One Day at a Time

"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." (Matthew 6:34)

These words were spoken by Jesus and are part of what is called the Sermon on the Mount. From this part of the sermon Jesus is teaching us to live one day at a time. That concept is found in all 12 Step literature and is an essential concept to our recovery. In fact for the addict first coming out of sexual addiction it might need to be living one hour at a time.

To view our recovery and the time it takes as a whole can be overwhelming. For me it has been 4 years and 8 months. At this point I have a long history of sobriety and the pull of sexual sin is only an occasional struggle. Not so in the beginning. After the stage of remorse and confession there was a lull in temptation and in my depression sexually acting out was the last thing I wanted to do. However, as time passed the struggle returned with a fury as I was trying to go through withdrawal.

If I had thought...wow just 36 more months of this and I will feel free...I would have never believed I could go that long withstanding the barrage of sexual temptations. The good news is I did not have to. I just needed to deal with my addiction one day at a time...and sometimes one moment at a time. If I can get through the next 5 minutes I can make it through the hour then the next and eventually the day.

Often the issue comes down to how do I get through the next 5 minutes? The wrong choice is to bear down and white knuckle it in your own strength. How many times has that failed. For me it was countless. There are only two ways of getting through the next five minutes of a serious temptation.

1. Call out to Jesus - Jesus through the Holy Spirit has the power to help us defeat temptation. His first answer to you will be simple - "Flee!!!" Do whatever you need to do to get out of the place or situation that is tempting you. You might be in your car outside of an adult bookstore praying please Jesus give me the power to not go in there. And He is saying just start your car and drive away you bonehead!

2. Call your Sponsor of accountability partner. Why do you think God invented cell phones? Whip that baby out and call for help. Early in my recovery we called these fire drills. We called each other on a daily basis just to develop the habit of calling. Is anything on fire? Make the call and keep calling until you reach someone who can pray with you.

I have been in recovery for almost 1700 days and the value of living one day at a time has been crucial for my recovery. More on this later...