Who You Aren't | Who God Is
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
(By Amanda Keene) - God. That is my topic for this article, and as I began to pray about what I was going to write, I felt like God laid it on my heart to give you a look into my life right now to see how He is moving in my life. So here we go…
My internship began about a week and a half ago when I walked into Olive Branch Mission and onto the Life Transformation floor. Life Transformation is a long term residential program for men who are struggling with alcohol and drug addiction. This program provides biblical counseling and practical education to help individuals overcome their addictions and lead wholesome, fully transformed lives. There are 12 guys in this program who are being led through this transformation.
Now, I went into this internship with the frame of mind that I was going to learn a lot about the social work field as far as the logistics and behind the scenes stuff that goes on in an agency. Little did I know that this internship would be spiritually challenging and would stretch my faith in ways I couldn’t understand. My first week was filled with learning about Section 8 housing, Social Security Income, Disability Income, housing assessments, referral forms, and the list goes on. All of this new information flooded my mind, and as my three hour long staff meeting last week drew closer, I began to wonder if my mind could take anymore. I sat down at this meeting with my co-workers and the CEO of the Olive Branch Mission, who happens to also be a pastor, and the meeting began. “You guys need to find out who you aren’t and who God is.” This simple, yet profound statement started off our meeting and for the next three hours, the pastor poured out his heart by telling us what God had been laying on his heart about his personal relationship with Christ and about Olive Branch Mission. “You guys need to find out who you aren’t and who God is.” Let that sink in for a little bit…
Now fast forward to just a couple of days ago. I was sitting in on a class with the guys, and this class is called Addictions. The definition for addiction in this class is the following: “A reoccurring compulsion by an individual to engage in an activity that is difficult to discontinue once an individual has commenced the activity.” In this class, the men learn more about their addictions and how to avoid the temptation of falling back into their former addictions all mounted on the foundation of Scripture. James 1:12-15 says
“Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. When tempted, no one should say, ‘God is tempting me.’ For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full grown, gives birth to death.”
During this class, the men went through this Scripture and talked about their own temptations and their own struggles. They talked about these “reoccurring compulsions” that arise and how they each individually go about avoiding these temptations. Just as some background, majority of these men has been fighting drug addictions for 10 years and beyond. I have heard testimonies from these men in which they have told me that they thought that they’d be battling the addiction for life. They had lost hope and just remained in the self destructive cycle of drug use. Satan had them right where he wanted them, yet somehow, God brought each one of them to Olive Branch, and they are living testimonies of God’s unending love and grace.
Addiction… for some of you, as you read the definition that I wrote out in the last paragraph, you felt the butterflies in your stomach and something resonated with you. You know that definition applies to your life, and you understand the hopelessness that comes from not being able to kick that addiction. The addiction may be to money, work, sex, pornography, food, drugs, shopping, or any number of things. I want to tell you that you are right. You can’t kick the addiction. Let’s re-visit the statement from earlier: “You guys need to find out who you aren’t and who God is.” You cannot deliver yourself from the addiction. You cannot say no to the temptations to fill that craving. You cannot stand up to Satan and say “no.” But God can. That’s who He is. He’s love and He can deliver you, He can help you avoid temptation, and He can make Satan flee in an instant. It doesn’t matter if you have been addicting to drugs for 20 years, or addicted to pornography since middle school, or addicted to shopping since you got your first credit card. God wants to take that addiction from you; you just need to let it go. Easier said than done, right?
I want to end with some suggestions that I’ve received from some of the men here in the Life Transformation Program and then with a passage from Hosea. First, a key to fighting temptation is equipping yourself with the word. Look up passages that pertain to your struggle, write them down, and memorize them. Know them so well that when you are tempted to act on that reoccurring compulsion, you can whip out that Scripture and proclaim it! Second, don’t work through this addiction alone. I know that addictions and sin in general is embarrassing to talk about with other people. Yes, it’s uncomfortable, and yes, we don’t like to do it, but do it any way. “Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed” (James 5:16). Find accountability and support, because you can’t do it on your own, and God doesn’t want you to do it on your own. Finally, pray and seek after God. I pray that you walk in faith, believing the promises that God has made to you. I’d like to close with Hosea 11: 1-4; 8-9 which I think paints a picture of God’s love and grace:
“When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. But the more I called Israel, the further they went from me. They sacrificed to the Baals and they burned incense to images. It was I who taught Ephraim to walk, taking them by the arms; but they did not realize it was I who healed them. I led them with cords of human kindness, with ties of love; I lifted the yoke from their neck and bent down to feed them….How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel? How can I treat you like Admah? How can I make you like Zeboiim? My heart is changed within me; all my compassion is aroused. I will not carry out my fierce anger, nor will I turn and devastate Ephraim. For I am God, and not man- the Holy One among you. I will not come in wrath.”
Rest in the assurance that God loves you and even when you fall, He’s there to pick you back up and embrace you. He loves us more than we could ever know…
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