I think sometimes we have to face hard facts. If he has tried everything and there is no change at all, we have to inevitably ask the question. Does he want to really be free of this sin?
I do not mean this harshly, I myself in the past have been as guilty as anyone else in this area.
But it seems he must have come to God in truth and not error for healing
Therefore however painful we have to face a certain fact
Would Christ let us down if we earnestly sought victory over any sin in the truth of grace and trusted him from the heart for deliverence from it?
We may say we desperately want deliverence, we may believe we are tortured and desperate and will go to any lengths to be healed.
Bjut inevitably if he has tried everything and is still not healed/has not overcome, do we say Christ has let him down? Or do we say, he may deep down not truly desire to be free of the sin
It seems to me there are only those two options left to consider
I apologise if the above in any way sounds harsh
May I give you an example from my own life? I think human experiance is always more valuable than just quoting scripture, I hope you would agree
As a teenager I came back to God when I was 19. I was really happy to be a Christian and began to understand the grace Paul so eloquently preached. But after an initial couple of months, I started to go backwards. I had been set in a very bad rut in my life, and despite the wonderful release I had in returning to God, the rut was still there. I think sometimes many overemphasise the victory withoutout the wobbles that inevitably go with it
I went to see many people to be prayed with and believed I was in earnestness to be free, but the rut was too deep, I was too ingrained in it
After a few months things went from bad to worse and I ended up in Borstal(a young person prison if you like) I cut my arms with glass and ended up in a padded cell
Now I was really desperate. I was 19 and this was where my life had taken me. I remember lying on the mattress on the floor(the only thing I was allowed in the cell) and I told God he could have my life, all of it, I no longer wanted to hold anything back from him.
Shorlty after that I was removed from ther padded cell and things changed for the better in my life dramatically. I almost sailed through Borstal, the rut went, and upon release I went to live in a Christian community. Whereas before Borstal I had been alone, with no confidence, staring at four walls at home, afraid even to go out, now I was living in a community of people, with confidence and people were actually wanting my advice on matters relating to their own life(I had never had this before, people had just dismissed what I said)
My life and the rut I was in had dramatically changed, I consider it a miracle
But it took me lying on a thin mattress in a padded cell to show me where I needed to be with God
Does any of this make sense to you? I had been for the counselling etc and believed I was desperate, but I had not given God first place in my life
