Addiction

“For we do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and He will deliver us. On Him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again.”

2 Corinthians 1:8-10

Addiction is similar to the term, depression. No one wants to deal with it, or even admit that it has a hold on our life. Admitting it, much less talking to others about it surely has to make us look weak among our lion herd. Right?

Well, I’m not going to tell you what you already know. It makes people uncomfortable when bringing it up. That’s why it’s such an awesome weapon in Satan’s arsenal. 

I’ve never met anyone who chose to be an addict. Whether it was drugs, food, sex, alcohol, relationships, or eating paper, no one ever wanted their life controlled by a substance or action.

Not only do addicts require ministry, but those who are an important part of their lives also require care. Most addictive behavioral patterns find their roots in dysfunctional family homes. These homes are unhealthy and fail to meet our most basic needs of love, security, significance, and purpose. The absence of these needs also causes pain that continues to burrow and grow until we’re forced to medicate it. 

The key is to identify whether or not we have developed an addiction. Addictions rarely just happen. Most of those times we didn’t even know one was forming until a tipping point forced us to face it head-on. The beauty is that through Jesus Christ we can know freedom from painful pasts and all of the ill-gotten behaviors caused by it. 

Call To Action 

1. Write out in detail what addictive or compulsive behaviors you are dealing with. 
2. Write out in detail your earliest memories of accessing your addictive substance, product, behavior, etc. 
3. Write out in detail what effects addiction has had on your personal and professional life. 
4. Write out in detail what steps you have taken to break free from addiction.