When I hear the word addiction, I think of drugs, alcohol,
even cigarettes. But addiction
encompasses so much more. While these
things are definitely physically addictive, our emotional addictions are much
harder to break. We must ask ourselves,
why are we addicted? What drives one to
drink, use drugs, smoke cigarettes, overeat, shop excessively, zone out on
TV/video games/internet, or keep themselves constantly busy? It is a means of escape.
Towards the end of high school and early college, I found
myself enticed by the party scene. I was
curious and wanted to try it, to see why everyone talked about it all time and
seemed to enjoy it so much. There were a
number of my friends that started trying it out around the same time as I did. I liked the taste of several kinds of drinks
and even enjoyed how it made me feel most of the time. But, there came a point when I decided that
I’d had enough “fun” and I needed to reign it in. I found that I had made that lifestyle my
lifestyle and if I wanted to recommit to living my life for God that I needed
to give this up.
One thing I really noticed as I made this change was that
some of my friends who started drinking around the same time that I did were
not able to just stop or even cut back. At first thought, I didn’t understand why this was. We had started around the same time and more
or less went down the same path, but something was different. We were both drinking in the name of ‘fun’
and good times, but for me that’s all that it was. It was a social thing. But, for some of my friends, it was a means
of escape. When they had a bad day, they
needed a drink and then another and another. When a crisis in life happened, they needed several drinks day after day
after day. Anytime something went wrong,
they turned to having a drink. It is
proven that it is a physical addiction when it comes to alcohol, drugs, and
cigarettes. But there are a number of
people who are able to stop cold turkey. How can this be explained?
There is a drug rehab program for heroine addicts in Asia that has been remarkably successful. Their approach to bringing freedom to those
struggling with addiction is intense prayer and seeking and embracing healing
that only God can provide. I have also
had the opportunity to be a part of a drug rehabilitation ministry this month
that I think should be named House of Healing. It is a safe place where a number of guys who are addicted to drugs come
to get clean and sober, find God, and receive healing from their past hurts and
pains that drove them to drugs in the first place. They receive freedom from their addiction to
drugs and in turn gain a healthy addiction to Jesus.
I want to challenge you to ask yourself if you can honestly
say that you are addicted to Jesus. If
you are frustrated, having a bad day, experiencing a crisis, or simply worn
thin, what do you turn to? Is your first
response prayer? Or do you busy yourself
so that you don’t have to think about the deeper issues that are hurting in
your heart? Do you turn to smoking a
cigarette or having a drink? Do you find
comfort in food or chocolate? When
things are difficult, where do you turn? What is your means of escape? I
want to encourage you to ask yourself the difficult question and be willing to
know the answer.
Growing up, I found that my method of coping with hard times
and personal crisis’ was to be so busy that I did not have time to think about
things. I thought that if I did not
think about it, that it would hurt or it wouldn’t bother me. It was my means of escape. Being on this trip has forced me to slow
down. This month in particular my
biggest distractions have been removed and I have found a renewed focus on
God. God is teaching me to turn to him
first. I have been fasting from the
internet during this month of ministry (and will have to ask a teammate to post
this for me) which means that I do not have the ability to communicate with my
boyfriend or friends and family back home.
I cannot yet honestly say that I am addicted to Jesus, but I
am making progress in the right direction. Jesus wants to be our first love. This month has been a time of renewed love for reading the Bible,
increased time spent in prayer and worship, and time of spiritual growth.
I want to encourage you to seek the Lord your God with all
your mind, soul, and strength. This
means seeking him before you seek anyone or anything else. This means turning to Him first when you are going
through hard times. He loves you
unconditionally, He can provide comfort in a way no one else can, and He can
bring the supernatural healing that your heart needs.
