That Sunday afternoon as I walked into the drug/alcohol treatment center I thought I knew exactly what was going to happen. I had seen enough shows on addiction to figure that I would be released after a couple of weeks of detox and therapy, would return to my job, and most likely eventually fall right back into the grips of addiction. However that treatment center didn’t even admit me!! WOW!! As we walked outside I was told, “You are going to treatment. We are going to Plan B. Go back to work and call this treatment center.”
Do you know that sometimes God already has everything worked out for our breakthrough? Do you know that He is involved in the details? Do you know that sometimes our Plan B is God’s Plan A?
With shaking fingers I dialed the number… A lady picked up the phone within two seconds I was sobbing, I lost all composure. Here I was talking to the CEO of the center and by God’s grace she understood everything I was babbling. I was to be down at the treatment center the following Monday for admission.
I drove myself down to Franklin, IN on the morning of September 20,2004 and spent the next 5 months in treatment. Remember when I said God is already working out your breakthrough? He knows exactly what we need to be set free!!
I want to share a few things that were vital for me to apply to my life in order for me to be able to walk in freedom. I know and believe that God has the ability to instantly set us free from anything that is not His plan for us yet I also know that sometimes He wants us to walk out our freedom. When we have to put some effort into something we tend to be more protective of it. It tends to mean more to us when we have to sacrifice and press in.
One of the very first things I was told by a staff member was, “using is no longer anc option.” I had to start telling myself over and over again that drug/alcohol were not a part of my life any more. I had to stop the thinking in the back of my mind that if this happens or that occurs then I can use. Constantly it was repeated over and over to me that it was not an option. Just like anything else that we are fighting we have to decide that no matter what happens it is not an option anymore. No longer can we run to fast food ordering two meals and scarfing them down to attempt to stuff our feelings. No longer is is acceptable to run to the casino anytime we feel that we need to get a quick fix. We have to firmly place a wall between us and whatever it is that is destroying us.
-This card has been where I can see it everyday since I got clean to remind me that I am taking a different route.
Ephesians 4:22 says You were told that your foolish desires will destroy you and that you must give up your old way of life with all its bad habits. Whatever you find yourself stuck in the end result will be your destruction unless YOU decide to walk away from it completely. I had to rid myself of anything that was related to my addiction. All of my drug paraphernalia and anything that was going to make drugging look good to me again had to be gone. Start with a deep house cleaning. Rid yourself of ANYTHING that has any tie to any foolish desires you have. That means even those razors that you have hidden in the back of your closet just in case. It evens means the adult magazines that you have tucked underneath your mattress. If you truly want to see a breakthrough that is your first step. Making a choice to never turn back to that which is destroying you and to rid yourself of any temptation.
I was told that I had to change my playgrounds and playmates. That meant that I could no longer go clubbing or hang out at the bars. I had to cut off all contact with people from my past. I had to change my environment completely. Instead of going back to the west side I stayed down in Franklin when I left treatment. I had to be radical. I developed relationships with people who weren’t using. People who had walked the path that I was taking. I hung out with people who were pulling me up with them instead of trying to pull me back into the muck.
You’re addicted to thrills? What an empty life! The pursuit of pleasure is never satisfied Proverbs 21:17 Isn’t that the truth no matter how happy we think something is going to make us. If only we get that great promotion with that amazing office then life will be perfect. If we could just win the lottery then life would be worth it. If only… Fill in the blank. What thrill are you chasing? Where are you finding your pleasure? Is it in things that never satisfy? What is God calling you to step away from? What needs to go out with the trash? Are there relationships that you need to sever? What is God speaking to your heart? If you listen He will speak to you about those things that are holding you back. Are you willing to lay them at His feet?
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