The Tender Spot

Proverbs 6:27-28 Can a man carry fire next to his chest and his clothes not be burned? Or can one walk on hot coals and his feet not be scorched?

Growing up I only wore shoes during the summer time when I was forced to. I had to wear them to church but they came off as soon as the preacher released us. My feet became so hard and callused that I could walk on about any surface and feel no pain. Rocks and hot asphalt didn’t stand a chance in defeating my feet. (Sorry for the bad pun) Every now and then some sharp object would find a tender spot on one of my feet which resulted in stitches and me having to wear shoes until it healed. As soon as it healed, I was back to my bare footing.

Throughout my career in mental health and counseling, it seems to be my role to deal with individuals and families who were in major crisis. This tremendous damage having usually occurred because of a lingering and unaddressed sin issue. This has often been the case in addressing sexual sin within the church. In talking with men during a workshop most will describing having points along the way where God had convicted then of their sexual sin. In words, just like my childhood hardened feet, God hit a tender spot and it hurt. This conviction soon faded and they eventually returned to their sin only to have it progress. Some returned because the pain went away. Others returned because they believed they had no options for help and healing. What if in that moment of conviction, there was an answer and avenues for help?

I use the words preemptive and proactive quite a bit. One of the primary functions of the Blessing of the Thorn Course is to provide preemptive and proactive help for when God hits the tender spot of your sexual sin. You don’t have to experience major loss and pain before you seek help. Maybe, God is convicting you of your lust problem today before it grows into an obsessive drive to consume pornography. Maybe, God is convicting you of your porn use before it ventures into sending inappropriate messages to an attractive coworker. Scar tissue is hardened dead tissue. The same is true when we don’t respond to God’s convicting moments. We harden in those areas. The good news is our God can take what is dead and bring it back to life.

Have you missed God’s moments of conviction? Are you being convicted right now? Don’t wait, make excuses or ignore His loving prompt. Don’t let that tender spot of his loving touch become hardened.

If you are ready to respond to God’s conviction regarding your secret struggle with sexual sin then visit our Courses and Workshops tab at perfecthope.org.

Jonathan Jones, President and Founder of Perfect Hope Ministry

To view a 1 minute clip from the Blessing of the Thorn teaching regarding setting up accountability, click here