What’s significant about 40 days?

Everything that’s worth having requires immense effort. I’ve found this to be abundantly true in two specific areas of my life right now–marriage and parenthood.

If I want to have a healthy marriage, it requires a lot of work. Intentionality. Care. Attention. Love. Forgiveness. [Fill in the blank–I’m sure you can list more.]

If I want to be a good father, I need to work especially hard to listen intently, stay calm, stay consistent, and wrap my arms around this “new math” that neither me or my wife can figure out.

David O. McKay said, “All good things require effort. That which is worth having will cost part of your physical being, your intellectual power and your soul power. Let us ever keep in mind that life is largely what we make it.”

Earlier this year, Covenant Eyes released a first version of our app called Overcome Porn: The 40 Day Challenge. Our most recent update now includes daily discoveries (or achievements) and daily reminders to keep you engaged and accountable. Don’t have an iPhone? Overcome Porn is also available as an email challenge.

Everything about this app is 100% focused on one thing–leading people towards freedom.

The Significance of 40 in the Bible

The number 40 is used frequently throughout God’s Word, signifying trial and testing. Consider these prominent examples from the Old and New Testaments.

Genesis 7:12, “And rain fell upon the earth forty days and forty nights.”

Exodus 34:27-28, “And the Lord said to Moses, ‘Write these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.’ So he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights. He neither ate bread nor drank water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments.”

Joshua 5:6, “For the people of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, until all the nation, the men of war who came out of Egypt, perished, because they did not obey the voice of the Lord; the Lord swore to them that he would not let them see the land that the Lord had sworn to their fathers to give to us, a land flowing with milk and honey.”

Matthew 4:1-3, “Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.’”

As has been said, a faith that is not tested cannot be trusted.

Will it be easy to get through the 40 days? Probably not. But, how badly do you want freedom? Have you bounced in and out of addiction? How many times have you promised yourself that “tonight is the last time!” only to fall again?

Remember, nothing worth having is ever easy. But, trust me, freedom beats slavery. Integrity beats deceit. Hope beats fear. This app was made for you.

Start Overcome Porn: The 40 Day Challenge today.

Related Covenant Eyes articles:

• True Story: How Michael Overcame Porn
• Can accountability really change a heart?
• 5 Warning Signs You’re Addicted to Porn