Overcoming LustExemplo

Soul-Searching and Soul-Change

There are truths of Christianity that we become so familiar with that if we’re not careful, they can lose their power and just become “routine” to us.

Standard repeated truths like “God loves us,” “Jesus died for us,” and “Death has no power” are so mind-bogglingly amazing that they are reasons to praise God forever!

But even these truths can lose their impact if we stop revering them in this way.

Another such idea is this:

Jesus makes us completely new (2 Corinthians 5:17-18; Revelation 21:5).

We are in a process now, called “sanctification” or “spiritual formation,” where the Holy Spirit is transforming us entirely—cleansing, healing, and renewing every sinful and broken part of us and transforming us into men who look more like Jesus (Romans 8:29).

When it comes to lust, our confession, accountability, and boundaries are crucial helpers, but what we really want is to be healed and renewed from within.

We don’t want just to be men who get a handle on lust—we want to be men who don’t want to lust anymore because our hearts have been cleansed of it.

This process of transformation requires vulnerability on our part.

First, we pray the Psalmist’s prayer from our verse today (“Search me, God!”) and ask this question:

What am I looking for when I turn to lustful thoughts or actions?

Physical pleasure and dopamine rushes, sure.

But do you know that many men, when they prayerfully ask this question, realize that they turn to lust because they are feeling lonely? Or stressed? Or sad?

We have deep, God-given longings for connection, peace, and joy, and when those qualities are lacking, we go looking for lust—a cheap substitute with a short-term payoff and lasting damage to ourselves and others.

In any area of sin, it’s good to do some soul-searching—what am I turning to this sin for? What need am I trying to meet through it?

As we do this, we can share it with our confession/accountability friend and seek to meet the struggle with humility and honesty.

With that, we bring God’s Word, which renews our mind, and invite the filling of God’s Spirit, who transforms us from within (Romans 12:2; Ephesians 5:18).

Overcoming lust is ultimately achieved by becoming a new man who no longer needs it because God’s Word, Spirit, and His people fill our longings in much godlier ways.

As this happens, we become holy and different, and the tide of the battle turns.

Prayer: Lord, I want every part of the new creation to come to pass in my life! Help me be self-aware enough to know my weaknesses and my wants, and help me press into You to find wholeness and healing. Amen.

Reflection: When you reflect on your own lust, what does it do for you? What need are you trying to meet? What would be a godlier way to meet that need?