Satan is the prince of the kingdom of darkness. (See Revelation 16:10.) He wins his battles in the dark. It was when the simple young man was lured by his lust to the harlot’s house “in the black and dark night” that she accosted him and led him as an ox to his slaughter (see Proverbs 7:6–10). Paul warns us to “have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them” (Ephesians 5:11). On the other hand, God promises that:
“If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin [including lust]” (I John 1:7).
The most powerful way to conquer lust with light is to expose our deeds to the light as explained in the following testimony given by a man named Paul.
“At the age of 8 I was introduced to pornography. By age 18, I was controlled by lust. Two weeks before marriage I shared all my past failures with my fiancée, except for a recent defeat. This set me up for years of failure.
“I knew it was wrong to hide my periodic defeat, but guilt, fear, and shame kept me bound. The more I hid the more I failed. No longer was it once a year, but many, many times. I was also having huge financial problems. I could not lead my family in any way. I was disconnecting from my wife, and our home life was in shambles. Yet, I wouldn’t believe it had anything to do with my secret lust.
“After several years, I purposed to confess my hidden sins. My wife was shocked and devastated. We set out to bring everything to light with no minimizing. For the next week, we slept very little and allowed the Lord to reveal every sin. We would confess it as sin to the Lord and each other and ask for forgiveness. Then we would renounce it and ask God to take back the ground we had given to the enemy.
“During these seven days, I also went to my children and confessed my sin and asked for their forgiveness. At that time I broke emotionally and wept like a baby. It was then that I learned that each of my children was also struggling with sexual temptations. We went through the same steps with them and there is now incredible freedom.”
The reason a man must tell his wife about his sins is that at marriage she is given authority over his body. (See I Corinthians 7:4.)
Paul’s testimony is one of many similar reports of how God is releasing men from deep-seated lust when they openly confess it. Scripture promises, “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy” (Proverbs 28:13). Let’s purpose now to conquer lust with light and ask God for grace, wisdom, and courage to do it.
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