Justin escaped the pull of porn
I grew up in a loving and sheltered Christian home. When I turned 11 some kids from school were joking about porn. I had no idea what it was. Curiosity got the best of me and I searched that term on the family computer. That one Internet search stole my innocence and began what would be more than a decade of being caught in the vice grip of pornography. My mother, of all people, was the first person to discover that I had been using our home computer to view pornography, because I had yet to discover how to clear computer history. It killed me to see how much it hurt her that I would do that, but it wasn’t enough to make me stop — only get better at hiding.
My life became marked by late nights watching porn and broken relationships. I drifted from God and it seriously damaged the way that I interact with women. Although I had vowed to remain pure until marriage, that ideal vanished in high school. Sexual integrity had lost all meaning. In fact, I no longer recognized my life. I hated what porn and lust had made me.
Fortunately, in college, by the grace of the Lord, I was lead to Proven Men. I had already started making some changes in my life, yet something was still missing. I could not escape the constant pull of porn. During the first week of going through the Proven Men study my eyes were opened and my heart immediately began to change. Ironically, it was the Proven Men study that taught me to pray to God. It was only by doing the study and meeting with an accountability partner that I became open and honest in my prayers and relationships. Slowly the Lord started breaking down the barriers that I had built up around my heart and I began to allow people to get closer to me; even letting them into the deepest chambers of my heart. After finishing the 12-week study I could clearly see changes in my life, and the intimacy that I was hopelessly searching for through porn was now being replaced with intimacy with Christ. I became on fire for God again.
This new passion also fueled a desire to help other men just like me; men that want freedom from porn or sex addiction but don’t know where to turn. I picked up the Proven Men leader’s guide for groups and started holding small Proven Men groups on campus. I also picked up the Proven Men guide for two men and started meeting with men one-on-one with my college buddies. Although I am still in college and don’t have life all figured out, I was able to immediately start journeying with others and pointing them down the proven path because the Proven Men study changed my life and the Proven Men guides are so easy to use.
I believe strongly that God lead me to Proven Men with the intentions to use me to impact others, and to help them break the chains of pornography. I have already seen the lives of men drastically changed through this study and I recommend this study for anyone struggling with pornography, masturbation, lust, and fantasy.
My relationship with Christ has never been stronger than it is now, and I know that I will only continue to grow in my relationship with God. This can be your story too, if you follow the proven path.