Coming Clean from Addictions
by Terry Wane Benton
Read Luke 13:3; Acts 2:38; 3:19; 17:30-31; II Corinthians 7:7ff
People mess up their lives so much with drugs and alcohol. Jesus can heal them but there has to be repentance, a full stop of all that landed them in prodigal and wasteful living. Some have gotten in so deep that they have ruined themselves financially and see no way out of the mess they have made by becoming so enslaved and addicted. They are so addicted that they can’t hold a steady job and then become a burden to society by stealing out of desperation to try to get that next fix. They need God but can’t climb out of the deep hole they have been steadily digging. Some find another addicted partner and both only make things worse. They need accountability, someone to hold them accountable to get sober and stay sober, to get a job to sustain themselves, but they keep the wrong company and can’t make a decision to make a clean break from all those debilitating habits.
Jesus is who they need inside, but they are so far gone that their brains are fried and they can’t reason their way into a deep study of Jesus. They need to combine a physical program of extreme rehabilitation and a total break from drugs and alcohol with an internal yoking and learning from Jesus (Matthew 11:28f). Through faith in Jesus, a total transformation of the will, emotional inclinations, and volitional heart can begin to remake the values and priorities while giving light and hope.
Genuine repentance as one teams up the heart with Jesus as one’s master and teacher can start the processes of internal restoration. Still, faith and repentance have to be genuine while working on getting the body unfettered from the chemicals that have addicted and enslaved the body and brain. There are programs through doctor and hospital care that can help the chemically addicted brain to recover, but there needs to be a commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ to break the enslaving desires of the mind and heart. A transformed and renewed mind (Romans 12:1-4) comes through a convicted mind and will yoked to righteousness. Being responsible and working on what is good comes from learning Christ (Ephesians 4:28f). Light fills the mind with purpose, direction, and hope when you leave the darkness of sin and start a clean walk with Jesus as your daily inward partner. His word can build you up and keep your spirit renewed and accountable day by day. A new you emerges and the clean break with the past begins to pay off. Every soul needs Jesus. But there has to be a genuine yoke to Him and a clean break with sin!
Are you ready?
