Overcoming Bad Habits and Addictions — Part 24
Whenever Jesus experienced the slightest hint of temptation, He instantly sprang into action with the shield of faith and the sword of the Spirit to protect Himself from the lies and to overcome them by believing and asserting the Truth of Scripture. (See Ephesians 6:10-18.) Jesus never allowed lies to have any place in His thoughts, even when those lies came out of the mouths of some of His dearest friends.
“From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day. Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!” But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.”—Matthew 16:21-23 (NKJV)
Jesus stayed on high alert, even in His weakest moments, rejecting any compromise with God’s best.
“Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.”—Proverbs 4:23 (NLT)
Some of the people closest to me are guided through their lives by lies that they believed years ago. In unguarded moments, lies came into their thoughts. Instead of recognizing and rejecting the lies, my loved ones accepted the lies and placed their faith in these lies. In their thought processes, God’s truth was replaced by lies from the devil.
Years later, these long-held lies have become strongholds in their belief systems that guide the lives of these loved ones through the choices that they make. Instead of being guided by God, these loved ones are guided though life by lies that replaced God’s truth in their thinking years ago. These lies act like distorted eye glasses. They see everything in life now through the lenses of those lies. They are unable to see anything clearly because of the lies they have embraced.
Strongholds of lies make themselves evident to everyone around us through the words that we speak, because what is truly in our hearts comes out in our words. It is not possible for any of us to prevent what is in our hearts from being revealed through the words that we speak.
“Good people have good things saved in their hearts. That’s why they say good things. But those who are evil have hearts full of evil, and that’s why they say things that are evil. What people say with their mouths comes from what fills their hearts.”—Luke 6:45 (ERV)
Equip Yourself for Battle
Soldiers would be foolish to go into a battle zone unprepared, and yet Christians do this every day, and they suffer the consequences for this foolishness, just as my loved ones have.
The Apostle Paul makes it clear to us that, like it or not, we were all born into a war zone with active battles happening around us all the time. If we do not recognize this fact and take action daily to equip ourselves for battles that we could face at any moment, we will needlessly pay dearly for our foolishness.
“You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.** **No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.”—2 Timothy 2:3-4 (NKJV)
The Apostle Paul described our personal preparation for daily battle in Ephesians chapter 6.
“A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.”—Ephesians 6:10 (NLT)
As Bill Gothard affirms, we will never overcome bad habits and addictions through our own will-power. We may be able to bring some aspects of bad habits under control, but only Jesus can completely free us from the power of sin along with its cravings. (Gothard, p.63)
Unbelievers struggling with alcohol addictions acknowledge this powerlessness in every Alcoholics Anonymous meeting they attend. Every time a person takes the podium to speak, he announces “My name is ___, and I am an alcoholic.”
If people struggling with addictions to alcohol do not believe and accept the truth that Jesus has already provided for their freedom, sadly, they will struggle for the rest of their lives and die in bondage to alcohol.
Knowing our own powerlessness to conquer bad habits in our own strength, the Apostle Paul exhorts us to “Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.” This is difficult to do all at once in the moment of temptation. This is something that requires focused preparation in advance.
No one would expect to win a weightlifting competition without daily exercise to strengthen themselves. The principle is the same in our daily experience as believers in Jesus Christ.
“Put on God’s whole armor [the armor of a heavy-armed soldier which God supplies], that you may be able successfully to stand up against [all] the strategies and the deceits of the devil.”—Ephesians 6:11 (AMPC)
Realizing that deceit may try to sneak into our thoughts at any time, especially in unguarded and weak moments, we cannot afford to be caught unprepared without the armor that the Lord provides!
As Paul reminds us, we are no longer struggling against the old lusts and cravings that we used to have before we believed. Our battles now are with spiritual influences who try to deceive us, just as Satan tried to tempt Jesus, first in the wilderness, and later through the words of Jesus’ own friend, Peter!
“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
“For this reason, take up the whole armor of God so that you may be able to take a stand whenever evil comes. And when you have done everything you could, you will be able to stand firm.”—Ephesians 6:12-13 (NIV)
It would be very worthwhile to adopt a daily practice of thoughtfully going through the motions of putting on each piece of the armor that God has provided for our protection in anticipation of the lies that will try to bombard our thoughts that day! As a powerful prophetic act, we can strap on each piece of God’s invisible armor in the morning to prepare for the day.
“Stand firm, therefore, having fastened the belt of truth around your waist, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and being firm-footed in the gospel of peace. In addition to having clothed yourselves with these things, having taken up the shield of faith, with which you will be able to put out all the flaming arrows of the evil one, also take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.** **Pray in the Spirit at all times with every kind of prayer and request. Likewise, be alert with your most diligent efforts and pray for all the saints.”—Ephesians 6:13-18 (ISV)
“Be sober [well balanced and self-disciplined], be alert and cautious at all times. That enemy of yours, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion [fiercely hungry], seeking someone to devour.** **But resist him, be firm in your faith [against his attack—rooted, established, immovable], knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being experienced by your brothers and sisters throughout the world. [You do not suffer alone.] “—1 Peter 5:8-9 (AMP)
“Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak!”—Matthew 26:41 (NLT)
Follow Jesus’ Battle Strategy
When temptation brings a lie into your thoughts, that is your signal that the battle is on!
**Step 1: Realize that you are being lied to! **
Remember that devils may try to put lies into your thoughts, just as the serpent did with Eve, and just as Satan did with Jesus. These lies will often seem like they are your own thoughts, but they are coming from dark spiritual forces trying to catch you off-guard.
When you recognize a thought that is not in agreement with God’s truth about your freedom, use that as a signal to instantly shift into battle mode!
Step 2: Engage fully in the battle!
When a lie enters your thoughts, you must realize this is a battle for your life. If you lose the battle, your freedom could be lost!
“Don’t you know that when you give yourselves to obey someone you become that person’s slave? If you are slaves of sin, then you will die. But if you are slaves who obey God, then you will live a godly life.”—Romans 6:16 (NIRV)
Temptations to believe lies may come at the most inconvenient times, but when they do come, if you are going to live a consistently victorious life, you must drop what you are doing immediately and engage the temptation in battle! You must shift your full focus to battle the lie that is tempting you.
**Step 3: Overcome the lies with truth! **
Do not allow the lie to have any place in your thoughts. Immediately contradict the lie with God’s truth, just as Jesus did when Satan tempted Him in the wilderness. Proclaim the truth of Scripture! Let your thoughts be filled only with the truth. If you allow any part of the lie to gain a foothold in your thoughts, the battle is lost. Stay fully focused on truth.
“Think about the one who endured such hostility from sinners, so that you may not become tired and give up.** **In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.”—Hebrews 12:3-4 (ISV)
Reference:
Gothard, Bill (2011). How to Conquer Habits and Addictions. Institute in Basic Life Principles.
