Overcoming Bad Habits and Addictions — Part 21
“Do not lie to each other. You have left your old sinful life and the things you did before.”—Colossians 3:9 (ICB)
**“**For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin”—Romans 6:6 (NIV)
When our old selves were crucified with Christ, we were completely freed from all bad habits and addictions and their appetites and cravings.
But if we continue to think as we did before and allow our thoughts to return to old habits and old cravings, then it is possible for us to continue living with those old habits and addictions, even though Jesus has already freed us from them—even though they are not a part of our new nature!
“For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.”—Proverbs 23:7 (NKJV)
Our lives are guided by our thoughts. If our thoughts are filled with God’s truth, then we can live in complete freedom, focusing on fulfilling our purposes in life. But if we allow our minds to entertain thoughts of our old habits, then those thoughts can keep us from moving on into a life of freedom.
God has opened the cage that held us captive. All we have to do is believe that truth and walk out of the old cage into a new life of freedom and purpose. If we continue to entertain thoughts of old habits and cravings, then we will stay in the old cage, even though God has thrown the door wide open!
After the Israelites had already been delivered from the bondage of Egypt, some of the foreigners among them began to entertain thoughts of returning to old habits and appetites. The Israelites did not resist these thoughts of appetites for the pleasures of the old life. They did not immediately recognize these thoughts as lies and reject them. They received these thoughts into their minds and allowed their minds to dwell on them, just as Eve had allowed her mind to ponder the words of the serpent in the garden of Eden.
And just as Eve had fallen because she allowed herself to think on the words of the serpent, the Israelites fell into defeat after receiving the thoughts of the old life that were imposed upon them by *foreigners *in their midst. As a result, the Israelites brought destruction upon themselves and their families. They returned to their old ways and died without ever experiencing the wonderful Promised Land of freedom that God had prepared for them.
This is a powerful lesson for us because we have been completely freed from all bad habits and their cravings. Now, if we have any thoughts or feelings of indulging in those old habits, those thoughts are foreign to us. We must realize that those thoughts and feelings are not a part of us anymore. They are foreign to our new nature, and so if those thoughts and feelings try to return, they are not coming from within us. They are lies coming to us from another outside source. These are coming from devils that are trying to deceive us into thinking that these thoughts are ours, not theirs. If those lies come to us, they may seem exactly like our own thoughts and feelings, but they are not! These are lies that must be immediately recognized for what they are and rejected.
We are told in Psalm 78:30 that the Israelites “were not estranged from their lust” (KJV). The original word used for “estranged” in that verse means to be a “foreigner,” a “stranger,” an “enemy,” or to be “alienated.”
This caused the downfall of the children of Israel. They did not see their lusts as something foreign to them after they had been delivered. When thoughts of those old cravings arose within their ranks, they did not see them as something that was foreign to their new lives. Instead of immediately rejecting these thoughts as enemies to their new lives of freedom, they listened and pondered these foreign thoughts. They entertained the ideas that these foreigners suggested, and even though they had been completely delivered from the bondage of their slave masters of their old lives in Egypt, they fell to the lusts and cravings of their old lives!
“Then the **foreign rabble **who were traveling with the Israelites began to crave the good things of Egypt. And the people of Israel also began to complain.‘Oh, for some meat!’ they exclaimed. ‘We remember the fish we used to eat for free in Egypt. And we had all the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic we wanted. But now our appetites are gone. All we ever see is this manna!’
**… **
“Moses heard all the families standing in the doorways of their tents whining, and the Lord became extremely angry. Moses was also very aggravated.”—Numbers 11:4-10 (NLT)
God loved the people of Israel with all of His heart. He had miraculously delivered them from their old lives of slavery to oppressors that they could not control or conquer without His help. He had wonderful plans for them to enter a Promised Land and enjoy meaningful lives, free from their old enemies. But when they allowed thoughts of the old desires to return, and they insisted on engaging in activities to feed those appetites, God did not stand in their way. He allowed them to return to their old practices, even though He knew how destructive it would be for them. It was their choice.
It is the same for us. God has freed us completely from the old habits and their cravings, but if we allow ourselves to entertain thoughts of those old habits and cravings, and we insist on returning to those old practices, God will not stand in our way. He will allow us to choose our own paths in life, even though it may grieve Him terribly because He knows how destructive those old habits could be for us.
“Listen to me, O my people, while I give you stern warnings. O Israel, if you would only listen to me! You must never have a foreign god; you must not bow down before a false god. For it was I, the Lord your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it with good things.
“But no, my people wouldn’t listen. Israel did not want me around. So I let them follow their own stubborn desires, living according to their own ideas. Oh, that my people would listen to me! Oh, that Israel would follow me, walking in my paths! How quickly I would then subdue their enemies! How soon my hands would be upon their foes! Those who hate the Lord would cringe before him; they would be doomed forever. But I would feed you with the finest wheat. I would satisfy you with wild honey from the rock.”—Psalm 81:8-16 (NLT)
God allowed them to make their own choices. Even though they had been freed from their old lives of slavery, they chose to return to their old appetites and cravings. They were deceived into believing the lies of the foreign voices that told them that they still lusted for those things that belonged to their old lives. These lusts would lead them to sin, and they would eventually experience the wages of sin, which was their deaths.
“Sin pays off with death. But God’s gift is eternal life given by Jesus Christ our Lord.”— Romans 6:23 (CEV)
Sadly, the Israelites died where they were, never advancing and experiencing the land that was promised to them after their deliverance from the bondage of the former life. They never fully realized the freedom that God had provided for them.
“That place was called Kibroth-hattaavah [the graves of sensuous desire], because there they buried the people who lusted, whose physical appetite caused them to sin.”—Numbers 11:34 (AMPC)
And it was all because they “were not estranged from their lust,” as we are told in Psalm 78:30 (KJV). They did not understand that those old cravings were not part of them anymore. They did not reject thoughts of returning to old habits and cravings as things that were foreign to their new lives of freedom.
An entire generation of Israelites was lost because they allowed lies into their thoughts, just as the entire human race was plunged into the destructive consequences of sin because Eve allowed her mind to accept and dwell on lies from the mouth of the serpent.
Your battle is won or lost in your thoughts.
If you believe God’s truth and allow it to fill your thoughts, then you can fully enter into the freedom of your new life in Christ.
But if you allow thoughts into your mind that try to tell you that you are still a slave to old habits and cravings, then those lies may become realities in your life, and just like the Israelites, you may die without experiencing the Promised Land of freedom that God has already provided for you.
“Then Jesus touched their eyes and said, ‘It will happen for you just as you have believed.’”— Matthew 9:29 (CEB)
“For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.”—Proverbs 23:7 (NKJV)
