Are You Ready To Do Whatever It Takes To Find Freedom From Porn?

Perhaps your efforts to overcome porn have included showing up to a small group meeting every week. Maybe you even did part of the homework. But you still haven’t surrendered your porn usage fully to God or totally committed to the process.

You likely already know the pain and damage porn has caused in your life. For men to truly start the journey towards lasting freedom from porn, they have to come to the end of themselves. They have to be prepared to do whatever it takes to find freedom.

So what does ‘whatever it takes’ mean? It means making hard, specific choices and changes. In Matthew 5, Jesus said looking at a woman lustfully was adultery. And what did he say a man should do if lust is a problem?

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“If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away…And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away.”

Of course, Jesus was not speaking literally, but he was emphasizing the lengths we should be prepared to go for freedom.

So what are you willing to do? Here are the drastic steps some men have taken.

Whatever It Takes

Recovering porn addict Mike told The Captain of Your Soul, “I could choose to say, 'No. This isn’t ‘okay. This isn’t what I want. This is not what I want for my future. I want a family one day, I want true happiness, I don’t want to feel this ugly turmoil that I have to medicate out of my life. I want to be FREE!”

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“I stood up from off the corner of my bed, and I crane-kicked my computer into the wall. I then reclaimed it from the wall and slammed it onto the ground before me as hard as I could.”

“Then I lifted my knee high and crushed my heel down on the side-lying computer, bending its transparent style case into the motherboard. I proceeded to just stomp my heel into the computer almost violently until things stopped bending…My adrenaline was pumping, it was an intense moment, but I couldn’t hold back the feeling that angels were rejoicing in the Heaven’s right above me.”

“When I resolved to quit (…again) I determined to throw everything I had at it. …Within the next 12 hours I turned my cell phone into my parents who then lived a few blocks away. I was phone-less, and computer‐less within nightfall, and I immediately began changing my environment.”

Ridding your home of porn is vitally important to your success. But simply tossing out the devices that have been used will not prevent future relapse. Accountability goes a long way in the fight, but often, there is a deep-rooted struggle within. Be willing to deal with the underlying issues that drive you back into temptation.

Related Article: What Does Proactive Accountability Look Like?

Doing “whatever it takes” to conquer porn is more than just one grand action, but a way of applying freedom to every area of your life.

Fighting Temptation

Caleb Mathis, a pastor at Crossroads Church, related an interview he had with Sean, a recovering addict. Sean explained, “I figured pornography was a personal problem, so I should be able to solve it on my own. Nothing could be further from the truth. I wasn’t going to get myself over that hill.”

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“Instagram and Snapchat were big sources of temptation for me. It was so easy to find images there that would drive me back to watching porn.”

“I’ll be honest, I didn’t want to cut social media out. But I saw, so clearly, that it was my front door into porn. So I deleted both apps. It’s been one of the best choices I’ve ever made, but I honestly don’t regret it at all.”

“I recognized that porn was a stronger temptation when I was tired, so I removed all the technology from my bedroom. I started charging my phone in the kitchen and my laptop in a side room. It sounds lazy, but just that distance was enough for me to not get up in the middle of the night when lust was after me.”

“Probably most important, ask God for help. I believe that He was proud of my effort to choose freedom and I knew that I needed his power to make it. I remember praying to Him once, out of desperation, ‘I don’t care anymore. Do anything you want. Just get me out of this.’ Once I got to that point, and I believed He wanted my success, nothing else mattered but killing this thing.”

Confessing your struggle to other men is crucial. The enemy has you backed into a corner, pouring guilt, shame, and condemnation into your life. But God created us for fellowship, not isolation.

How Bad Do You Want It

David Risa of Active Christianity noted, “The question is, how badly do you want to be free? Is living in slavery to your impure desires a mere inconvenience, or have you really come to the point where enough is enough? The key is to get a furious, seething, indignant hatred against this sin…"

"How can you fight something that you don’t really hate? How can you utterly destroy something that is barely more than an “inconvenience?”

Mark Denison, D.Min. and co-founder of There’s Still Hope, wrote, “We only find healing when we are truly desperate. When the pain of pornography and shame of acting out are painful enough, when they cripple us, only then are we ready. We must be desperate.”

“For the person who is hooked on porn, he must die to himself and surrender to God.”

“Those of us who have risked everything at the altar of our addictions are the definition of sick people. But there’s still hope for each of us. Jesus is for addicts, more than any person who ever lived. You can get well, but only if you do it His way. In desperation you’ll find hope, in death you’ll find healing, and in disclosure you’ll find a life you have only dreamed of.”

Allowing God to renew your mind is going to require relinquishing control to every portion of your life. In His great love for us, God not only wants to see us set free but also wants to build our character. Allow Him to mold you, transform you, and equip you to the man that He has called you to be.

Work Smarter Not Harder

Are you ready to give it your everything? For many of us who’ve struggled with porn, we spent so much energy in pursuing our addiction.

We spent copious amounts of time, putting it before our jobs and money. We even prioritized it over our own family and friends. Are you now ready to take that same energy in pursuing your recovery and freedom?

By now you may have realized that making big promises and just trying harder isn’t working. To break free you have to be prepared to do whatever it takes. At the core, that means complete surrender to God. Hand over the reigns. Admit that everything you’ve tried, despite your best of intentions, hasn’t worked. Fall at His feet and humbly ask Him to work a miracle in you.

Related Article: When Trying Harder Isn’t Enough

He gave it all for you on the cross, and He continues to shower that grace on you through your addiction as you begin to step forward into freedom.

Take The First Step

If you are truly ready to do whatever it takes to break free from pornography, the 10-week cinematic production Conquer Series has helped millions of men around the world just like you develop a porn-free lifestyle.

Each video includes powerful testimonies, scientific evidence, solid Biblical teaching, and military reenactments. An interactive study guide and online journal are also available to help you stay focused on your recovery and avoid relapse.

Conquer Series Small Groups are highly recommended. These groups consist of godly men who have personally battled pornography. They encourage and support each other through their recovery journeys.

Abram Johnston in Montpelier, Ohio wrote, “I discovered porn when I was 8 years old and was held captive to it for the last 20 years. I did everything in my power to break free from this. I opened up to pastors and counselors, went through rigorous programs, and disciplined myself to read the Bible and pray everyday. I even chose to study addictions counseling in college because I knew that I wanted to help others, but really I wanted to learn the skills to help myself.”

Johnston goes on to say,

“This journey led me last year to the Conquer Series which helped me to intentionally walk through this healing with other men, instead of trying to do it on my own. I can now say that I have been clean longer now than I have been in 20 years, and I’m so excited to step into a role of helping other men find this freedom.”

Are you ready to engage in the battle for your victory over porn?