Avis WooleyAA or best known as Alcoholics Anonymous is a congregation or group of people who come together regularly to help solve their drinking problem.
Before anyone can get the help they need to overcome an addictive habit; they first must realize and admit that there is a problem. This step is the most important because individuals can not see the harm they are causing to themselves and to the ones they love. This habit spirals out of control, eventually forcing the user to fall out of regular operation. Once a person falls, the hurt and the shame can sometimes be more than they can bear. It would take someone outside of the situation to help bring the addictive person into a place of healing.
Today, my message is about being an Addict, not to alcohol but to things that separate us from the presence or grace of God. Don’t be judgemental; we all have things that tend to pull us away from spending time with the Lord. This subject can be very offensive to some and welcoming to others. As we face off each day, we gravitate toward these things. These things hold our attention, pull us with their magnetic force, and we are dragged into their grasp like a fly to a fly-trap. How do we get out? Is there any hope?
Here is what Apostle Paul says in his letter to the saints in Rome; Romans 7: 19-22, “For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now, if I do that, I would not; it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. I find then a law that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.”
Isn’t this us at times? When we want to do good, evil is always present. Don’t you know that the Lord knows our heart, its intent, and its desires? He is no stranger to us, and he cares about our choices. We tend to forget that Jesus walked on this earth just as we are now. He was put to the test, just as we are now. Yet, he came through without sin in his journey. We, too, can be as well. Well, you might say He was God, and I am human. Remember, Jesus came down from heaven, clothed in earthly flesh, and lived in a sinful world, yet he knew no sin! 2 Corinthians 5:21, “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who know no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” He came not only to save our souls from eternal damnation but to become an example of how to live a sin-free life.
We can not fight satan on our own and expect to win. It takes the power of the Holy Ghost to put satan in his place. We are no match against satan’s wickedness, but when the Spirit of the Lord takes charge, we always win, no matter what.
What is that thing that is addictive in your life? I do understand that you have the desire to stop it or to get it under control, but your will and way do not correct it alone. This is where fasting and prayer come into play. Don’t think for one minute that I am preaching to the choir, I too, have an addiction that I am seeking the Lord’s help on. Don’t try and figure it out; it’s of no great concern to you. All you need to know is that this addiction is holding me back from fully engaging in the Lord’s presence. I am grateful for the Lord’s mercies that are new to me every morning, and I walk in that mercy knowing that I have already overcome the addiction.
I trust that your love for Christ will see you on the other side of this addiction. You are not who the addiction says you are; you are who God says you are. Overcomer, delivered, set free. As long as we live in this body and on the earth, we will be challenged with something(s). It is all up to us whether we will choose to live a life of victory or live in defeat and misery. I choose victory; what about you?
Avis D. Brownlee-Wooley
