I think we often assume the challenges of faith require a specific solution all the time. For example, if someone has a headache, we may suggest Tylenol, Ibuprofen, drinking water, rest, or another specific remedy. I have personally never heard anyone saying "just endure it" as a solution. To be fair, I rarely hear it offered as a solution for challenges of faith either.
I briefly watched a clip about someone saying that when he was young, struggling with masturbation and porn, he felt that he didn't get practical help from the church. He felted that he needed a specific solution to overcome his struggle.
It made me wonder about the times that I felt like I have nothing but the Bible to help me, and it didn't seem like a sufficient solution. And when I say a solution, I mean something that removes the discomfort or the issue, never to be experienced again. However, in my experience the Word of God doesn't always work like that. Certainly there are times I've prayed with a scripture and the effect was almost immediate, but there are more times I've prayed, worshiped and fasted, and it seemed the needle did not move on the issue. Times like these, your mind begins to convince you that the Word doesn't "work." When you know to do all the physical things, and apply the spiritual weapons but there's no relief, what do you do?
My pastor says the Word is your prescription, and you must take it daily in order to receive your healing. You may start your daily consumption with vim, convinced that this ailment will not last long. But when days turn to weeks, we may feel secure to continue although seeds of doubt are starting to take root. We don't see anything working. When weeks turn to months, how much perseverance is in us to continue? And when months transition to years, do we have any faith left?
All of us are given a measure of faith, and the increase of it comes with challenges that must be overcome. I find that overcoming something means there are times where there is no perfect solution. The solution is to trust God; trust Him to help you endure the wave of temptation that comes. When the remedy feels like partaking in the sin to feel relief, you must trust God to remain persistent. Trust that His grace is sufficient. The Word itself is alive, it's a seed, and you must give it time to produce in you the fruit of the healing and the deliverance that you are looking for. You must understand that it's not just the ability to stop or flee from that particular sin that is being cultivated, but the fruit of the Spirit is sprouting. Your heart grows secure to trust in God and not in yourself. Because sometimes it's not self control that stops you from engaging in sin, it's deciding to trust what God says about it, even when you want to partake. And perhaps that's the goal --to produce in us the love for God, and anchor our assurance in Him so that His righteousness flows through us unencumbered by sin.
I don't have a perfect solution. I think sometimes faith feels like you're building a house brick by brick in the scorching sun. And no matter how much water you drink, and time you spend in the shade, the relief feels temporary. Abandoning the attempt for "better" conditions seems wiser, but you are being built up, and your roots are being entrenched deep into the earth. When you have deep roots, you are able to withstand many things and still arise with strength. I believe those moments where nothing seems to be working are the moments where we need to remain still in God. Let His grace envelop you and push you through the wave of difficulty that you're experiencing. You're being refined in fire, and after that you'll come out as gold, and perfect silver. You will know indeed that He is faithful.
