Many of God’s children are spiritual POWs. They are trapped in a sin cycle that they have been unable to break. Whether it is alcoholism, materialism, bitterness, envy, gluttony, personal-pity, pornography, drugs, gaming, profanity, social media, negative self-talk, rage, or resentment—addictions to emotional or chemical patterns confine far too many people today.
The biblical term for what we know today as addiction is stronghold. An addiction, or more accurately—a spiritual stronghold, is an entrenched pattern of negative thoughts and actions which are burned into our minds. We believe and function as though our situation is unchangeable, even though it is against the will of God. Sin becomes a slave-master that rules our thoughts, decisions, and actions.
The first step to turning around addiction is to want to be set free. Jesus would ask people whether they wanted to be made whole (John 5:6). If a person is stuck and wants to remain stuck, there’s nothing anyone else can do to get them moving in the right direction. Freedom from addictive behavior has to start from within. If you find yourself trapped by an addiction and influenced by negative patterns of thought, it can feel like a snake has wrapped itself around your mind.
It’s time to choose a new direction toward freedom. Freedom starts with choosing to get off your existing path and head in a different direction.
Are you really ready to say goodbye to your addiction and let Jesus set you free?
Scripture
One of the reasons people stay stuck in addictions is because they base their thought patterns on lies. An enormous lie that contributes to addiction is that you can fix the flesh with the flesh. But Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 10; we do not war according to the flesh. The flesh can’t fix the flesh. Yes, you might try to manage it, and that might work for a while. But you can never fix a sin problem with your sinful flesh as the cure. What you must do is go first and foremost to the truth of God’s Word. It is His truth that sets you free. It is His truth that breaks through and brings life. His truth unravels the lies that have you bound in a stranglehold of suffering and keeps you stuck in your sin and its consequences.
Seeking to release yourself from the stronghold of sin through your own efforts can be compared to your grandmother seeking to clean clothes with a washboard. It would take days to do it, and still, the clothes would be less clean for all the effort. They would wear thin while your grandmother would be worn out, achy, and frustrated. God has provided the solution to our sin through the washing of the salvation provided through His Son. Jesus’ sacrifice gives us access to the power of the Spirit within. The Spirit enables us to discern and receive truth (John 16:7-11). The Spirit helps us to do what Jesus told us to do in John 8, which is to “continue in My word.” The term “continue” means to hang out, abide—stay. You must abide in the truth, not just visit it.
How successful have your fleshly efforts been for overcoming your addiction? What is a better approach?
Scripture
When you allow the Spirit to dominate your thoughts with the truths of God’s Word, you will live free. As Jesus said, “you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free” (John 8:32). The word “know” refers to much more than a cognitive awareness of something. It means to be deeply convinced beyond any doubt. You “know that you know” it is true. It is a truth that resonates within the depths of who you are. That is what it means to know the truth and be set free.
The type of “knowing” that Jesus speaks of which will set you free is a knowing that truly knows. It’s not guessing. It’s not hoping. It’s not testing. You know that you know because you have experienced it as true.
But with God’s Word, we do not always get to experience the irrefutable proof ahead of the faith required to enact truth’s work. This is why faith in God’s Word carries so much weight and is so critical to the process of overcoming any addictive behavior. You must first believe God’s Word to be truth, then apply His Word to your situation as truth for it to resonate and do its freeing work in your life. The truth helps you overcome your strongholds, but only when you treat it as truth. You must align your mind, actions, heart and will under His Word and His rule regarding whatever situation or thought-pattern you are facing in order for it to set you free.
What do you know from God’s Word that will help you find freedom from addictions?
We hope this plan encouraged you. For more information about making a U-Turn in your life, click here.