Page 21 - Overcoming Addiction

James 1:17
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from
the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.

Sin is a turning away from God to do our own will. We often find ourselves
sinning when some desire of the flesh makes its will known, and we set our entire
being to accomplish this desire. When a desire is contrary to Yahweh’s will for us,
then inevitably we must turn away from Him. In turning away from the source of
light and life, we find that darkness and death become our portion.
Understanding the nature of sin, and of man’s plight in this way, we can
begin to make some application to the problem of overcoming addictive desires.
The world’s solutions only treat the symptoms of addiction. They never get to the
root of the problem, and therefore they offer no real cure. The only real answer to
the problem of addictive behavior is to restore light and life to our beings. Since
all light and life are found in God, the solution to addictive behavior by necessity
mandates that we be restored to God. When the life of God becomes resident in
our being once more, we are able to put the desires of the flesh to death, and to
walk according to the will of the Father.