The Truth Defeats the Lies of Addiction

 

One of the basic misunderstandings we often have around addiction is that we believe it is a sort of power encounter.  We think that if our willpower is strong enough then we will be able to overcome the addiction and live a sober life.  For those of us who are Christians we believe that we have the power of God in us and it is the power of God that will overcome the power of the addiction.  While I believe this is true in essence, it does not play itself out like we imagine.

We often have this image of David versus Goliath.  David had God's power and was able to smite the giant in the name of the Lord God of Israel.  Perhaps for David in that particular context that is how it played out, but typically that is now how God's power works in our lives and in our addictions.

Overcoming addiction, habitual sins, or any demon that may be afflicting us is not a conflict of power, like an arm wrestling match.  It is a conflict of ideas, it is a battle for truth that is fought primarily in the heart and mind.

"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." Paul told us in Ephesians.  If we are relying on our own strength and willpower in this conflict, we will never succeed.  We may find some sobriety for a time, but we will never find the serenity and the joy that the Lord is offering us through recovery and a relationship with him.

If you have been following the blog for the last few weeks, we have been investigating our acting out behaviors to see what are the root issues, the false beliefs and attitudes that are fueling our addictions.

Patrick Carnes identifies four basic false beliefs that drive our addictions, and typically every time we act out we can find one or more of these at work:

1.  I am basically a bad, unworthy person.

2.  No one would love me as I am.

2.  I am on my own to meet my needs.

3.  Sex/porn is my greatest need.

These are flags or markers that pop up to show us what is going wrong with our thinking and beliefs.  We can use these as a guideline to help us resolve the inner issues that are keeping us from getting healthy.  These are lies that are used by Satan to keep us trapped in the addiction.  They bind our hearts and minds and keep us from flourishing and finding joy.  Satan delights in seeing us struggle with sin and wandering from the Savior.

No matter how strong we may be, no matter what level of willpower we have, we can all too easily succumb to these lies.  There are many high-powered executives, elite athletes, and wildly successful artists who still have issues with sex, drugs and alcohol, because they have internalized these truths from a very young age. 

We overcome these false beliefs, not by strength of will or mental discipline, but by equipping ourselves with the truth.  It is only the truth that overcome these lies, and if these lies are not properly dealt with, then we will continue to struggle in our sin.

As I have worked my recovery there are several ways I have found to feed the truth into my life and overcome those lies.  Listening to good sermons, lectures and podcasts, reading good books, memorizing Scripture and meditating on affirmations.  The last two, especially, have been very effective for me. 

I try to look for verses that will directly confront and contradict that lies that I have been believing, some powerful examples:

1. I am basically a bad or unworthy person:  2 Corinthians 5:17; Psalm 139:14; Jeremiah 31:3

2. No one would love me as I am: Ephesians 1:3-14; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Zephaniah 3:17; 2 Corinthians 8:9

3. I am on my own to meet my needs: Psalm 55:22; Philippians 4:11-13; Matthew 11:28-30; Isaiah 40:28-31

4. Sex/porn is my greatest need: Psalm 16:11; Galatians 5:16-25; Psalm 17:15; Psalm 34:8

Some of the most effective verses have been those that affirm my relationship with Christ and that reinforce my identify in him.  It is through my identity in Christ that I am delivered from my addictive behaviors and am transformed and made clean and whole. 

It is helpful to read Scripture with these concepts in mind and look for those verses that stand out and apply to these issues.  We can then take those verses and memorize and meditate on them. 

Along with those Scriptures, I will often take those truths and then make them into affirmations and meditate on those.  Many times I just take the opposite of the false belief and make that the affirmation. 

Some examples:

I am worthy of love and respect.

I am fearfully and wonderfully made, fashioned as a living icon of the wisest, bravest and most beautiful person who ever lived.

Christ is all I want and all I need and I am fully satisfied in him.

Porn is not my greatest need, my greatest need is to walk with God.

I am not on my own to meet my needs, God desires to meet my needs more abundantly than I can think or believe.

I am of infinite worth because Christ paid an infinite price to save my soul.

I am a blood-bought, born-again, child of the one true King, destined for eternal glory.

I have many more, but I think you get the idea.  It is usually better if we write these affirmations for ourselves, though I am not above borrowing or stealing in this situation.

I will take those verses and affirmations and meditate on them, repeating them over and over again in my head.  If I slip into acting out behaviors, I will look at the automatic thoughts and false beliefs behind it and then look for an affirmation or verse to combat that and take time to meditate on that.

There have been many times when I was struggling in the addiction, and I would have to take time to meditate like this every day, sometimes for extended periods of time.  But usually about 30 minutes or so a couple times a day. 

This time of meditation does not need to be lengthy to be helpful, but more is obviously better.  I would recommend a minimum of fifteen minutes.  We can take just one verse or affirmation and focus on that, or go through several.

We can renew and transform our minds with the truth of Scripture.  These are a few handy-dandy tools to help us achieve that end.  We cannot overcome the addiction or Satan's schemes by brute force or strength of will alone.  We need the power of the truth, and using these verses and affirmations helps us overcome the lies and false belief and replace them with healthy, God-honoring thoughts and ideas.