You are not alone.
“You can trust us to stick with you through thick and thin — to the bitter end. And you can trust us to keep any secret of yours — closer than you keep it yourself. But you cannot trust us to let you face trouble alone, and go off without a word. We are your friends, Frodo.”
— Merry, The Fellowship of the Ring
You aren’t suffering on your own. You are on a journey with people who love you and a God who died for you.
On this journey one of the hardest things is feeling like you aren’t making progress. The mountain is so big and sometimes our progress feels so small, or like nothing at all. This mountain isn’t climbed by taking a helicopter ride to the top, jumping out and standing on the summit. Nope. It’s done one step at a time. Each small “no” you say to evil is one of those steps. Eventually, you look back and can see your amazing process. Here are examples of other Godly men, fighting evil, just like you are. Their courage will give you courage.
Breaking the Cycle
There are two places to break the Cycle of Addiction (below). 1) After Acting Out we can stop Despair from taking over by going to Jesus in our pain and failure. Jesus loves us so much that there is nothing we can do to make Him love us any more or any less. Seeing and believing Jesus’ love for us gives us the power to stop, free ourselves from what evil says about us, and begin to redefine ourselves of Sons of the King. 2) Once we have broken Despair, the second place (and the hardest) to break the Cycle of Addiction is when we are in Preoccupation. This is where we can stop, before Ritual, and begin to ask Evil questions because we know that Jesus is with us. We can boldly look evil int he eye and ask: “Why evil are you here? Why here? Why now? Why do you think I will listen to your lies today?” Opening up here with a trusted group of Climbers is where the root of so much long lasting change can take root.
Breaking the Cycle after Acting Out
After Acting Out we can stop Despair from taking over by going to Jesus in our pain and failure. Jesus loves us so much that there is nothing we can do to make Him love us any more or any less. Seeing and believing Jesus’ love for us gives us the power to stop, free ourselves from what evil says about us, and begin to redefine ourselves of Sons of the King.
These are examples of Godly men who are showing confession, to stop Despair, after going Inner Circle.
Breaking the Cycle in Preoccupation
Once we have broken Despair, the second place (and the hardest) to break the Cycle of Addiction is when we are in Preoccupation. This is where we can stop, before Ritual, and begin to ask Evil questions because we know that Jesus is with us. We can boldly look evil int he eye and ask: “Why evil are you here? Why here? Why now? Why do you think I will listen to your lies today?” Opening up here with a trusted group of Climbers is where the root of so much long lasting change can take root.
These are examples of Godly men who are showing confession, to stop Ritual, after when they are in Preoccupation. The courage to send these texts is unbelievable. The reward is just as amazing.
Example 1
Example 2
Example 3
Example 4
Example 5
Outting Yourself After Years of Sobriety
Even after years of sobriety, we still need other climbers. One of the greatest ways evil can open the door again is through our over confidence and lack of humility. We are all vulnerable this side of heaven. We all need help. Our walls always need reenforced. We always need others in our lives to help us guard our hearts and stay focused on Jesus and His amazing work in our lives.
