How to Make U-Turns in LifeSample

Day 2: U-Turn from Addiction Whether it is alcoholism, materialism, bitterness, envy, gluttony, personal-pity, pornography, drugs, gaming, profanity, social media, negative self-talk, rage, or resentment, emotionally- or chemically-driven addictions confine far too many people today. Well-meaning people and organizations in our culture have produced an entire addiction-recovery industry in order to assist people to get out of the vice grip that is holding them hostage. Yet despite the plethora of ministries -- church groups, focus groups, clinics, hospitals, camps, and support systems available to people today -- a large number of individuals remain unreleased from the death grip of addiction-based sins. The biblical term for what we know today as addiction is stronghold . The word stronghold is used because it refers to both the physical and spiritual nature of the addiction. An addiction -- or more accurately a spiritual stronghold -- is an entrenched pattern of negative thoughts and actions that we believe and that functions as though it’s unchangeable even though it is against the will of God. It is a sin that has become a slave-master which rules our thoughts, decisions, and actions. Far too many people simply seek to fix the physical and emotional aspect of an addiction without addressing the spiritual nature of it as well. Don’t get me wrong. The physical and emotional aspects do need to be addressed, and there are professionals who can help in these areas. But if it is divorced from the spiritual component, this leads to failure and entrapment because all addictions are rooted in the spiritual. In order for you to overcome this stronghold of sin in your life, you will need to call it what it is. The addiction you seek freedom from is sin. Sin holds the whip and rules you as your master. Calling it sin makes the issue spiritual and much more serious. This puts it in a new perspective, doesn’t it? This helps you realize that what you are facing will take more than a strong resolve or determination. Sin can only be overcome through a spiritual approach and a power larger than your own. One of the reasons people stay stuck so long is because they are basing their thought patterns on lies. An enormous lie that contributes to this is that you can fix the flesh with the flesh. But Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 10, that we do not war according to the flesh. The flesh can’t fix the flesh. What you must do is go first and foremost to the truth of God’s Word. It is His truth that sets you free. It is His truth that breaks through and brings life. It is truth that unravels the lies that bind your mind in a stranglehold of suffering that keeps you stuck in your sin and its accompanying consequences. When you allow the Spirit to dominate your thoughts with the truths of God’s Word, you will live free. As Jesus said, “… you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” It is a truth that resonates within the depths of who you are. That’s the kind of freedom I want for you. And I know that’s the kind of freedom you want, too. This freedom and new direction in life doesn’t come through grit or grind. No, it comes through abiding and aligning in Jesus and the truth of His Word. That’s the key to making the U-turn from any addictive stronghold.