Jermiah 6:16-17 - This is what the Lord says, "Stop at the crossroads and look around. Ask for the old, godly way, and walk in it. Travel the path, and you will find rest for your souls."
But you reply, "No, that is not the road we want!" I posted watchmen over you who said, listen for the sound of the alarm." But you replied, "No! We won't pay attention!"
The human heart is a mysterious thing. When I refer to heart, I am speaking of the "core center" of who we are. The will, the intellect, emotion and mental as well as spirit. The place that influences our decisions and the choices we make. Especially those that lead to destruction.
I am not going to get into all the aspects of addiction. I know that brain chemistry is altered sometimes. I know that those who live in this maddening darkness also are driven by the dark desire for more of what they crave. But the bottom line is how can someone look at the results of what addiction does, knowing full well that they are headed down that same path, and then choose to follow it.
Throw in this little bit of information to the mix. Some people stubbornly do not want to quit. They will tell you upfront that they have no desire to stop, even though they know how this train ride is going to end. That is the baffling part to me.
I know that we read in II Corinthians 2:4 where the god of this world, Satan, has blinded the minds of those who don't believe. In other words, their thoughts and choices are influenced and directed by the flesh, or what I refer to as our old sin/addiction nature.
Bringing correction to those who live in this manner is not about getting them to see what your saying. Or trying to come at the them with an answer to their argument of why they won't change. The answer is found in praying for God's Holy Spirit to uncover their blindness and open their hearts to the truth. For some reason we believe that we can intellectually bring someone to see things our way. While they may say that they do, if the heart isn't changed as only the Holy Spirit can do, then they will continue to live under the dark cloud of addiction.
Let me say real quick that I am not an expert on these matters. What I know has come from years of interacting with others who are struggling. I have seen the power of the Holy Spirit bring a person to their knees, crying out for God to save them. I have seen the power of the Holy Spirit sober up a hard user instantly. It happened so quickly that it frightened them so bad they didn't know what had hit them.
All addiction stems from one problem. SIN! Did I really say this? Yes I did. The one thing we always looked too during my time at Rapha was that people didn't really have a substance problem. In other words, it wasn't the drugs or alcohol that was the problem. The problem came from a broken relationship with Christ. This was the reason that a person turned to substances for relief from the world.
Pray for family and friends that are still out there in this hellish darkness we call addiction. Pray for a move of the Holy Spirit over this person, and don't stop praying. Pray for the Spirit to break down every barrier that keeps the light of God from coming to their hearts. Don't stop praying!!
God on you...
mbb
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