Scott Stubbert on Freedom

My name is Scott Stubbert. I am a believer in Jesus Christ who happens to struggle with a sexual addiction. I have battled with this since I was nine years old. Over time, an occasional pleasure became an addiction and ruled my life. As I find freedom from my addiction, I continue to find healing for my hurts, habits and hang-ups. As a pastor, I desire for others to experience the same healing.

Hurts
Growing up, I felt different from other kids because of my dyslexia. I spent twice as much time doing school work and felt people looked down on me. I was not a part of the “in” crowd and felt rejected. I was picked on regularly, which caused deep pain in my life. I thought my parent's struggles were my fault; if I were only good enough, I though that they would get better.

We all have hurts we must face. King David had some hurts in his life. He had to deal with the death of his best friend, Jonathan, and the death of his newborn son, which was caused by David’s sin. There were incest, murder and affairs in his family.

When Mary and Martha lost their brother, Jesus came to them and saw the pain in their lives. He had compassion on them and raised Lazarus from the dead. What hurt do you have that needs Jesus’  compassion and healing?

Habits
I have had many bad habits in my life. The one that brought the most pain is my addiction to pornography. I fought this battle for almost 20 years, and I was tired. I was 9 when I started, and did not find freedom from this habit until I was 27.

The Israelites had a habit of complaining and whining, especially through the wilderness with Moses.

Jonah had the same habit of complaining, but even more, he kept running from God. He became bitter and let this bitterness destroy him.

On the other hand, John Mark ran from God but was restored and found grace. God used him in many ways because of this. The reality is, we all sin. What habits have you formed that are destroying your life?

Hang-ups
I have the problem of letting people rent space in my head. I give them more power than they deserve. After a conflict, I will dwell on that conversation for days, even staying up at night I thinking of what I might have said.

The Bible tells us about someone who had this same hang-up–Pilot. He cared too much about what others thought of him. Pilot could not set Jesus free, even though he found no guilt in Him. Today, we call that peer pressure. Paul had a thorn in the flesh. He prayed for freedom, but he kept getting caught on it. What hang-ups keep snagging you?