Page 89 - Overcoming Addiction

Chapter 13 - His Part and Ours

n order to have our minds fully prepared to do battle against addictive desires
Iand the sin that dwells in our flesh, we must understand clearly what God will
do for us, and what He expects us to do. I have heard numerous people who were
struggling with various sins declare, “I have asked God to take this away from me
time after time, and it has not gone away.” I have heard this confession in
reference to the desire to drink, or to do drugs, and even from those who are
struggling with anger.
I wrestled with the question of what God would do for me, and what He
expected me to do, for many years. As a young man struggling with sexual lust and
an attraction to pornography I sought diligently to understand this matter. I
sought the counsel of pastors and church elders, but never received the answer I
needed. I looked for books on the topic, and I even found one that had the same
title as this chapter, but I was disappointed when I read the book and found that it
was not written to answer the specific questions I had.
My upbringing in church had left me confused concerning the matter of what
God’s role was in my overcoming sin, and what my own part was. I had heard
ministers declare that we must be like Paul who prayed that God might remove his
thorn in the flesh. I have found that this is the mindset of many struggling with
addiction. Their response before God is to simply ask Him to take the evil desire
out of them. When they have prayed this many times, and the desire has not gone
away, they are often left confused and doubting. This was my own experience
while wrestling to overcome a desire for pornography.
Adding to my confusion was the testimony of many men and women who
declared that when they became Christians that some sin they had been enslaved
to all their lives was suddenly gone. I have heard reputable accounts of men who
cursed like a sailor all their lives, but when they were born again of the Spirit the
desire to curse left them, and it was never again a problem. I have heard of men
who were marvelously delivered from alcohol or drugs or cigarettes in the same
way, and I believe these accounts to be true. I could not understand why God
would not do the same in my life, as I had asked Him many times to take away the
impure sexual desires.
It wasn’t until later years when the Spirit began to open my eyes to see the
parables in Scripture that I understood the truth of this matter and received the
long sought after answer. The answer to my question was right before me in the
account of the Israelites going in to take possession of the land of Canaan. As we
have seen, the land of Canaan is a type and shadow of man’s flesh. It is in man that
Christ seeks to establish His kingdom. The enemies we face are those sinful
desires and passions that reside within our flesh.
As the Spirit began to open up to me the parable of Israel’s battles, I saw an
amazing thing. There were times when God drove some enemy out of the land
without Israel having to lift a finger against them. Following is one such account.

Joshua 24:12
“Then I sent the hornet before you and it drove out the two kings of the
Amorites from before you, but not by your sword or your bow.”