Cutting

Question:



I've been dealing with cutting for almost 4 years now and I stop for a couple weeks then start back. The longest I went was 143 days. I want to stop but sometimes I fall short and get stuck in the moment and want to cut. How do I stop cutting I want an answer and I know you can write it down or make red marks on your arm an even the To Write Love On Her Arms thing helps to but is there some sort of miricle answer I'm addicted to it and I don't think my mom understands.



Answer:



The addiction of cutting is not something that someone can understand if they haven't gone through it themselves. I honestly can't say that I can relate with you in dealing with self-injury, but I know about the power of strongholds. It sounds like you are very aware of alternatives to cutting and you have made valiant effort to stop this. I commend you on your resolve. What you are hoping for in a miraculous stopping of self-injury does not exist. It would be nice if I could say magic words and you would never deal with it again, but our life in Christ does not work like that. The struggle that you have is not with cutting, but with the longings of your heart.

Whenever you feel overwhelmed or the need to satisfy your desires, you run to a blade. These are what you do when you give into your desires. What Christ wants you to learn is to turn to Him. This is not something you decide to do when you are struggling. It's something you must do now, and learn to walk this life in the new creation He has made you. You can't think of turning to the Lord to help you stop cutting, because reality is cutting is just one struggle on this side of life. Turning to Christ has to do with coming to Him with YOU. You're thinking of stopping cutting as something you can do when coming to Christ has nothing to do with performance. He wants you to come to Him and just be real with Him. Open yourself to Him and let your guard down with Him. Let Him release the stuff you've held onto deep in your heart. As you allow Him to cleanse you from the inside out, He will teach you what it means to walk in victory and not just in "not cutting".

Don't forget, if you have a question you can send it to me at asktheyouthpastor@xtrlive.com plus you can talk to us tonight at www.studenthopeline.com.