Pornography Temptation: A 4-Step Rescue Plan

Hey, if you're reading this right now, you're probably standing at the edge of something. You feel it building. And I want you to know something before we go any further: you are not stuck. You have not lost yet. This battle is not over.

If you're in the middle of intense pornography temptation right now, you don't need a long article. You need a plan you can execute in the next sixty seconds. So here it is: four urgent steps. Not eventually, right now, while you're still standing here reading this.

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Step One: Speak the Truth to Yourself

Right now, you cannot afford to just listen to yourself. You have to start talking to yourself.

There's a difference. Listening to yourself sounds like: “I always blow it. I always fail. It's never going to be any different than this.” That's not truth, that's a narrative. And if you keep listening to it, it'll walk you right where it wants you to go.

David knew this fight. In the middle of his own darkness, he stopped listening and started preaching to himself. He said: “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God” (Psalm 42:5). He didn't ask his soul for an opinion. He gave it an order.

So here's what I want you to say, out loud, right now:

“I am a son of God in complete victory over the dark powers and lies of the enemy. He is a liar. He's telling me right now that I'll be satisfied if I give in and go look at pornography. I know that's a lie. So instead, I'm going to move immediately toward what's actually true.”

Step Two: Speak to Someone Else

The enemy's lies only survive in the dark. So we're going to expose it.

Stop reading right now, not in five minutes, not after “just one more scroll.” Stop, and text someone. One person. A friend, an accountability partner, your pastor, whoever you've got. Here's exactly what to say:

“Hey, I am being tempted right now, and I am really in danger. I'm just texting to let you know that I'm not going to give in, but I really want you to pray for me right now. You can call if you want. But I definitely want you to check in with me tomorrow and see if I won the victory in this battle.”

Send it. Then come back.

I've done exactly this myself in a moment of real temptation, and I was stunned by how fast the weight actually lifted once I did. I've told the full story of that night here, if you want to see what I mean. Don't be surprised if it works faster for you than you expect too.

Step Three: Cry Out to God

There's a moment in the Old Testament where a king named Jehoshaphat found himself surrounded in the middle of a battle, enemy soldiers closing in on him specifically. Scripture says he cried out, and the Lord moved to help him and drew his attackers away (2 Chronicles 18:31). He didn't have time for a long prayer. He didn't drop his sword to do it. He cried out in the middle of the fight, still standing his ground.

That's you, right now. You can cry out to God in a single sentence. You don't have to get it eloquent. You don't have to drop your armor to do it. Just don't stop fighting while you do it.

Step Four: Move Away From Pornography Temptation

Now get up and move. Seriously, get out of the room. Go somewhere else in the house and do 10 squats and 10 push-ups, right there on the spot. Or better yet, get outside and take a really energetic ten-minute walk, and pray while you walk. Paul told Timothy to “flee youthful lusts” (2 Timothy 2:22), not resist in place, not white-knuckle it where you're standing. Flee. Get your feet moving and your blood pumping in a different direction, physically, right now.

You don't win this battle by standing still in the danger zone hoping the temptation gets bored and leaves. You win it by walking away from it, and while your body's moving, let your mouth keep praying.

You're Not Fighting This Alone

So here's where you stand: you've spoken truth over the lie. You've told someone. You've cried out to God. And you've moved your feet. That's not weakness, that's exactly what a son of God in victory looks like in the middle of a battle.

Most guys who lose this fight are trying to fight it alone. You don't need to be that guy.

Most guys only ever reach for help once they're already standing in the danger zone. If you want to get ahead of moments like this before they even start:

Read: The Armor of God for Fighting Pornography, a Daily Readiness Checklist

If pornography temptation is a recurring battle rather than a one-time moment, you don't have to keep fighting it solo. Join the online recovery community and get a band of brothers who will stand with you in this.