Month: November 2017

Sometimes, despite our best efforts, we find ourselves in the midst of some sort of sin – such as addiction. We find ourselves putting a substance or someone before God, or maybe harming our body, or maybe losing our faith. There are several aspects of sin, but all those aspects can easily entangle us in its deep, dark wrath.

But, amongst all of that negativity, there is some good news…

God can heal those who are willing and who put in the effort to do their part. So, you don’t have to be a victim of addiction forever – you can break the cycle and break free of that sinful pattern.

But, it doesn’t come easy and it doesn’t just happen overnight. And, you will need a lot of faith, encouragement, and energy to put forth the effort along the way.

So, once you have decided to hop on board and begin your first steps to taking control of your life and becoming a new and healthier version of yourself, here are a few steps to help you out.

Steps to Break Free From Sinful Patterns:

1. Recognize the spiritual warfare element present in your struggle.

   Addiction, and sin for that matter, takes a hold of you in every aspect – including spiritually. So, it is important that you start your journey to healing by recognizing the spiritual aspect of the war you are fighting.

   You might need to start your healing by working on your relationship with God.

2. Open up about your struggles.

   It always, always, always helps to talk to someone. Once you have addressed where you are spiritually, try talking to someone about your struggles. And, furthermore, if you feel as though you need spiritual guidance – talk to someone about that, too.

   

   Being open with others will only help you be more open with yourself.

   And, fellow believers can offer some valuable advice as well as encouragement along the way.

3. Repent.

   Once you realize you are living a life of sin, you should always repent. This will give you a clean slate to start your new life and will hopefully help relieve you of some of the grief and/or sorrow you might be feeling.

   So, just have a conversation with God and talk to Him about how you are feeling, where you are now, and what road you are headed down. He is always listening and He always cares.

4. Rejoice in the small victories.

   Even if the victory seems too small to matter, rejoice in it. All of those little victories are what make up the big victory of healing!

When it comes to addiction – whether it is drugs, alcohol, pornography, or something else – it can be hard to overcome it alone. Addiction takes a hold on your entire body – physically, mentally, spiritually, and emotionally. Therefore, it can be hard to break such an intertwined relationship when it has become so involved in who you are.

But, with God, all things are possible. While it might not be an easy journey, you can feel confident knowing that you will have Him as a cheerleader on your side for the duration of your journey.

And, one of the best ways to help stay on track and keep that momentum going is to use His Word as encouragement. It also helps to get encouragement from other influential Christians or just Christians you know.

Take into consideration this quote from Joyce Meyer:

“God has equipped you to handle difficult things. In fact, He has already planted the seeds of discipline and self-control inside you. You just have to water those seeds with His Word to make them grow.”

And, just like you are to use His Word to water those seeds and make them grow, you can also use his word to do many other things like to help heal you in the midst of addiction.

Do you ever just grab the Bible but you don’t know where to begin? Maybe you just open it up to a random spot, hoping to be led somewhere meaningful or hoping to see a verse that just really speaks to you.

Well, when it comes to addiction, there are several verses that can speak to you, provide you strength, and provide you comfort even in your darkest of days…

But, rather than just opening up the Bible to a random spot and hoping that is what you find, take a look at this list below when you just need to hear something:

James 4:7 “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 

James 1:12-15 “Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hast conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.

2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

Have you ever made a bad decision in your life? I think just about everyone can attest to making a bad decision at some point…

Maybe it was lying to your parents about where you actually were last night.

Maybe it was sneaking out after your parents went to sleep to go hang out with those friends they don’t approve of.

Maybe it was peaking at the Christmas presents under the tree.

Maybe it was driving while you knew you had already drunk too much.

Bad choices seem to just surround us in life and giving in to the temptations and making bad choices is just an inevitable part of being human.

But, these bad choices don’t define us…

There are so many situations where people think they simply made a choice they can’t come back from. But, they are actually missing out on the great opportunities that await them to make a difference using that situation and to use their story to hopefully keep others from going down that same path.

Since it is a very relevant topic in our society today, let’s talk about the aspect of addiction.

There are several people who are addicted to drugs and/or alcohol who think that they can’t turn that situation into something good.

But, if that is you, you can.

Start by getting clean. Work with your pastor and a recovery program to get back on the right track mentally, physically, spiritually, and emotionally. Turning your life around after being in the dark wraths of addiction is one of the most notable things you can do. Remove yourself from that life of sin and start fresh.

Next, use your recovery as your story. Tell people where you have come from and demonstrate to them that change is possible. You can emerge from the depths of addiction and become a new person.

Then, spend time channeling this newfound energy into helping other people. You probably even have a volunteer group at your church, but there are definitely volunteer organizations around just about every town.

Get involved and help those who need it. And, use your past as your witness. Through this, you can minister to a lot of people and hopefully help them avoid falling into the same dark, depths of addiction.

Then, you can relish in the joy of helping others and continue your road to recovery. Use your bad decisions and negative situations to make a difference. Even through the bad times, let God be glorified.

I will never forget as a child when I would go to church and listen to people share their story of salvation…

A lot of times it was someone who had a dramatic background and some ground shaking experience that led them to Christ. It would always go a little something like one of these:

They were raised in an ungodly home and one of their friends led them to Christ after they spent so long wondering why they were here and what their purpose was.

Or, they had wandered away from religion but a tragic car accident brought them back.

There was just always some catch, so to speak, they were great testimonies and I absolutely love hearing these, but my problem was that I didn’t have a testimony like this…

Mine was simple – I grew up in church and when the time was right, I made the decision to begin my own walk with the Lord.

So, this always left me feeling like I wasn’t good enough. Like my light wasn’t bright enough. I mean, sure, I could tell people I was saved but my story of salvation was not so compelling that I felt anyone would be impacted by it.

And, I think this is what many people think when they see someone struggling and when it comes to advice in general, not just salvation.

Oftentimes, we feel as though what we are going to say isn’t compelling enough. When we see that person struggling with addiction, we feel as though offering our hand or our shoulder isn’t going to be enough. So, we just avoid doing anything at all.

But, your light should always be shining. You should always be making an effort to reach out to those in need. Even if you don’t have a dramatic story, you can still help someone.

So, as the drug and alcohol epidemic seems to be upon us, we encourage you to reach out to those around you that you see who need it. Offer that helping hand to those that you see that need it.

Of course, be careful not to be an enabler but you never know how much of a difference you can make in the life of someone who needs it just by simply offering some encouragement. Or, even just not judging them as you walk by. A simple act of kindness can go a long way in the lives of others.

When it comes to sin, our human nature is to sin. We all sin at some point – whether it be cheating on our spouse, cursing, using the Lord’s name in vain…

The list goes on and on of different sins that we can commit.

But, when it does come to our sin, we often don’t like to admit that we’ve sinned – even though we know we have. Who wants to admit that they are in the wrong, right? It is difficult to openly admit you were wrong, and furthermore, it can be even more difficult to actually admit to what it is that you did wrong.

But, when the tables are turned and we see other people sinning, we can easily be very quick to judge…

Suddenly, we begin to cast the blame on one another and call our peers out for their wrongdoings.

For example, when we see someone suffering from addiction, we are quick to call them out and let them know that they are harming their body which is wrong and they are likely putting that addiction before God, which is also wrong.

But, let’s just take a step back for a minute…

Is this actually helping anything? What productive thing are you actually doing by judging someone and making them feel guilty for their sins? You are only acting as if you are high and mighty enough to judge them…

But, we all know that isn’t true…

So, instead of using someone’s addiction as a time to teach them about right and wrong and to call them out on their sins – use it to do what we are called to do:

Love one another.

As their brother or sister in Christ, you are called to help and to love them. God did not call you to judge them.

So, when you see someone suffering from the wrath of addiction, while yes it is a sin, don’t use that time to just let them know they are sinning.

It is pretty likely they already know that.

Instead, use it as an opportunity to do God’s work by loving them, praying for them, being their shoulder to cry on when they need it.

Use this opportunity to witness to them.

Just take a moment to consider this…

What if you were in their shoes?

It is more beneficial to be there for someone rather than to be there judging them.