Tag: addiction

Posted in Beyond Comfort Zone, CONTROLLING SELF, Motivation, Uplifting Christ

Day 2: Breaking Free from Addictions

Posted on by Uplifting Christ

The one who practices sin [separating himself from God, and offending Him by acts of disobedience, indifference, or rebellion] is of the devil [and takes his inner character and moral values from him, not God]; for the devil has sinned and violated God’s law from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil. (1 John 3:8, AMP)

Jesus came to destroy the works of the enemy. This is the good news we have as believers. Addictive behavior roots from a pattern we programme on our mind. Then it becomes something we do, sometimes, unconsciously. We may not even realize how it affects or hurts people around us, especially when all we care about is satisfying that short term desire. For instance a spouse who cheats on the other cares more about how to satisfy his/her sexual desires than how the other feels. It hurts God too that is why Jesus came to pave a way for us to be free.

As stated in Day 1, it’s not just about more sugar, smoke, caffeine, sex, drug, etc but it’s about looking at the broader picture; how the enemy wants to destroy your special gifts, talents, purpose, strength, and/or your body.

God will destroy anyone who destroys this temple. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple. (1 Cor 3:17, NLT)

  • 3 Remedies to Consider in dealing with Addiction:
  1. Commit to Prayer:
    • The first step is to commit to prayer and fasting. This is a battle between the Spirit and the Flesh. In effect, the more you feed the spirit, the more you subdue the flesh and its desires.
    • Prayer is one way to grow spiritually. Talk God about the struggle you face with the habit(s) and let him know your willingness to change. He will answer your request and give you more strength to win.
    • Fasting will help you discipline the body and it’s very good spiritual exercise
  2. Commit to His Word:
    • The Psalmist said “I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.” (Psalm 119:11, NLT) Get to know the Word and what it says about your situation. Always remember that The Word will help you to win when the tempter comes.
    • Study the word daily and read more materials that will help you grow deeper in His Word. The more you study, the clearer you begin to see answers to your challenge
  3. Guard your Thought:
    • Leave no [such] room or foothold for the devil [give no opportunity to him]. (Ephesians 4:27, AMPC)
    • Every behavior starts with a thought. yeah! some small voice that prompt you that it’s time.
    • This thought becomes a foothold for the enemy to act. But as you pray and study God’s word, pray that the Holy Spirit helps you change you into a new person by changing the way you think.
    • A quick way to deal with negative thought is to replace with a good one. Therefore when the nudge comes, quickly run to the Word and direct the feeling to something positive.

Handle One day at a Time:

Do your Best each day and keep track of your progress. If you slip along the road, don’t give up. Maintain your composure and move forward. At the end of the day, it’s not about how many times you fell but about how you successfully finished your race. You can be Free. It’s just a decision away. Maybe I can help, why not send mail; upliftingchrist@gmail.com

Posted in Beyond Comfort Zone, CONTROLLING SELF, Safe with Jesus, Uplifting Christ

Day 1: Breaking Free from Addictions

Posted on by Uplifting Christ

Everyone has something to deal with, right? at least one thing, a thorn that is stuck in the flesh, that saps your energy. Sometimes you wish that you never had them but it is what it is.

You can be Free. It’s a choice, a decision

What have you been dealing with in your life? You may not be proud about it and probably knock yourself hard. Hey! calm down because I have been there before. And dozens of people have been through what you are dealing with.

I remember the many times I woke up in the morning, with tears running down my cheeks hoping I never had to do that. My story was a bit complicated because I had multiple addictions. But I will focus on energy drinks today.

The desire to have at least once daily was strong. I know the names of-head; Lucozade, Red bull, Blue Jeans, Monster, Rockstar, Boost, etc. I would have two to three cups of black coffee in a day, and topped it up with my can(s) of energy drink. Did I need extra energy for anything? No. It was just a habit I had developed and it was weighing me down. I knew too much Caffeine wasn’t good for my health but I couldn’t help it till I made a firm stand to replace that habit with good one.

It was fun when I found 49p drink, a substitute for red bull @ £1.18
  • Broader View of Addiction

Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself. (1 Cor 6:19, NLT)

Being addicted to negative behavior(s) has effect on the body. And the scripture says that your body is God’s temple. God needs people for his assignments on earth and your body is an instrument through which He can operate. The enemy knows this too so his smart move is to entice you into doing things that will either destroy your body or make body unworthy for God’s assignment.

  • 3 ways Addiction impacts you:
    1. It destroys your body, which is God’s temple: Addictive behavior(s) gradually affect your physical health and spiritual being. 
    2. It distracts you from your main purpose: That is Energy and resources needed to be highly productive is wasted on dealing with guilt and repairs. Your focus will gradually shift from what’s truly important.
    3. It distant you from God. That is you tend to feel unqualified to be in His presence. The wider the gap, the more vulnerable you become.

Therefore its not just about the bottles of alcohol, or boxes of chocolate, or grams of sugar, or quantity of caffeine, or number of smoke, or sex, or porn, or gossip, drug, etc but its about how satan wants to destroy your precious body.

  • What happens when you destroy God’s temple?

God will destroy anyone who destroys this temple. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple. (1 Cor 3:17, NLT)

In my next post, I will talk about three things you can do to help curb satan’s ways/tricks to destroy your body. God bless you

https://youtu.be/uKrLg1AC9Pw
Posted in CONTROLLING SELF, SOUL FOOD, Uplifting Christ

EVERYTHING’S GONNA BE ALRIGHT

Posted on by Uplifting Christ

His KingdomI am writing this piece to encourage you, who have been suffering from addiction, that everything’s gonna be alright. God hates sin but He is patient waiting for you to come to repentance.

It’s easy to be judgmental or critical when we see someone repeating the same sin, habit, or mistake over and over. What we fail to understand is that something led that person into such sin, weakness, habit, or mistake. I was once addicted to certain habit for over 10 years so I know what I am talking about. It took the Grace of God, His help through discipline to come out of that habit.

My message for you, who is struggling to stop or quit bad habit (like jealousy, pornography, gossiping, drinking, drugs, quick-tempered, masturbation, sexual immorality, greed, homosexuality, etc) is that do not think or believe that that is how or what God created you to be.

God created you in His image and likeness. Know that everything about God is perfect. In the scripture, there is a story about a farmer who went to sow good seeds in his field but an enemy came to sow bad ones at night. In other words, God deposited good things in you. However, Satan came to sow bad ones in you at night. Night refers to those times when you were far from God. That is when you were not taking your prayer life seriously, when you did not spend enough time reading His word, or you were dormant.

The good news, however, is that God knows you are in that situation. Jesus came to destroy the works of the enemy to set you free. You can get up on your feet once again. You can be made whole again. Paul said “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13).

What I will encourage you to do is that keep moving forward. Keep taking one step ahead of the other. Do not quit. It does not matter how many times you fall down, what matters is your zeal to change from that habit. I will liken this to a little child who is learning to walk. Each time he falls down at an attempt, he says to himself that “I will try again”. That child may fall down a thousand times but at the next try, everything turns to be alright for that kid. I believe you can make it.
Commit yourself to prayer and fasting, and learn to discipline yourself by staying away from doing the little things that lead you to sin, that habit, or mistake. Remember that God has not destroyed you yet because he does not want you to die in your sin.

I remember what changed my situation was that I made a bold decision to quit. I fasted and prayed and started saying No to thoughts that led me into that habit. I exercised self-control. It was not easy at first but as I kept moving one step ahead of the other without looking back at the many times I fell, but looking up to Jesus, I dominated that habit.

God will be your strength as you make decision today to quit in Jesus’ Name.

I know you can

I will conclude with the words of Bishop Clarence E. Mcclendon;

Keep on moving forward
For God is going to what He said
As a matter of fact
Even if you failed the first time
Get up
And do it again
And this time it’s going to work
Because this is the hour of visitation