“Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from lustful desires, which wage war against your soul” (1 Peter 2:11).
Over my past ten years of sobriety, I have learned two things:
- Recovery is a war.
- Sobriety is a choice.
Recovery is a war. It never ends. We never get to the point when the enemy backs off and says, “You’ve come too far to fail. Have a great life!”
Sobriety is a choice. You have never come so far that you cannot fall, nor have you come so short that you cannot succeed. Sobriety is earned one day at a time. That will never change.
Recovery Step: Peter said lustful desires will “wage against your soul.” That is war. But he also said to “abstain from lustful desires.” That is a choice. Make that choice for today.
Author: Mark Denison
Mark and Beth Denison, married for 36 years, launched There’s Still Hope as a national movement to call men and women into lives of sexual integrity. Their ministry offers 90-day recovery plans for addicts and one-on-one and group coaching for addicts and their spouses. TSH also produces resources for pastors and churches to confront the porn epidemic that is destroying so many lives.
Dr. Denison was a senior pastor for over 30 years, NBA chaplain, and board chairman at Houston Baptist University three times. With a Master’s Degree in Addiction Recovery, Mark is a certified PSAP and active member of the American Association of Christian Counselors.
Mark has written four books on recovery: Porn in the Pew, 365 Days to Sexual Integrity, A 90-Day Recovery Guide, and 40 Days to Porn-Free Living. His latest book, Jesus on the 12 Steps, will be released later this year.
