In over 30 years of working with people from all walks of life I wanted to write a few observations about addiction.
One week here in the Boston area we had 9 drug addicts come and receive Christ. It was within a month they were all back to their life of drugs and despair. It started me to think what are we missing, if the power of God is so real why is it these people choose to walk away from it?
Now there is a lot written on this blog on some of this but I do want to highlight a few positives to help. It was with a man I had the privilege of praying with that God showed me the road to deliverance in a new way. This man had struggled with adultery, pornography or let’s just say sex. He later told me he could never say he was truly free. He had been in churches for over 30 years and had suffered much by the religious who meant well and wanted him free. He had confessed in front of church group, he had accountability partners and fasted and prayed and lots more but still the struggle defined him in some way.
Now when I prayed with this man I had no idea of any of this but I prayed he would be filled with the Holy Spirit however God wanted that to happen and look like. A few days later the power of God fell on this man while driving in his car and his life was changed forever. It was months later he came and told me of his struggles and with joy expressed for the first time in his life he could say he was truly free. Now 2 years later he has remained free. So what is the difference?
Many today enter Jesus as a fix and when the high runs out so do they. An addicts mentality is for the next bit of pleasure and for a time church life can satisfy this urge. Ultimately the struggle continues or it mutates and condemnation, guilt and isolation follows.
So the difference was in the surrender, yielding and opening to the Holy Spirit. Then as this man lived from the Spirit default the control of lust did not drive his life anymore. I invite you to read other entries on this blog in relation to sin and how God does not see sin once we enter Christ and He enters us.
Friend your answer does not lie in religion it is in surrendering your self righteous life to Jesus as you allow His Holy Spirit to get your attention and live from that default. Forget about religion telling you formulas of freedom and making promises they can’t keep. It is only as you allow Jesus to romance you through His Holy Spirit that life truly follows. Sounds hard but it could never be more simple. Just be true to the Jesus in you and forget learning to be good. You can’t learn or earn freedom it has to be given and entered.
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