Ambushing Addiction

Addicts are everywhere. Watch the news. Men and women, from every tier of life, walking through the revolving door of county jails all over the country. We all watch them fail. We shake our heads and turn the channel. No one stops to think that maybe we are all addicts... different poisons.. but people who have become slaves to ____ (fill in the blank) as a result of refusing our own strengths... thats what addiction is..

John Elderidge, author of Wild at Heart, says "The world is a carnival of counterfeits - counterfeit battles, counterfeit adventures, counterfeit beauties. The world says to battle your way to the top but why is it then that those who get there are often the emptiest, most frightened, prideful posers around?". Some of the most successful people are as miserable as those we consider failures. Both are missing one element - Christ.

How do we then counterattack addictions, posing, and miserable hearts? Well before an effective military strike is made, one must take out the opposing army's line of communication. Satan is probably one of the most tactical enemies we will come across. No military base in the world is equipped with enough missiles, bombs, or gear to shut down Satan's artillery because he knows our secret addictions. He knows how to ambush us. He knows our pride and our insecurity. He knows our weakness and what we don't have the strength to say no to. What we have here folks, is a failure to communicate... because we aren't asking for help.. from anyone.. and we absolutely cannot fight this battle alone. We need an extraction point. God will meet us where we are.

Satan is constantly "jamming our communication with Headquarters" so what do we do. What we do is get off the couch and fight! Say no! Eldredge says "to lose a leg is nothing compared to losing heart; to be crippled by shrapnel need not destroy your soul, but to be crippled by shame and guilt may". An honor wound is a great reward. Henry V once told his men "He that outlives this day, and comes home safe, will stand a tip-toe when the day is named, and rouse him at the name of Crispian.. Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars, and say 'these wounds I had on Crispin's day.' Old men forget; yet all shall be forgot, but he'll remember with advantages what feats he did that day".

When we decide to confront our addictions and those obstacles that steal our strength, we will find the true hero/heroine inside us all because we conquered the enemy of selfishnessl. Things are going to get fierce; thats why you were given a fierce heart!

Maybe then you'll win back your beauty, find your true adventure, and stop being a poser...

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