The other day I had a brief, but very traumatic encounter with hard core porn on my new smart phone. What happened after the event is what I want to share with you here. There are some big lessons to be learned.
Over the years of our counseling and mentoring, we have dealt with many who are addicted to pornography and other sexual sin. We have been successful in some cases while in others we have not been able to see a breakthrough. I remember well the day we were sitting in Al Ells’ office in Mesa, AZ. He is Founder and Director of Leaders That Last Ministries. We were chatting about what a difficult area this is to overcome even for Christians. Let’s be clear. It is rampant in the world around us and it is also widespread within the church and within church leadership. The shame and secrecy attached to it causes most addicts to refrain from seeking help. Al made a statement to us that day that has stuck with me. He said, “research has shown that one glance at a pornographic image imprints on the mind and lasts for 20 years.” I thought at the time, could that really be possible, but as we interviewed and prayed for those caught in this web, it became evident that the statement was indeed true.
My encounter, brief as it was, threw me into total panic mode where overpowering fear dumped its nasty self all over me. I was just innocently tapping my way through an article about Donny and Marie Osmond and their family which appeared on the Fox News channel I was viewing. Innocent enough, right? Wrong! When the image arrived on the screen of my phone, panic set in and I began tapping every option on the phone and I could not get it to GO AWAY! Finally, a ‘duh’ hit me and I turned off the power, but the damage had already been done. What damage you ask? The imprint on my mind! This is what I want to emphasize to my readers. Within just minutes after this brief encounter, I was emotionally distraught, which led to a huge download of darkness coming over my human spirit – sudden depression – and finally becoming physically sick to my stomach. One unauthorized glance and I was made sick in mind and body.
I thank God for my sweet hubby who carries a great deal of authority over me and over our one flesh union and he knows how to use it. He prayed for all of the defilement to be broken and for my human spirit, soul and body to be fully cleansed. It did, however, take several hours for all the symptoms I described above to be gone in Jesus name. Before going any further, I have resolved the problem by going into my virus protection program on each of our new phones and setting the parental controls so that this cannot happen again. Lesson learned.
As I have pondered this incident where the devil tried his best to target and trap me with his darkness, I’ve thought about the many out there who don’t know spiritually what we have already learned. Remember, one brief glance and the soul, the mind, intellect and emotions, are IMPRINTED with that image for TWENTY YEARS! Now just pile on image after image, session after session where the trap leads the addicted and you go figure how much damage is done. The flesh soon cries out to be satisfied with the sexual impurities that this addiction demands and this leads to all kinds of other sexual fantasies, masturbation and self-indulgences that only open the door to deeper levels of sexual sin such as fornication and adultery. God’s word says in I Corinthians 6:18 “Flee immorality.” That is a very easily understood command unless you are addicted.
If you find yourself trapped and feel that there is no way out for you, you are wrong. There is help available and in most cases it will take more than behavioral modification counseling techniques to achieve freedom. There are many ministries out there who specialize in prayer counseling to help the sexually addicted find lasting freedom. If you need help in this area, we can recommend several ministries who can help you.
My brief encounter with the unwanted porn on my phone has urged me to write this article. I don’t want you to experience what I have experienced and if you have and you are in trouble, please reach out for help.
Over the years of our counseling and mentoring, we have dealt with many who are addicted to pornography and other sexual sin. We have been successful in some cases while in others we have not been able to see a breakthrough. I remember well the day we were sitting in Al Ells’ office in Mesa, AZ. He is Founder and Director of Leaders That Last Ministries. We were chatting about what a difficult area this is to overcome even for Christians. Let’s be clear. It is rampant in the world around us and it is also widespread within the church and within church leadership. The shame and secrecy attached to it causes most addicts to refrain from seeking help. Al made a statement to us that day that has stuck with me. He said, “research has shown that one glance at a pornographic image imprints on the mind and lasts for 20 years.” I thought at the time, could that really be possible, but as we interviewed and prayed for those caught in this web, it became evident that the statement was indeed true.
My encounter, brief as it was, threw me into total panic mode where overpowering fear dumped its nasty self all over me. I was just innocently tapping my way through an article about Donny and Marie Osmond and their family which appeared on the Fox News channel I was viewing. Innocent enough, right? Wrong! When the image arrived on the screen of my phone, panic set in and I began tapping every option on the phone and I could not get it to GO AWAY! Finally, a ‘duh’ hit me and I turned off the power, but the damage had already been done. What damage you ask? The imprint on my mind! This is what I want to emphasize to my readers. Within just minutes after this brief encounter, I was emotionally distraught, which led to a huge download of darkness coming over my human spirit – sudden depression – and finally becoming physically sick to my stomach. One unauthorized glance and I was made sick in mind and body.
I thank God for my sweet hubby who carries a great deal of authority over me and over our one flesh union and he knows how to use it. He prayed for all of the defilement to be broken and for my human spirit, soul and body to be fully cleansed. It did, however, take several hours for all the symptoms I described above to be gone in Jesus name. Before going any further, I have resolved the problem by going into my virus protection program on each of our new phones and setting the parental controls so that this cannot happen again. Lesson learned.
As I have pondered this incident where the devil tried his best to target and trap me with his darkness, I’ve thought about the many out there who don’t know spiritually what we have already learned. Remember, one brief glance and the soul, the mind, intellect and emotions, are IMPRINTED with that image for TWENTY YEARS! Now just pile on image after image, session after session where the trap leads the addicted and you go figure how much damage is done. The flesh soon cries out to be satisfied with the sexual impurities that this addiction demands and this leads to all kinds of other sexual fantasies, masturbation and self-indulgences that only open the door to deeper levels of sexual sin such as fornication and adultery. God’s word says in I Corinthians 6:18 “Flee immorality.” That is a very easily understood command unless you are addicted.
If you find yourself trapped and feel that there is no way out for you, you are wrong. There is help available and in most cases it will take more than behavioral modification counseling techniques to achieve freedom. There are many ministries out there who specialize in prayer counseling to help the sexually addicted find lasting freedom. If you need help in this area, we can recommend several ministries who can help you.
My brief encounter with the unwanted porn on my phone has urged me to write this article. I don’t want you to experience what I have experienced and if you have and you are in trouble, please reach out for help.
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