You can be free from addiction.
The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand.
We all have wrong desires and are tempted, but God has given us an Advocate who will help us resist sin if we are willing. Are you tired of being addicted to alcohol, sex, drugs, pornography or greed? Jesus has made a way for you to be free. This is how you can resist temptation and allow Jesus to heal your addiction.
There are countless people who are enjoying an addiction because they have not faced consequences yet. Galatians 6:8 tells us if a person “sows to please his own wrong desires, he will be planting seeds of evil and he will surely reap a harvest of spiritual decay and death; but if he plants the good things of the Spirit, he will reap the everlasting life that the Holy Spirit gives him.” There is no peace or freedom found in loving an addiction or sin. If you want to be healed, you have to turn away and renounce the addiction or sin.
Resist the Temptation
2 Timothy 2:22 tells us to “Run from anything that stimulates youthful lusts. Instead, pursue righteous living, faithfulness, love, and peace. Enjoy the companionship of those who call on the Lord with pure hearts.”
- Temptation happens to everyone; no one is being singled out
- Learn to recognize the people, things and situations that overtake you
- After recognizing the tempter, resist him
- It’s your choice, so choose to do what pleases God
- Pray for Jesus to help you
- Seek friends who love God, have resisted temptation and can help you
There is Healing
Jesus is able to heal every kind of addiction, even those we willfully sought out. Jesus is able to “restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten” (Joel 2:25), even if suffering is His chastisement to a person for sinful behavior. God’s purpose is never to tempt us to sinful despair but to make us holy and useful. (James 1:13; Hebrews 12:11-13) David, who knew something about God’s chastisement, said, “Oh, give me back my joy again; you have broken me—now let me rejoice.” (Ps. 51:8) Ask Jesus to heal physical or emotional pain from an abusive parent, the brokenness of losing a child, the loneliness of the death of a spouse, or being orphaned.
An addiction is not going to heal you. Letting a sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting God’s Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. Romans 8:6
Pray this week:
Father, this sin is wrecking my life. Will you help me? In Jesus’ name, amen.
Are you addicted to something and need healing from Jesus?
