This is a great question, and it might be a comfort to you to know that you are not the first person to ask it. In fact, the Apostle Paul himself spends several chapters in the Book of Romans on it! He asks in Romans 7:24, “Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?” If his writing ended there, it would be truly tragic. But he goes on to say, “Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 7:25). 

Breaking the pattern of sinful thoughts and actions is a real challenge, and it requires you to rely on and respond to the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in you. As you spend more time in prayer and listening to the Spirit, you can learn to identify the things that draw you away from God and toward the sin you’re trying so hard to avoid. As those things become clear to you, ask the Holy Spirit for the power to say no to them. 

I want to leave you with one last thought from that great chapter of Romans 8: “So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children” (Romans 8:15). You are not a slave to sin, but a beloved child of God. He will help you live the truth of that statement.