A blueprint to get out of lust - Part 2
(read this when you’re ready to fight)
In part 1 we diagnosed the problem of lust.
Your soul is starving. The devil whispers into your ears. And the battle is won or lost at the level of the thought, before your body ever gets involved.
Now here’s the basic framework (how to get out).
Five steps, every time.
Catch the thoughts captive.
This is the entrance to the castle. This is where Satan attacks. This is where you meet for battle.
Lust always begins as a thought (Matthew 5:28)
Train yourself to recognize it the moment it appears. The battle is won or lost in the first three seconds.
Interrupt the pattern.
Name it immediately. Always call it a lie of the enemy. Call it infidelity. Because that’s what it is. Flee from the occasion of sin; flee from the stimulus, the environment, the sensation.
The moment you start defending the thought as “a little self-love” (read this), you have already begun to lose.
You can:
Speak scripture out loud against it: 8 scriptures to speak against lust
Do an exorcism over yourself: “In the name of Jesus, I rebuke, renounce, and revoke all evil spirits of lust; pornography, masturbation, impurity, fantasy; and I send you to the foot of the cross for Jesus to dispose of you.”
Ask Our Lady to cleanse your memory from every impure image and your heart from every impure attachment.
She has never refused me that request.
“YOU SHALL NOT PASS” - LOTR
Replace the thought.
Don’t just cast it out. Fill the new void before something worse fills it.
Jesus warned us: an empty house doesn't stay empty for long (Matthew 12:43-45).
Romans 12:21 doesn’t say resist evil, it says overcome evil with good. Put your mind back on spiritual things which lift your soul upward. The body will follow.
Darkness cannot prevail against light. Darkness is not a force. It is an absence. Light simply enters, and darkness has no say against it. Look for the things that are true, good, and beautiful.
The Calling of St Matthew - Caravaggio
Follow up with the body.
Lust moves you inward, love brings you out of yourself. You cannot fully do both at once.
An underrated weapon: go serve someone in your family. Right now. Get busy giving yourself out for longer than you’d normally do.
Break your love of comfort. Shock your body. Do violence by cleansing your temple (John 2:14-16). Your body must follow your soul.
Cleansing of the temple - The Chosen
Feed the soul before the attack comes again.
This is the step everyone skips.
It is also why everyone keeps losing.
You cannot fight on an empty stomach. So feed your soul with what it was made for, or it starves. Feed it continuously and you’ll lose appetite for junk food.
Here’s a tip:
Prayer is not a technique. Prayer is becoming a longing for God. Become prayer. This is the state of saints in heaven. Walk continuously in the spirit, not in the way of the flesh (Galatians 5:16).
Take your daily bread. Receive the sacraments of Reconciliation and the Eucharist very regularly to help you stay on the path.
"One small bite is enough to fill the stomach of a grown man." - LOTR
The strategy of the saint:
Reject → Replace → Liturgize
(transform the moment into communion with God)
Use every temptation as a prompt to turn towards God instead of sin.
If you do this consistently, the devil unwillingly becomes your trainer towards holiness!
Every whisper becomes a bell calling you to prayer. Every attack trains you to stand on guard. Every ambush becomes an occasion of deeper union with God.
This is spiritual Aikido.
Turn his tactics against him.
And remember, none of this works by your own strength.
Your ability to refuse these suggestions come entirely from the power of Christ. By yourself, you can do no good (John 15:5). If your soul is not reoriented toward Him, your body alone has no power over evil (Romans 7:18).
Oh, and get a grandma to pray for you.
You’re not alone.
Take care,
Frank
