No Quitting Allowed: How Tackling Impurity Will Strengthen Your Character

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

Matthew 5:8 (NIV)

When people have pure hearts, they see God working in their lives. As a result, quitting isn’t an option! But, when we lose sight of God, it becomes easy to quit because we don’t see how God is working to take care of us. This lack of God in our lives leads us to fill up on what the bible calls impurity to cope with our struggles in life.

What Is Impurity?

According to Merriam-Webster, impurity is defined as an unwanted substance that is found in something else and that prevents it from being pure. Impurity is anything that muddies our mental, emotional, or physical state. Impurity is also about choosing what feels good instead of what is good. Specific examples of impurity include pornography, false motives, cursing, and bitterness.

It boils down to a decision that each of us makes when faced with challenges and negative emotions. When school seems impossible, when relationships are distant, and when work feels like a dead end, we become filled with emotions that drive us to find relief. Fear, pain, anxiety, loneliness and disappointment are all emotional triggers that lead us to different places in search of comfort. Each of us choose to turn somewhere with what we feel. The question is, “Are we turning to God or to something else?”

Something Else

We all have our go-to forms of impurity that we rely on when emotions hit. They are the activities, thoughts or attitudes we count on to make us feel good when life feels bad. For me, pornography, overeating and sports have been the things I’ve relied on when I think life is too much to handle. The problem is these things leave me feeling guilty, empty and unsatisfied. What are your go-to ways of feeling good? How do they leave you feeling when the rush is gone? While indulging our senses may feel great in the moment, they don’t quench the thirst that rages in each of our hearts and souls. We hunger for something real and long lasting that will satisfy us through our most difficult times (Proverbs 19:22 NIV). While we may feel stuck in the patterns we’ve created and the habits we’ve settled for, there is a better way.

Turning To God

When you open your hand, you satisfy the hunger and thirst of every living thing. The Lord is righteous in everything he does; he is filled with kindness. The Lord is close to all who call on him, yes, to all who call on him in truth. He grants the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cries for help and rescues them.

Psalm 145:16-19 (NIV)

Turning to God isn’t as complicated as it may seem. It’s simply making Him the go-to option in our lives. It’s desiring to be close to Him and trusting Him to satisfy us. It’s telling Him how we feel about life, including the good, the bad and the ugly. It’s listening to Him (reading the bible) to guide and refresh us throughout the day. It’s drawing our strength and faith from Him instead of the things we usually go to for satisfaction. God knows that the only way we’ll be satisfied in life is when we’re connected to Him and He desires to meet our needs.

If you’re like me, you turn to something else instead of God more often than not. And you may be thinking that you can’t make the transition of turning to God over something else. The cool thing is, God doesn’t expect us to do this on our own. He knows we need friends to help us.

While David was at Horesh in the Desert of Ziph, he learned that Saul had come out to take his life. And Saul’s son Jonathan went to David at Horesh and helped him find strength in God.

I Samuel 23:15-16 (NIV)

Who is a spiritual friend you can ask for help? If no one comes to mind and you’d like to learn more, check out one of our 6 Bay Area locations to connect with people who are eager to help.