What's wrong with me? Why can't I stop!!

What's wrong with you? Nothing. You're human. You are going to sin. The Bible tells us in Romans 3:23" for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."(NKJV) It's a constant, if not daily, battle to live a Christian life. The Bible says in Galatians 5:17 " For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish."(NKJV) The New Living Translation explains it in more detail, "The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions." Even a great man of God, the Apostle Paul, struggled with it. Paul writes in Romans 7:19 "For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing." (NIV). Of course, this does not mean it is okay to sin, just that it is nearly impossible not to,(notice I said nearly impossible, for it says in Matt. 10:27 " for with God all things are possible."), but God's ever abundant grace and mercy is upon us and He forgives us. Jesus paid our debt on the cross over 2000 years ago, and it is by His blood that we are forgiven.

So, how can you at least keep your sin nature under submission? Paul writes in Galatians 5:16 "I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh." (NKJV), or as the NLT puts it, "So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves." The key word in the First version is fulfill. It doesn't say you are not going to think about sin, but by walking in the Spirit you won't carry it out. By being in tune with the Holy Spirit you are guarded against taking action on your natural man's thoughts. You will not want to fulfill them, because you know it is wrong and against God's will for your life. The Holy Spirit is light and your sin nature is darkness, it is impossible for the two mix. Light always chases away darkness.

Walking in the Spirit, as said before, simply means letting the Holy Spirit guide your life, so it lines up with God's will. But with the distraction's that come with day to day life you might find it a bit challenging to maintain your walk continually. Therefore picture a miniature satellite dish inside your head that can only be tuned into the God Channel. Start off your day with prayer and bible reading, then throughout the day repeat a scripture that really ministers to you, or a play a praise song in your head, or simply talk to God. Doing these things moves the Holy Spirit that dwells within you and God communicates with us through His Holy Spirit (Hebrews 10:14-16). So now the Spirit ministers to your heart, making it simpler to yield to what is right and to deny temptation. As your relationship with Jesus grows deeper, you will become less and less wanting of the "old things". Will there still be battles? Yes. Will there still be struggles? Yes. But remember: 2 Corinthians 12:9 And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me

What do I do now?

What to do, what to do. Hmmm? You have accepted Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior and are set free from your addiction or struggle, so you don't have that ball and chain to drag around anymore and you are wondering what do you do now since you have a little extra (or maybe a lot of extra) of time on your hands.
Here are some tips:

1.Read your Bible everyday, get into the word.God reveals Himself and speaks to you through His word. Also it is an instruction guide on living the Christian life.

2.Pray. Daily prayer is communication and fellowship with God. It's not just about asking for things, although that is ok, because God wants us to come to Him for our needs.Talk To God as you would a friend or family member. Pray for yourself; family; friends or your church, if you belong to one. Prayer along with Bible reading deepens your relationship with Christ, making it more intimate.


3.Join a Church. The Bible says we are the Body of Christ, and you are part of that body, Romans 12:5; 1 Corinthians 12:12, 1 Corinthians 12:27. So become a part of a body of believers. Find a church that meets your spiritual needs or do what I did, pray and ask God to put you in the church he would have you belong to, either way is fine. Fellowshiping; worshiping and hearing the word of God together with other believers is an awesome experience and is a vital part of spiritual growth.
Prayer,
4.Join a Christian recovery or support group. Faith based recovery and support groups, whether 12 step or other format, are excellent sources in your journey to recovery.They offer help, hope and healing through the Lord Jesus. You will be with others who are going through or have gone through the same struggles and or addictions that you are. You will be able to discuss your problems with support and prayer from others, or you could give a testimony, and probably help someone else along the way. All in the name of Jesus.

I hope this helped you out. I strongly recommend 1-3, I believe God does too. Number 4 ....well it helped me greatly, so I recommend it also

Psalm 118:24 "This is the day the LORD has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it." (NKJV)

Some days we don't feel so glad and we definitely don't feel like rejoicing. Days filled with problems, heartaches and just plain all around yuck! And to some one coming out of drug and alcohol addiction days like these make maintaining sobriety all the more difficult. You start wanting to resort to the old ways of coping, believe me I've been there. Oh I still have cruddy days that are never over soon enough, but what we have to realize is the bad days, just like the good days, are created by and belong to God.

Just because we're having a horrible day doesn't mean we have to wallow in it. Remember Jesus still reigns on His throne. He is still the Prince of Peace, The Great Comforter, Wonderful Counselor, King of Kings and Lord of our lives, and forever will be! You can muster up enough strength to give a shout out to Jesus. Forget about yourself and your circumstances for a minute, because it's all about Him, not us, and thank Him for the day. Say, Lord thank you for this day which you have made, because it's another day I'm alive, another day I'm sober, another day I have with you in my Life. Soon your day won't seem as bad. I'm not saying stuff will stop happening, but now His Holy Spirit is Stirred up in you and has become a shield for all the bullets, arrows and fiery darts that are coming at you.

So remember this is the day that the Lord has made rejoice! and be glad in it, you will be happy that you did.

2 Corinthians 3:18 "But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord." (NKJV)

Now with our face uncovered (Moses wore a veil over his face when he came down from Mt. Sinai with the Ten Commandments, because God's Glory reflected off his face and shone so bright the the Israelites were afraid to look upon it. Exodus 34: 28-29), as if looking in a mirror, we reflect the Glory of God. And as the Holy Spirit works Within us, we become more and more like Him and reflect His Glory even more!
Simply put; the more we grow in the Lord, the more we glow like the Lord!