Hello, Beloved Reader! I’m Faith. Thank you for visiting me today! In this blog, we will be talking about addiction.
“Can a man make a fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned?” (Proverbs 6:27)
There is, without a doubt, many things you can say about addiction. But one thing you can say for sure is that it is horrid.
What good comes from addiction to worldly things? The Bible says that every good and perfect gift comes down from the Father of lights. (James 1:17) Think of those addicted and what has become of them at the end of their lives. I ask again, what good comes from addiction to worldly things?
In a word: nothing.
Let us take alcohol for example. For years, thousands of years, we have seen the effects of such a monster. Take the home of a man or woman who tastes of so-called “exquisite” wine. Just a little bit of wine is enough to open a door for greater desire to partake in more of the same. How much will this person spend on alcohol? What he\she spends on this addiction could be used for a greater purpose in their own life and even in the life of others. This person could be saving their money, building orphanages, helping the sick, or helping grow the church’s outreach. Instead, this person sits at home on the couch, in a blubbering state of mind with no wit about themselves as they drown in the wooing effects of strong drink. What good does this bring? What help does this give? What purpose does this serve but to find pleasure for a season?
Because when it comes down to it, alcohol, drugs, addiction to phones, food, and even shopping – a life of addiction does nothing but destroy. There are millions of examples of this. When someone first starts out in such a way, it may not seem like they are doing too bad. But in the end, addiction is a vicious beast gripping a sorrowful soul in bonds that cannot be broken by anything they possess.
A tool cannot cut them. Physicians cannot cure them. Spells cannot make them disappear. Psychologists cannot remove the bonds of addiction.
Yet, I have the solution to shatter these chains.
#1: A person must be willing to be set free. If they don’t desire peace from their situation, if they don’t want freedom badly enough, they will not be delivered. It is hard, but it is simple. Addiction has such a hold on people, yet they can be saved and the first step towards that is desiring a life of freedom and being willing to have their chains broken.
#2: Apply the blood of Jesus and give the addiction to Him. There is no worldly thing that can deliver a person from addiction. Control must be given to the Lord. See, abstaining from what is an addiction for them is different from being delivered from it. When a person abstains from such a monster, it still woos them with thoughts, feelings, and desires of the effects it gives. Eventually, the person will come back to it. When a person is delivered, they no longer have the desire to partake of what once became an addiction for them. The beautiful, alluring voice of the monster is tainted by the knowledge of the destruction it causes. No longer will the person give in because a greater desire has taken the place of addiction.
They desire to do what is right and live for the Lord instead of for themselves. (Matthew 16:24) Because that is what the addiction started with – desiring only pleasure for the flesh. And with such pleasure comes desolate souls and wailing. Tears be the friends of those who partake in such pleasure. Anger and fear are their companions. They have such a desperation for the things slowly killing the body and soul that they will even harm others to get just a moment’s lull from the burning desire of their addiction.
With deep sympathy and compassion, I ask, is that such a life one should desire to live?
If you know someone addicted, or are even addicted to something yourself, I would encourage you to take the addiction class HERE on the Oasis Ministries website for more information and encouragement. For now, I will leave you with this:
The enemy would love nothing more than to deceive a person into skipping into Hell. Do not turn your ear to the sweet voice of temptation. Do not open your heart to doors leading further into worlds of sickening destruction of addiction. Pray desperately for the anointing in your life to break yokes and guide you far away from the voice calling you to try strong drink or other addictive material! Desire only for the will of God and allow Him to control things.
For this! This life given to God – it is one worth living.
Thank you for reading!
Faith Cross
