Habits for Healing with God

Excerpt: Habits for Healing with God

Course: Freedom From Pornography

Speakers: Matthias Barker

Healing Wounds and Delight in God’s Presence

For some of you, this course might reveal a profound truth: your struggle isn’t merely a lack of willpower. It’s animated by a wound, a trauma, a core need that hasn’t been seen or healed.

Shifting Your Perspective

Perhaps you came seeking strategies to ‘get serious,’ but you’re realizing it’s not about a lack of faith or a personal flaw. It’s about addressing the underlying wounds that drive your behavior. This reorientation is crucial. You need to solve the problems your actions are trying to address, albeit with the wrong solutions.

Two Pillars of Recovery

This might involve seeking therapy or mentorship to directly address past traumas. Alongside this, reaffirming your connection with God is vital. He is your stability, safety, and source of healing.

Balancing Grace and Effort

We must hold two truths simultaneously: Jesus has secured our salvation through His effort, and we are invited to participate in the life of the Kingdom through practical routines and practices. This isn’t about earning salvation, but about enjoying it.

Transforming Spiritual Practices: From Obligation to Delight

What practices help you experience God’s presence? Consider transforming your approach to scripture and prayer.

Scripture: Shift from obligation to delight. See it as a conversation with God, learning His voice and recognizing His presence.

Prayer: Move beyond confession and penance. Delight in what Christ has accomplished. Let God into every thought, discerning His voice from attachment wounds.

Feasting and Community

Explore practices of enjoyment, like feasting and community. These are spiritual disciplines, ways to nourish your soul. Instead of deprivation, consider intake of righteous things.

Nourishing Your Soul

Focus on attending to your wounds and delighting in God’s presence. Embrace practices like shared meals and hospitality. Observe the effect on your heart.

Conclusion

Overcoming pornography isn’t just about behavioral change. It’s about holistic healing—addressing wounds, embracing God’s love, and finding joy in His presence and community. By shifting our focus from self-criticism to delight, we can create lasting change and experience the fullness of God’s restorative power.

If you like the content, you can continue in a few different ways…

See the outline below and check out other sections from the FFP course.

Take the full small group course to your church community! The first course your church runs is free! Reach out to us here to learn how.

Connect with a Share The Struggle Coach for one-on-one support. Let’s face it, some of us have tried kicking this thing, and we’ve had no luck. It’s time to start looking toward forms of support that can help us see and feel the beautiful life God has in store for us.

Part 1: Stories of Struggle

Session 1: What is the Struggle?

Video: Introduction: Freedom from Pornography

Video: Stories of Struggle with Matthias and Ryan

Video: Healing Prayer to Break Chains

Topics: Early Exposure and Unseen Wounds

Session 2: The People

Video: Brittni’s Story

Video: Humanizing the Struggle

Video: Safeguard your Life from Porn; Warfare Prayer to Break the Chains

Topics: The Broken People Who Make Porn; Taking Action Against Using Porn

Part 2: The Roots of Dependency versus Design

Session 3: How Does This Dependency Begin?

Video: Ripping the Veil off a Dark Industry

Video: What’s in the Search Bar

Video: Exploring Wounds through Attachment Style

Video: Exposing the Lies of the Sexual Revolution

Topics: The Truth about the Industry; What’s Driving Your Porn Use

Session 4: Biblical Roots

Video: Knowing Your Enemies

Video: Rejecting Synthetic for Authentic; Looking for Patterns and Capturing Thoughts

Video: Inner Healing Prayer for Pornography

Topics: Three Enemies; Gypsy Moth Mating Disruption; Inner Healing Prayer

Part 3: Reconnecting and Reattaching

Session 5: Reconnecting With An Authentic God

Video: The Healing Power of the Gospel

Video: Habits for Healing with God

Video: The Three-Part Bible Formula for Freedom

Topics: How God Sees You; Wild Mustangs; Learn the Formula for Success

Session 6: Working On Self

Video: Breaking the Addiction-Shame Cycle

Video: Creating Infrastructure for Healing

Video: The Neuroscience of Addiction; What Porn Does to Your Brain

Topics: Judgement and Shame; Visceral Reactions; Your Brain’s Reaction

Session 7: Working With Others

Video: Practices for Building Community; Relationships of Trust

Video: How to Find Good Accountability

Topics: Communities; Who to Trust; Action Before Failure

Session 8: Healing With A Spouse

Video: Providing Helpful Accountability; Confess the Temptation, Not the Mistake

Topics: Being a Safe Listener; Sharing Safely; Listening Triad

Share the Struggle Courses are topical expert led video courses to help you understand life’s greatest struggles and provide you with tools for navigating them. Moreover, STS courses create a space for you to connect with others struggling with similar things, experience belonging, and encounter God’s nearness in a place of wilderness in your life (pain, confusion, healing journey). Want to start a group at your church? Reach out to us here to learn how.

Here at Share The Struggle we believe Jesus is present with us in the middle of our pain and mess, and it is in that place that we often experience and encounter Jesus most deeply.

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We invite you to explore our resources, share your journey, and find the support you need to overcome the struggles you face.

Share The Struggle is an initiative of Taming Mustangs, a 501(c)3) Non-Profit