Struggling With Homosexual Desires

[GratefulOne]

Can a guy struggle with homosexual feelings and still be a Child of God? I accepted Jesus as my Saviour at age 8, but have struggled with this all my life. It has wrecked my assurance and peace. I do see some victories of which I praise God for. Has this caused me to be an Apostate or Reprobate? A pray not. When I read of Esua trading in his blessing for food I think of me. How can I overcome this?

[davidswife]

Grateful One, God loves you very much and it is His desire that you walk in purity and holiness. As Christians it's right to hate sin but always to love the sinner. I can't say that overnight you will be without these desires but I believe that the good Lord does not allow temptation so strong we can not overcome it, except that the lord provides a way of escape. I know there have been times when I prayed about a temptation I can look back and see that there was a way of escape. Remember that God forgives all sin. I know of one very godly man whose praise and worship ministry has blessed so many people. his name is Dennis Jernigan. He was delivered years ago from a homosexual lifestyle and has moved on to be a husband and father of a large family and a poweful witness for God. If you haven't heard his testimony and his music check it out. Last time I checked he had an active website. In some of my most difficult times that music has ministered to me. God bless you.

[silent one]

I know this is the men's meeting room, but I saw your post and wanted to let you know I am praying for you and thinking about you. There is a good book by Erma Bombeck about her son's struggle and eventual win over homosexuality. I just can't remember the name of the book but I bet you could find it on the net. She is very funny and writes with a wonderful Christian viewpoint. God's blessing and strength to you.

[Juliebeth]

I know this is the men's meeting room, but I saw your post and wanted to let you know I am praying for you and thinking about you. There is a good book by Erma Bombeck about her son's struggle and eventual win over homosexuality. I just can't remember the name of the book but I bet you could find it on the net. She is very funny and writes with a wonderful Christian viewpoint. God's blessing and strength to you.

I just wanted to add that on the main RR page Todd has answered a few questions on this topic in the FAQ (frequently asked questions) section. God bless you brother!

[Nightelf]

GratefulOne, all Children of God struggle with sin.... and that's what a homosexual desire is, is temptation to sin. If you accepted Christ, you are a new creation in Him. That doesn't mean that temptations all go away, however. Keep praying for victory over this.... and know that we all struggle with some "stronghold" in our lives...... repentance, constant prayer and comittment to walk in the Spirit will help you overcome, and perhaps an accountability partner will help too. God bless you, we'll pray for you too.

[MrMannn]

http://www.exodusinternational.org/c...page/Itemid,1/
Here is one site that specializes in outreach to gays. There are others, this is the only I could find on short notice.

It is possible to overcome this sin. If you need counseling in this area, it's far better to deal with professionals who've dealt with this before.

[LookingUplinda]

I have a friend who is gay, he is not at the point of turning his life away from it, but I can see he is not happy, has been in abusive relationships. I am curious to know how often this lifestyle is a result of being molested as a child. Did that happen to you? My Friend was 7 or 8 years old when a cousin molested him. He said he never told his mom because he was afraid she'd go bonkers on the cousin.I just cannot even imagine what this does to a child of 7 or 8. The child who molested him ( young teen)must have had the same experience at some point. I'm just curious if you had that happen? Not saying it is always the reason.

[saved by Grace]

Can a guy struggle with homosexual feelings and still be a Child of God? I accepted Jesus as my Saviour at age 8, but have struggled with this all my life. It has wrecked my assurance and peace. I do see some victories of which I praise God for. Has this caused me to be an Apostate or Reprobate? A pray not. When I read of Esua trading in his blessing for food I think of me. How can I overcome this?

:sad everyone struggles with a besetting sin of some kind or another.i am :praying for you.

[Musician in His house]

If I may, dear one, let me say that everyone who has responded to you so far has given you sound, Biblical advice. I'm not a man, but like Silent One, I felt led to respond to your post.

You relate that you have struggled with this all your life. Have you officially, completely given this issue over to God, or do you still try to take it back and wrestle with it on your own? As surprising as it may seem, sometimes we don't turn over complete control to God on issues, but we try to work them out in our own strength and our own timing. When we do that, we mess up royally most of the time (trust me, I know whereof I speak). Like many things we deal with in life, the only one who has COMPLETE CONTROL over ANYTHING is God. In and of ourselves, we can do nothing. Only in the strength of God can we overcome anything at all. Homosexual desires, just like other tendencies to sin, are part of our sinful nature. Because you are a Christian and have Jesus in your heart, you are feeling the struggle more intensely, I think, because you know that the homosexual lifestyle is wrong. If you did not have Jesus in your heart, the Holy Spirit would not be convicting you so much, nor would Satan be attacking your spirit about it. Since Satan can't have your soul, he's gonna attack you in spirit and in mind, making you think that because you still have these feelings, there must be something wrong with you, that you're not "really" a Christian. Nothing could be further from the truth, dear one. This is a spiritual battle which you need to counter with the Word of God. Remember that even the Apostle Paul had his "thorn in the flesh" that he prayed 3 times for God to remove, yet God saw fit to not remove it. We don't know what that "thorn" was, and I've heard it's good that Paul never revealed it, because we all have "thorns" by which we could relate to Paul.

That doesn't mean you CAN'T pray for God to remove these desires from you, but there's no guarantee He will. Still, you can be certain that God has His reasons for everything we go through, and every time you have those thoughts or desires, you can stop them pretty quickly by calling out to God, either audibly or in a prayer. You can quote Bible verses that would be appropriate, out loud if you are where you are able. You can tell God you are having thoughts/desires that are not of Him, and ask him to remove these thoughts from you. Tell him Satan is attacking your mind and your spirit and ask Him to help you.

Here are some links that might help you:

http://www.openbible.info/topics/strongholds

http://www.greatbiblestudy.com/spiritual_warfare.php

http://www.greatbiblestudy.com/dealing_with_guilt.php

[Watchingthesky]

IMHO, it is not a sin to be tempted - we are ALL tempted with/by something. My struggle for 20+ years is pornography, for example. Just as we are in the flesh, so shall we be tempted by the flesh. The world is fallen and we are, too, corrupted.

It is a sin to give into the temptation. We are to resist and put our trust and faith in Our Risen Savior. He can overcome anything. And even if we don't understand why Our Father doesn't just remove the temptation from us -- and He certainly could -- we must trust that, in the end, it is for our benefit and more importantly, for HIS GLORY.

And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
- 2Cr.12:9

God bless you, brother!