There is Freedom from Addiction

By Brandon Aha

The Following is an Excerpt from the Explicit 21-Day Journal...

“No one can ever know about this,” I vowed to my teenage self as I hid the porn magazine under my bed, far from unintended eyes. A strange blend of shame, arousal, and secrecy swirled through my mind as I tried to balance what I knew was wrong with what my untamed sexuality craved.

Hidden magazines soon mutated to the horrible Pandora’s box of online pornography, and I soon found myself enslaved to my secret addiction—one that I wanted NO ONE to find out about.

Whenever people were going to come over to our house, my mom would make me clean my room. But rather than spend time to actually put things away neatly, throw trash out, and sort through my belongings, I would just do the most convenient option—stuff it all in my closet. Problem solved. Just don’t look in there. I would have put a giant “Keep Out!” sign on my closet if I could.

But while that may have worked a few times, the stench of unwashed gym clothes, damp surf shorts, and forgotten about food eventually created a cocktail of smells that rivaled the local dump. So, it is with hidden sin. Rather than deal with our mistakes, failures, and shame-filled addictions, we often just push it all into a closet that no one is allowed to look in. Because if anyone ever looked in there, their opinion of you might change, right? Because whatever you’re hiding doesn’t really have a hold on you since you can quit anytime, right? Because you can beat this on your own, right?

Wrong.

Wrestling with hidden sin is a losing battle. It’s impossible to beat an enemy that we don’t admit actually exists. For so many of us, it’s easier to push our struggles into unspoken secrecy than to actually confront them. But eventually, it all comes out into the light. You can be vulnerable with God—He longs to be your safe place. Hear Him beckoning you out of your closet of shame. He cares passionately for you and desires to free you and lead you. It is your time to allow God’s healing and cleansing light into the areas we hide in. Let courage rise within you to bring it all into the light and let Jesus set you free from what has kept you enslaved!