Next Steps
Answer the following questions, journal about them, pray about them, or discuss them with a counselor or trusted friend.
-
What are the things that you rely on daily to take your mind off of your pain? Is it TV? Alcohol? Sex or pornography? Work? Cigarettes? All of the above?
-
Look at each of the items you answered for Question 1, and ask God to show you what you’re really looking for in each of these areas. What are you reacting to, and what are you really hoping to find in your addiction?
-
What does God say about the longings you listed for Question 2? Are your longings wrong, or are they just looking in the wrong places? Find Scriptures to support your answers.
-
Think about the people you’ve hurt by your addiction (your family, your friends and coworkers, yourself, God, ...). Talk with those people and ask for their forgiveness in the areas you hurt them. It’s good to find someone who can keep you accountable in this step, as it can be particularly difficult.
-
As you ask God for forgiveness, also ask Him to deliver you from your addictions. This will come, not as a result of dealing with the behavior directly, but by healing the underlying wound and by facing the pain you’ve been avoiding. Ask, seek, and knock, and don’t stop until you get your breakthrough.
-
Finally, find someone who can walk this part of the journey with you. Find someone who can pick you up when you fall, who will encourage you, pray for you, and who is willing to ask you the tough questions about your spiritual, emotional, and physical battle against these addictions, and ask them to hold you accountable.
Now pray this prayer with us:
God, it seems I’ve been hiding from some things in my life, avoiding my pain, and turning to all the wrong sources to find peace and fulfillment. I am so sorry for that. I don’t want to be stuck in these patterns any longer, but please understand that it’s hard for me to break these patterns and dependencies. I really need Your help. Please help me to deal with this underlying pain and face what I’ve been afraid to face. Heal the deep places in my heart that have been hiding behind my addictions, and teach me to seek You to fulfill my longings instead of these idols I’ve made in Your place. Help me to seek forgiveness, and help me even to forgive myself. Most of all, please forgive me for hurting You. Come alongside me, and show me another person who will come alongside me as well, to hold me accountable in this time. I don’t want anything else to delay me from dealing with these strongholds in my life. I’m ready to be rid of these addictions once and for all, and I don’t want to leave any stone unturned that could come between us like this again. I love You so much. Amen.
This section is taken from a chapter of Matthew Bauer's book, The Journey to Freedom. To learn more about dealing with addictions, click here to order the book, including Matthew's full teaching on "Addiction."
BUY NOW: The Journey to Freedom - Navigating the Roadblocks to Abundant Living - by Matthew Bauer