I read a great article yesterday about doing God’s will and asking for His help. The article said this:
…we can’t expect perfection from ourselves, but we can expect it from the Lord. If we ask Him for those elusive perfect days, He can give them to us. We only have to be wiling to do what we can do, whatever that may be. Make no mistake, we can go without pornography and masturbation for the rest of our lives. We don’t need to give up another day to satan. I have a strong testimony of that. Maybe the lustful thoughts and second glances might take some more time, and some refined effort and focus. But the Lord can can provide where we lack, regardless of the discrepancy. I truly believe that. Our Savior Jesus Christ can do for us what we cannot do for ourselves if we will but turn to him and simply try. I believe that if we start asking for those perfect days, the Lord will help us find them.
I really believe this.
I don’t feel my addiction is manifest as much anymore in pornography or masturbation. It is, however, manifest in lustful thoughts, being idle, wasting time, and having a lack of focus.
The CORE of this addiction is FEAR: fear of failure, fear of the unknown, fear of being lonely and not having friends, fear of not be accepted and respected by others, fear of falling back into my addiction.
That FEAR is, for me, what it’s all about.
In one of the talks in conference (or maybe it was one of the programs between conference) they talked about addiction and how addiction is the opposite of the Atonement; it’s Satan’s counterfeit to relying on Jesus Christ and His sacrifice. The addiction, we think, will give us peace and security, when in actuality it’s the ATONEMENT that will give us the true sense of security and long-lasting peace we are really looking for.
God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.–Reinhold Niebuhr
This is a great reminder and it goes right along with this scripture (Proverbs 3:5-8) –
5 Trust in the Lord with all thine bheart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
6 In all thy ways aacknowledge him, and he shall bdirect thy cpaths.
7 Be not awise in thine own eyes: bfear the Lord, and depart from evil.
8 It shall be ahealth to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones.
I think it’s interesting – verses 5 and 6 are commonly quoted, but verses 7 and 8 are also so important. Fear the Lord (not all the things I mentioned earlier about fear of failure, fear of success, fear of whatever). FEAR THE LORD, and depart from evil. And then it goes on to say this “shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones.”
What does “health to they navel” really mean?
…all obedient Saints will “receive health in their navel and marrow to their bones; and shall find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures” (D&C 89:18–19).
As I did more research on the subject, I found this suggestion too:
Arise Early
Arising early is not in Doctrine and Covenants 89, but rather in section 88: “Retire to thy bed early, that ye may not be weary; arise early, that your bodies and your minds may be invigorated” (v. 124).
My husband gets up for work at 5:00 a.m. In the past, I didn’t get up with him. I would sleep in, and I didn’t get up with my teenage sons either. At night I went to bed early, but my husband stayed up until 11:00 p.m. or later. I was worried about him because he would get sleepy when driving. We needed a change.
I decided to get up with my husband and have breakfast with him. Now we spend time together talking over breakfast. As a result, I am up now with my children before they go to school, and I send them off with prayers and hugs.
My husband is now going to bed early too. I find that my sleep, which had always been poor, has become much sounder, so I don’t need as much. It seems that many things are working better in my life because I strive to heed the counsel to “arise early.”
I really feel that this is one of the “will’s of God” that, if I focus on and commit to, all other things will improve too.
I have such a bad tendency to stay up late. When that happens, I’m grumpy and tired the entire next day. This effects how I treat the kids, it effects how I treat Becky, it effects my Spirit, which in turn effects my resiliency to fight off temptations to be idle, browse, and ultimately fall back into my addictions.
Here’s my new MM Mission Statement:
I, Nate, am committed to doing the will of my Heavenly Father. I know that as I do His will, I will be blessed both spiritually, physically, and temporally. These blessings will help me achieve my short and long-term goals. My short-term goals include the following:
- Go to bed by no later than 11:00 p.m.
- Arise at 7:00 or earlier
- Study the scriptures and words of the prophets every day
- Record my thoughts and feelings at AT.com
- Make time for personal prayer on a daily basis
- Exercise 3 times per week
- Hit my Q2 Financial Goal of $27,000 ($9,000 per month average)
- $360 per day average assuming 25 days in the month
I love my wife. I love my children. I love having the Spirit with me. I know that as I focus on accomplishing these goals, I will have the most happiness and be an influence for good.
I plan to print this out and read it every morning, mid-day and at the end of my work day.
I’ve seen the success of doing something like this in the past.
I know that submitting my will to God is the answer to ALL of life’s challenges, whether they are financial, physical, or spiritual.
I’m happy to write these feelings out and pray I can COMMITT to the process!
Nate
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