"When we acknowledge that our hearts are deceitful and our lives
are full of weakness, stubbornness, ingratitude and foolishness we discover to
our surprise that in Christ none of these can separate us from the love of
God. In those moments Jesus becomes more
precious to us." (John Newton)
I recently had a conversation with a dear friend regarding
addictions and was sharing how I had once be addicted to cigarettes and how God
had literally delivered me from it. I
had struggled with it for years and tried numerous “cures”, including prayer,
but nothing had ever taken the cravings away.
I recalled how I had heard a Christian speaker talk about people who
quit smoking – and how some people quit just by their own will power, their own
internal fortitude – something I found myself to be lacking in. But at the same time when I realized I couldn't it opened the door so that He could.
Something in me changed and I was no longer bound by the shame I felt
in being addicted.
I came to a point where I knew He could (and would) deliver me. He used the prayers of another but I know it
was only the means through which He worked.
I was surprised at how easy it was to let it go and I have been free for about twenty years now.
The quote from Newton just resonated with me of how amazing the
love of God is and how dependent we are upon it and how dependable it is
towards us and that we rest in His righteousness, not our own.
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