Aww man! I was off for several months and I thought I got rid of it forever and then in just one hour I was tempted and fell and now I'm back to where I started :(
The best thing you can do is pray, just pray, before you do it, after you do it, even if you feel rotten, just pray. And if you stop, pray to thank God and ask for forgiveness and keep you away from the temptation.
You've just got to do what we all have to do with every sin.
Repent, ask God to help you get back on your feet, and carry on persevering. Sometimes we feel even worse because we think that we have let ourselves down, but actually that is pride. We can never remain holy on our own. Often just when we think we have a sin (not just this one) sorted out, God withdraws slightly because we are starting to trust in our own strength, and then in an hour or a moment we discover that we are actually still very weak.
We have not gone back to the beginning. We have fallen. But we must not seek God's help earnestly so that we do not allow this sin or any other to become habitual again.
Thank the Lord for showing you that you have no strength in your own self, he will lift you up and set you on your feet again if you repent and ask for his help. Thank him that over the past months he has given you grace enough, and trust that in the months ahead he will give you the same grace while you trust only in him and seek above all else to be standing in his presence.
Practically speaking, see what spiritual and environmental circumstances you were in which helped you fall, and see if there is a lesson to learn.
Comments
The best thing you can do is pray, just pray, before you do it, after you do it, even if you feel rotten, just pray. And if you stop, pray to thank God and ask for forgiveness and keep you away from the temptation.
Repent, ask God to help you get back on your feet, and carry on persevering. Sometimes we feel even worse because we think that we have let ourselves down, but actually that is pride. We can never remain holy on our own. Often just when we think we have a sin (not just this one) sorted out, God withdraws slightly because we are starting to trust in our own strength, and then in an hour or a moment we discover that we are actually still very weak.
We have not gone back to the beginning. We have fallen. But we must not seek God's help earnestly so that we do not allow this sin or any other to become habitual again.
Thank the Lord for showing you that you have no strength in your own self, he will lift you up and set you on your feet again if you repent and ask for his help. Thank him that over the past months he has given you grace enough, and trust that in the months ahead he will give you the same grace while you trust only in him and seek above all else to be standing in his presence.
Practically speaking, see what spiritual and environmental circumstances you were in which helped you fall, and see if there is a lesson to learn.
May the Lord strengthen you.
Father Peter
The best thing you can do is pray, just pray,