This post is the first of a short series on addictions. Please, read.
There's an unsaid expectation for believers 'not to struggle with this'- especially in light of some who seem to be miraculously saved from these habits. As someone who struggled too, thank God for them,
There's an unsaid expectation for believers 'not to struggle with this'- especially in light of some who seem to be miraculously saved from these habits. As someone who struggled too, thank God for them,
but your victory over sin is no less a miracle because it doesn't happen overnight. I must mention: as you read, there's a tendency to want to make your case special: "what you share can apply to others but not me". But what is it about the vessel that The Potter cannot change?
What is it about your life that is not within the Word? Are you that powerful? Are your sins greater than the cross? Can your wrongdoing outdo the blood shed for you? You can never be too much for God. Submit yourself. Okay? 🥺
Some years ago, after a period of not returning to past addictions, I fell. It all felt futile & I mentally resigned- refused to talk to God or my friends- until one night in rebellion, I had a dream.
There was a wilting flower by the roadside and someone wanted to pull it out.
There was a wilting flower by the roadside and someone wanted to pull it out.
I watched a hand yank it out of the earth and shake off its loose soil.
When I woke up, I heard the Spirit say “if you can be pulled out, it's because your roots are not deep enough ”. He began to explain how Christ has done all that Christ will do but my rootedness was lacking
When I woke up, I heard the Spirit say “if you can be pulled out, it's because your roots are not deep enough ”. He began to explain how Christ has done all that Christ will do but my rootedness was lacking
The mental impact of addictions is similar to the anecdote of a camel tied to a tree for years. When the rope that bound it was cut off, the camel remained as it had been.
It was free, but it did not see that it was. So Paul admonishes us in Romans 6:11 to “count yourselves
It was free, but it did not see that it was. So Paul admonishes us in Romans 6:11 to “count yourselves
dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus”. The word “count yourselves" here is 'logizomai' in Greek. It means “to come to a logical conclusion”. Paul is saying that it is possible to be free and still act like you are bound. Your mind has work to do- a conclusion to build on
who you are because of the gospel. Many of us look to temptations as if to say “since I fell, I must not really be what God says I am”. But after God declared Jesus to be His son, the enemy came and said "if truly you are the son…”
What? What God said was true no matter what!
What? What God said was true no matter what!
But the enemy takes what is true and poses it as a question- as though temptations can invalidate God's word. Temptations do not verify the word, it merely reveals how deeply the word has shaped us per time. You don't fall because you're addicted; you fall if you're not rooted.
Jesus' sonship could not be validated or invalidated by the temptation. He was already a son. It's identity that should influence temptation, not the other way around. You are exactly who God says. Immerse yourself in the word and stand resilient. Grow coconut head for God's word
No one uproots a tree with their bare hands, so deepen yourself. If you have fallen, stand up and grow downwards. Logizomai. Contend for the counsel of God in your mind.
This is where we start: you are free.
This is where we start: you are free.
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