{"id":154,"date":"2026-02-15T07:40:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-15T15:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/onlychristy.com\/?p=154"},"modified":"2026-02-12T07:46:13","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T15:46:13","slug":"when-youre-trying-to-be-better-but-still-struggle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/onlychristy.com\/?p=154","title":{"rendered":"When You\u2019re Trying to Be Better but Still Struggle"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"683\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/onlychristy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/IMG_2446-683x1024.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-155\" srcset=\"https:\/\/onlychristy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/IMG_2446-683x1024.jpeg 683w, https:\/\/onlychristy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/IMG_2446-200x300.jpeg 200w, https:\/\/onlychristy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/IMG_2446-768x1152.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/onlychristy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/IMG_2446-1024x1536.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/onlychristy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/IMG_2446-1365x2048.jpeg 1365w, https:\/\/onlychristy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/IMG_2446-1067x1600.jpeg 1067w, https:\/\/onlychristy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/IMG_2446-scaled.jpeg 1707w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 683px) 100vw, 683px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><br><strong>Question:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pastor Christy, I try to be a better Christian every day but my weakness is the same as most men. For me it is your videos. I do not blame you because it is my fault and I take responsibility. Do you have any advice?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Answer:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>First, I respect your honesty. Most people hide their struggles. You are owning yours, and that already shows growth and maturity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Second, temptation is not the same as failure. Every human being has areas where they feel pulled. Christianity is not about pretending those pulls do not exist. It is about learning how to live with awareness, discipline, and grace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If something triggers you in a way that pulls you away from the life you want to live, the practical step is boundaries. Not shame. Not self-hatred. Boundaries. You already know what affects you, so take responsibility by creating distance from what does not help you grow. That is not weakness. That is wisdom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Also remember this. Your faith is not measured by never struggling. It is measured by what you do with the struggle. Do you spiral into guilt, or do you grow in self-control and purpose? Growth is not instant. It is daily choices stacked over time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Focus on what you are building, not only what you are avoiding. Fill your life with things that strengthen you. Purpose, friendships, goals, physical health, spiritual habits. When your life is full, temptation loses power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You do not need to hate yourself to become better. You need clarity, discipline, and grace. Keep going. Growth is happening even when it feels slow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2e3b<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And if you have questions about faith, theology, or just navigating life as a Christian in a crazy world, I\u2019d love to hear from you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\ud83d\udcec&nbsp;<strong>Email me at:<\/strong>&nbsp;christy@onlychristy.com<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Subject line:<\/strong>&nbsp;<em>Question for Pastor Christy<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And as always \u2014 whether you love me or love to hate me, you\u2019re still my Lover.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And Jesus loves you \u2014 unconditionally \u2014 and so do I. \ud83d\udc96<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Question: Pastor Christy, I try to be a better Christian every day but my weakness is the same as most men. For me it is your videos. I do not blame you because it is my fault and I take responsibility. Do you have any advice? Answer: First, I respect your honesty. Most people hide [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":155,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-154","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pastor-christy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/onlychristy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/onlychristy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/onlychristy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onlychristy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onlychristy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=154"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/onlychristy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onlychristy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/155"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/onlychristy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=154"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onlychristy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=154"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onlychristy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=154"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}