide at this point. I hope you get me.

Just a question to you Brad: How many times have promised God you would not repeat a certain sin but did the same thing again........ Despite telling God the last time...... that you knew better and you weren't gonna do it anymore.....and whatever else you said to God that moment.

You accept that you are not perfect and make no silly such promises, to never do it again. But accept your own responsibility in the re-occurrence and make plans on how to bolster your defense against it for the future, as to how, I already stated that.

 

[tafadzwa]

You accept that you are not perfect and make no silly such promises, to never do it again. But accept your own responsibility in the re-occurrence and make plans on how to bolster your defense against it for the future, as to how, I already stated that.

Easier said than done Brad

 

[Dave M]

I think fasting will help , along with deep prayer for God to take away sinful desires. when I was a Catholic and going to confession and (thinking it was repentance) and confessing the same sins over and over every time and no change every took place. But once I started reading the bible and having a personal relationship with Jesus a transformation took place. It was a slow process but well worth it, you must seek God constantly. IMO

 

[tafadzwa]

It was a slow process but well worth it, you must seek God constantly. IMO

Dave, this is the part which i am having questions about. You say it was a slow process. That's what i mean when i say for some people it can be years before real freedom is achieved but having genuine intentions to deal with SIN.

Now view the above slow process in light of this verse we find in Isaiah 58: 8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard

in other versions it says "and your healing shall break forth speedily".

 

[Alice K.]

Why? From past personal experiences and looking at the life of other Christians i have to ask why we sometimes struggle with certain sins continuously. For extended periods of time sometimes lasting for years. Despite wanting change and become better people.

I know of a certain pastor (some of you might also know the story - details are not important here). He struggled for about 16 years with a particular sin, and it wore him out to the extend that he showed symptoms of a cancer patient. Literally. Loss of hair, sleepless nights, vomiting, lethargy e.t.c He knowingly said it was cancer, he knew it was not, when in actual fact the truth was that he was too ashamed/embarrassed to admit his real sin to his family, his church and his community. People prayed for this cancer patient. Their pastor. A man with a family. Serving God. Of course we all know whatever is hidden will be brought to light. People later knew the truth. At an agonizing time. Though. (Being a popular pastor from a known church, the media had a party - you guessed right.)

He had an addiction from age 12. This man suffered wanting to change for a good 16 years. Think about that. Why that long?

This story is one of the most mind boggling stories about sin which i can totally relate to. But never have a satisfactory answer to. Does God allow us to keep suffering for that long even when we have reached a point of desperation. I believe this man reached a point of desperation well before that 16 years. He desired change. He did. But he just could not stop his addiction.

Try Understand me here.

I'm not sure if this'll help, but I understand what you are saying. I would struggle with this one sin and I would always, ALWAYS feel terrible after doing it. The thing is I knew it was bad for me, yet I still purposely did it anyway. My thing was the pleasure of the sin was always too tempting, you know? But sin always leaves you trampled in the dust, but you forget about it, after a while. So I would turn back to it and back to it, knowing and knowing it wasn't worth it and caused WAY more harm than good. I would go to this sin because I was empty, and I looked to it to be filled, but it never did fill me, it only drained me and gave like one moment of the feeling I was looking for, and even then it was never filling, obviously. I would turn to this sin instead of God, the one we were literally MADE for. Francis Chan once said, "The irony is that while God doesn't need us but still wants us, we desperately need God but don't want Him most of the time." And this is other than what you said about wanting God, I only mention this because when I was stuck in this pattern of sin I didn't want God, I wanted the sin to fill me, my addiction, but I knew it never would and I knew it was not good, I knew God was disappointed so I was always asking and asking God to just take it away then, take it away, because at the same time of not wanting God, I knew I only needed Him and I only did continuously do this sin, because I never really thought God cared enough to fill me. But that was a lie, it's a struggle getting out of the hard places, it really is, a long struggle at times, a hard one too. So that we don't forget God's Grace to us. I don't know about you but I have a terrible memory myself and as much as I would have rather God have quickly healed me from my own addition, that's not what I needed to get the point across. I needed long and hard to have any ounce of strength to see the sin and turn away, which is extremely, EXTREMELY difficult, but I have ALWAYS known The Love of God to be so much better than any earthly thing. He is so merciful and loving to us, and sometimes people like me, begrudgingly I'd like to admit it, but we need long and hard sometimes. To learn our lesson. Jesus said, "Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them."
That verse may be hard to deal with the obeying, but it's a must to show to God You want to Love Him, and then Jesus goes onto tell of how we may be filled by Him when we reach Him, which is tough at times. I understand that all struggles are different and some are more similar, which is why I tell you this so that in the case that it is similar, that it might answer your question, but I know different struggles have their own ways out as Paul said, "No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. 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 endure it." I know personally in my situation, there was a way out, yet I did not take it. I choose my own way, and that is a mistake that still pains me, like phantom pains, in my life, but God is Good and He had mercy on me anyway and lead me on that long and hard way to Him.

 

[tafadzwa]

@Alice K.

I understand very well what you are saying. You put it well.

The issue i am talking about is an issue i have noted and discussed it with other Christian friends and they too seemed to not know the exact answer.

There is a worship song called Healer. Find out the story of the man who wrote this song and you will understand what i am asking. Sad really.

 

[Alice K.]

@Alice K.

I understand very well what you are saying. You put it well.

The issue i am talking about is an issue i have noted and discussed it with other Christian friends and they too seemed to not know the exact answer.

There is a worship song called Healer. Find out the story of the man who wrote this song and you will understand what i am asking. Sad really.

That is really sad, makes me worried about him all of those affected by his story

 

[tafadzwa]

That is really sad, makes me worried about him all of those affected by his story

Actually i am not really worried about this man because God knows that situation. I am worried about the the other people who say things like "stop singing that song because it was sung by a fraud". Really? who wrote many of the Psalms? was it not David?

 

[Alice K.]

Actually i am not really worried about this man because God knows that situation. I am worried about the the other people who say things like "stop singing that song because it was sung by a fraud". Really? who wrote many of the Psalms? was it not David?

Yeah, I agree. And in the end God punished David, yet Jesus was still called the son of David anyhow, I think that was something that always touched my heart about God. So if your saying the song is still valid, I do see that and agree, especially with the example of David.

 

[Bendito]

Yeah, I agree. And in the end God punished David, yet Jesus was still called the son of David anyhow, I think that was something that always touched my heart about God. So if your saying the song is still valid, I do see that and agree, especially with the example of David.

So how did God punish David? When David sinned, he stepped out from under Gods protection and the natural result was...the curse of sin hit, and the baby died. God did not punish David and God did not curse him.

 

[Chad]

Easier said than done Brad

He actually has a good point here. It's part of working out your salvation. We all struggle with certain things to whatever degree. I have a few struggles I've been dealing with my while life that even causes me to question my salvation. It's a bit frightening but it's real. What do we do? Trust in God's promises. All paid on the Cross by Jesus Christ without conditions. All grace, all His work not ours.

Remember sanctification is a lifelong process. We continue selling Him and leading without ceasing. We all for his forgiveness and strength.

Listen to Charles Stanley. One of the best living preachers who hits home in every sermon.

 

[Alice K.]

So how did God punish David? When David sinned, he stepped out from under Gods protection and the natural result was...the curse of sin hit, and the baby died. God did not punish David and God did not curse him.

I'm sorry I didn't mean to missay anything, I suppose I only thought of the fact that David couldn't build the temple, although Solomon did though, still I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to missay anything, I'm no expert

 

[Bendito]

I'm sorry I didn't mean to missay anything, I suppose I only thought of the fact that David couldn't build the temple, although Solomon did though, still I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to missay anything, I'm no expert

Ah I misunderstood you my friend...I'm sorry

 

[tafadzwa]

@Chad

I am really glad you mentioned Charley Stanley. You now this man stands out among many preachers, Actually to me personally he stands out amongst all preachers i have listened to. Here is why this preacher stands out to me. Just by listening to him one day he said things that were straight forward for a good 51 minutes. No one had told me about him back in 2008 and i just found him preaching on a channel called Daystar on my decoder. He does not add or subtract from the Word. He says it as it is. Point Blank.