Review Michael John Cusick - Surfing for God: Discovering the Divine Desire Beneath Sexual Struggle

Rather than condeming fellow believers for their sexual struggles and covering his own, Michael John Cusick (1964) shares his own story in Surfing for God: Discovering the Divine Desire Beneath Sexual Struggle. He goes all the way and offers hope. G.K. Chesterton is quoted as “Every time a man knocks on a brothel door, he is really searching for God.” Since

25% of search engine requests are for pornography – 68 million per day
70% of the hits on Internet sex sites occur between 9-5 on business computers
Over 50 percent of evangelical pastors report they viewed pornography last year
Over 70% of Christian men report viewing pornography in the last year

surfing for porn is not just a ghost-story, a heathen practice or easy to get rid of. Cusick has 20 years of counseling experience after becoming free (a long process) in 1994 of his own sexual struggles. He even changed his name from Mike (then a cheater, an adulterer) to Michael (be like God). The author helps you to understand how porn struggles begin, what to do to prevent them, and most importantly, how to overcome them once compulsive behavior presents itself. From a downward soul snare cycle to a soul care highway. It’s a path that consists of so much more than sin management. You also need to know that your masculine soul is deeper and truer than your desire for porn. Part of you longs to walk intimately with God.

Real Christians know they’re not perfect. The apostle Paul is quoted as doing the things he doesn’t want and vice versa. following Jesus consists of so much more than trying harder and white-knuckling your way through it. In part one, Cusick demonstrates why struggles with porn are really not about sex. He identifies the mistaken reasons men give for why they struggle with porn. The filthyness, devilish lies and shaky grounds to build human relationships are made explicit. That’s necessary to seek a cure for the right problem.

Brokenness is essential on the path from lust to love. It’s a matter of the heart, and so the author uncovers the inner workings of our brains and transmitters like dopamine as well. Could a passion for God inside you run deeper than my desire for sex and porn? The gospel of Jesus Christ: a heart transplant. It is possible to become free and whole. This includes learning about the life of Christ within you and how this is nurtured through solitude and attentiveness. You will learn about how to care for your soul and meet deep God-given needs in healthy ways. And finally, you will understand God’s patterns for bringing about change. Accessibility over popular accountability approaches. We need a circumcision of the heart.

Michael Cusick took a lot of illustrations in the books of C.S. Lewis, Tim Keller, Henri Nouwen and Peter Scazzero’s Emotionally Healthy Sprituality.

God longs to transform your lust into strength. It won’t happen, however, through more religious effort. It won’t happen by recruiting one more accountability partner. It won’t even happen just by reading this book and deciding that this time you’re going to be more serious about avoiding temptation. Choosing life instead means believing that your heavenly Father has a better way of doing your life than you. God faithfully pursued Adam, even as he disobeyed, hid, and lost his bearings. And God is faithfully pursuing you. Where are you?

Watch an interview with the author below. You can read a free sample chapter as well, access Michael John Cusick’s blog or surf for additional resources on http://surfingforgodbook.com.