Drugs and Drinking no more, A 40 day program: Day 19
To say no to drugs and drinking alcohol we need to learn to maximize the good times and minimize the bad times. Why do rock stars and movie stars commit suicide? There are several reasons and we will talk about all of them. The first reason is because they dwell on the bad instead of the good. They have millions of people worshipping them and millions of dollars but, instead of thinking about that – they always think about the bad.
We must learn to think right especially in the bad times – cause if I think right, I will do right (act right). Don’t let the bad eat up the good. The devil loves for you to highlight the thing in your life that is wrong. Don’t give in to fear, defeat, hopelessness, or temptation. Your worst day will become your best day if you focus on Jesus. Philippians 4:8New International Version (NIV) says 8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. The 2nd reason rock/movie stars commit suicide is because they don’t know their creator. If you have everything and you don’t have Jesus – you have nothing. If you have nothing and you have Jesus – you have everything. I personally knew 2 people who had nothing (or maybe less than nothing) in life, but they had Jesus. These 2 people always were happy and always had a purpose.
One thing from your past or present can so consume you that is causes you to miss your destiny because you won’t let it go, or you won’t focus on something else. Maybe they did do you wrong, maybe they are now doing you wrong, maybe you are divorced, maybe you were abused, but don’t let the bad eat up the good! Satan will help you focus on the horrible thing that has happened in your life. Let it go and pray to Jesus “help me to let it go” as many times as it takes to break free.
You can break free from your past. The best way to end old relationships is to start new ones. A Relationship with Jesus, with healthy friends, with healthy activities etc.
We often hold things back from Jesus Christ. We are like a person who has a big house who only allows God certain rooms. Rooms many of us have include TV or movies, sports, games, wrong friends, ambitions, hobbies, drinking, drugs, gambling, food, money and hundreds of other things. When these activities are sin or become sin because of overindulgence or even gray areas they become rooms we are holding back from God.
We say “God I am ready to do whatever you want me to do.” God says – give up your ambition to be __________ which you know I don’t like. Or He says stop doing _____ or looking at _________ or spending time with __________.
Now we are at the crossroads. Peter’s loves movies and his favorite movies often have smut in them. They only cause him to fall “sometimes.” He is ready to do whatever God wants him to do, he is just not ready to be who God wants him to be.
How many people know that you are not going to be a vibrant Christian when you are thinking about other things or looking at gray area things or having selfish ambitions or lusts?
Is the love of Jesus greater than what we hold back? Is His love less important than the rooms we cling to?
At the crossroads now we have to make a decision if we are going to sacrifice. Sacrifice our time, ambitions, lust or any other room we are holding back from Jesus Christ.
Sacrifice so that others may see the love of Jesus through us. A shining light – a bit of hope for the darkness that envelopes them.
When we give God every room He will tell us exactly what He wants us to do – and life will be like how God always meant it to be for us.
Prayer
Two keys to getting prayer answered are, believing that God will answer your prayer. The 2nd is to ask him for things that He wants you to change and that you are ready to change. Learn to form habits of prayer.
Pray about changes you are considering making.#1 Pray that God will help you meet people who have a healthy lifestyle and that He will help you stay away from places and people that trigger your addiction. #2 Ask God to help you to continue to realize that 12 step programs and help from Pastors and sponsors are vitally important to your continued recovery. #3 Ask God to help you to make it a habit to always plan your next few days. It is vital to plan because boredom is a trigger to relapse. Routine and concrete scheduling can be a lifesaver for an addict. A schedule, coupled with passion for a new hobby or sporting activity, allows people to successfully and happily break the cycle of boredom. #4 Ask God to show you what your purpose is. (I talked about this in my video called quitting addiction). Ask God to help you to never daydream or fantasize about lust/sex.
You need to be so committed to finding your purpose that you don’t have time to be tempted anymore. #5 Ask God to help you set realistic expectations for your life. Don’t be too hard on yourself if you come up short. #6 Ask God to help you forgive others. Verse 13 of the Lord’s Prayer say’s “And forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us”. We need to forgive others so that God will forgive us. We need to forgive others so that God will start to answer our prayers. You need to forgive others so that you can overcome your addiction. #7 Ask God to help you avoid things and circumstances that trigger your addiction. #8 Ask God to help you to be aware of your limitations. Do not take on too much work or stress because these are quick triggers to relapse. #9 Ask God to help you to always be balanced. Be balanced physically, emotionally and spiritually. Limit your emotional swings and get enough rest. Be consistent with your exercise. Read the Bible every day.
Key point #4 All sin is likely a trigger to your addiction. The reason that this is true is because sin takes us out of God’s light and joy and it puts us in the darkness. Once we slip into the darkness it is natural that the addiction will resurface quickly. When we stay on the straight and narrow (Christian) path we will start to see these types of prayers answered and we will see real joy start to enter our life.
Have a time and and place for prayer and Bible study every day.
Read John 16 and 1st Corinthians 16 and Proverbs 14
Continue to read the Purpose Driven Life
Pray “Father keep me from temptation”.
Write down the prayers from this section that hit home with you and pray them often.
thank you for reading how to say no to drugs and drinking today.
If this article has helped you, share it with your friends. Share buttons are below the index.
Index
Index
Day 1: Overcoming cravings
Day2 : Is God real?
Day 3: Quitting addiction exercises
Day 4: Getting negative emotions out
Day 5: You can never increase the amount of pleasure that you can have for the month by going back to an addiction
Day 6: Sin leads back to addiction
Day 7: Worshiping God helps us overcome addiction
Day 8: What causes you to stay addicted
Day 9: Develop positive addicitons
Day 10: Overcoming negative emotions
Day 11: You have some self control
Day 12: Always have a list of alternate activities to do when temptation hits
Day 13: Only living water can satisfy you for good
Day 14: Learning form the story of Adam and Eve
Day 15: Blessings and curses
Day 16: Self Control
Day 17: Self Control continued
Day 18: Learning to pray