Addiction

*Disclaimer: I am not a trained addiction counsellor, addiction specialist, addiction researcher, mental health researcher, or an expert in controlled substance psychiatry. For more academic information regarding the psychology of addiction, please consult an expert who specializes in this area. The information provided is for spiritual growth based on biblical principles and does not intend to replace the help of an actual specialist.

Addiction is a “compulsive, chronic, physiological or psychological need for a substance, behavior, or activity having harmful physical, psychological, or social effects”. The word derives from the Latin term addictus, past participle of addicere, figuratively meaning "to sacrifice, sell out, betray, or abandon." Spiritually, the goal of addiction is to abandon the dependence and comfort we find in God.

In the Old Testament, God punished several foreign nations because of their sacrifice to other gods. Many may ask, “Why would God have such as an issue with people choosing to worship a God other than Him?” God cares so much about our worship to Him because He knows that offering ourselves up to another god is a short-term fix for anything we are experiencing. Part of His jealousy is wanting to permanently protect our wellbeing and future. Addiction offers the opportunity to abandon the relief we find in God for the relief we find in something else. When we have an addiction, we offer ourselves up to something or someone other than God. Whether for twenty minutes, an hour, or a day - people who battle with addiction often say they feel a temporary relief when they indulge in their addiction, which is far off from how God want to cover us. In Psalm 46:1, David declared one of the many benefits of walking with God when he declared that God is an ever-present Help in our times of trouble. Hebrews 13:5 goes on to remind us that the Lord will never leave nor forsake us. God provides more than a temporary relief. As a child of God, you deserve a permanent and ever-present Help after everything that you have been through. You deserve more than a demonic visitation to relieve you of your trauma. It is time for you to declare and take up your permanent comfort.

To begin new recovery and deliverance from addition, I recommend professional counselling from an accredited counsellor with the heart of a teacher and healed from their own past traumas. While you work through recovery, get a strong relationship with God, get to know Jesus, and develop open ears to what the Holy Spirit is saying. We do not just want you to cope with your addition; we want you healed from it, and real healing starts and finishes with Jesus Christ. He will completely remove you from the hurt, loss, and – most of all – the deception that came with your addiction. You deserve to be free. Your new beginning awaits! You wish you all the blessings and healing in your future. Remember: God’s promises are bigger than your situation.

By: Minister Micah