Grace - Freedom from Addiction 6

"Addiction exists wherever persons are internally compelled to give energy to things that are not their true desires.  To define it directly, addiction is a state of compulsion, obsession, or preoccupation that enslaves a person's will and desire.  Addiction sidetracks and eclipses the energy of our deepest, truest desire for love and goodness.  We succumb because the energy of our desire becomes attached, nailed, to specific behaviors, objects, or people.  Attachment, then, is the process that enslaves desire and creates the state of addiction." - Gerald May


Psalm 37:4 says:  "Delight yourself in the LORD; And He will give you the desires of your heart."

I've heard many interpretations of this verse.  They include the idea that we shouldn't be selfish by having great plans for our lives, but be willing to rejoice in dirt and poverty, or the idea that if we honor God first, then He'll honor us.  Let me suggest this idea to you:

No one wants second-best.  When offered the choice between a free BMW or a Kia, who in their right mind would choose the non-luxury car?  No one would!  We all want the absolute best we can possibly have in life.  Let's see how this applies to addiction:

Because we have been hurt and are looking for security and comfort, we come to belief in the safety that an addiction can offer us.  It doesn't usually require much effort and we begin to associate how good we feel when we engage that addiction.  It HAS to feel good, or we wouldn't do it again, would we?  We attach happiness to what the addiction gives us.  We sacrifice time for it; we sit in front of the computer gazing at images while forgetting real relationships; we want the ease of chemical-induced states of mind, instead of relating to a person or God.  We simply have less energy or motivation for people and other pursuits.  We've been robbed, and we don't even know it.

Sometimes it's easy to see how the addiction has ruined our lives, other times not so much.  But we do know this:  it's not easy to find the happiness in healthy pursuits and relationships when it's been so simple to just engage in the addiction and find that attachment of security in the addiction.  But we must walk away.  It has to stop.  It's draining life from us and that's killing us.

"Addiction sidetracks and eclipses the energy of our deepest, truest desire for love and goodness."  That means that we all want the best in life:  truth, love, and goodness.  But because we were sidetracked and our eyes taken off of Jesus and His love for us, we've been given something that is far less than best.  It's actually crap.  The hope is that we'll see that and the Holy Spirit will convince us of Father's love and Jesus' sacrifice and life for us.

I would encourage you to stand on the promises in the Bible.  If you don't read it, you'll not know what's yours!  Holy Spirit wants to remind you of those things, so you will have ground to stand on during the season you feel off-course as you seek happiness no longer from the addiction, but now in Him.

I pray that you will know that your failures have been forgiven, your hurts healed, and your future renewed--all in Jesus.  Don't settle for the second-best (or worse) that addiction is truly offering you; delight in the Lord--and for good reason, based on what He's done and who He is in you--and you'll get the desires of your heart.

Grace=Peace,

Jeremy

May, Gerald G. Addiction and Grace: Love and Spirituality in the Healing of Addictions. San Francisco, CA: HarperOne, 2005. Print.  p. 14.  The above quote may have been edited for clarity and understanding outside its context.