Painkillers | SermonIndex

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jamccor Sep 12, 2006

Hi everyone.
I have been going through a tough time within the last 2 years. I have a habit I want to get rid of involving prescription painkillers.I am not overly addicted but I find I will take one whenever I can. I am a very shy person and I find that taking these help greatly with my ability to socialize at my job .I work as a computer technician in a school district.I find myself wanting to isolate. I have actually been that way most of my life.However I have a huge guilt hanging over me.Has anyone else been through something similar? I pray all the time but I feel like its a thorn in my flesh that will not go away. If anyone has any books or prayer methods to overcome this, It would be a blessing.
GOD Bless
John

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InTheLight Sep 12, 2006

John,

I just want to tell you my honest impression of what you wrote here.

I am not overly addicted but I find I will take one whenever I can. I am a very shy person and I find that taking these help greatly with my ability to socialize at my job .I work as a computer technician in a school district.I find myself wanting to isolate. I have actually been that way most of my life.

In the portion I have quoted above what I hear is you making excuses, justifying your behavior. You minimize it ("I am not overly addicted"), you justify it ("helps me to socialize"), you externalize it to something beyond your control ("been this way most of my life").

Brother, you need to lay this thing down at the cross and stop the disobedience that your conscience is convicting you of. Bring it to the cross, call it what it is, and He will cleanse you.

Nothing in my hand I bring,
Simply to the cross I cling;
Naked, come to Thee for dress;
Helpless look to Thee for grace;
Foul, I to the fountain fly;
Wash me, Savior, or I die.

It is a bold step to bring this matter here, we will join you in prayer. Bring this before your church also if you haven't already.

In Christ,

Ron

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jamccor Sep 12, 2006

I way hoping that nobody would misunderstand what I said.When I say that I am shy and have been this way my whole life, I meant that as kind of a background, not as an excuse as to why I am addicted (not trying to blame it on my upbringing).I am aware that,unless there is medical need for these, ALL reasons to stay on it are excuses, so I am not going to even make any.I just want to know how to make it right through prayer.Also if anyone else has been through this, how they overcame it.
John

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roadsign Sep 12, 2006

John, You’ve made a positive step. You are admitting that you have a problem you can’t fix: you are an addict. You seem to be at the point where you want to be set free of it. You admit some struggles about yourself – shyness, withdrawal. I ask, Have you reached rock bottom? - As they say in Alcoholics Anonymous: there is not a hope in heaven for an addict until he hits rock bottom. He must first realize that he is hopelessly addicted, and that he needs God! All self-effort has failed. All denial is gone. All blame is dissolved. All pride is smashed.

There is a hard question for you to consider first: “Do I want to be free of this horrible dependency above all, or do I want God to rule in my life above all.” I ask because, sometimes people only want to get rid of their problem, but they don’t really want to surrender to God. You will have far more success if you are willing to let God work in you the way HE wants.

You alluded to some issues surrounding shame – which is usually the underlying problem in addicts. They hide behind their addiction in order to avoid the unbearable pain of shame – which has early-on origins.

There is a lot out there that I'm sure is very helpful. I know God can direct you. For now, you may want to read this e-book about shame – just to get you thinking.

~~[url=http://www.thewayback.net/articles/SHAME/00title.htm]~~Covering our Shame[/url]

It is something that I have been working on, and it far from finished. It has no magic formulas. My overall theme is to portray the fact that God covers our sin and shame with his Glory – that is through Christ. That glorious theme is first alluded to in the Garden of Eden. That is the path to freedom from any sin, any addiction, and any bondage.

May God cover you with his glory!

Diane

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jamccor Sep 12, 2006

Awesome Diane!
I will read that ebook.
I appreciate your advice and will pursue it.
Thanks a million and GOD Bless
John

sermonindex Sep 15, 2006

However I have a huge guilt hanging over me.

John,

I don't know if you know why this is, but, one day you need to understand it.

I suspect that if you just feel guilty all the time, that that guilt belongs to someone else - not you. However, working out why that may be so, and allowing yourself to let it go - maybe even push it off with the Lord's help - will make you vulnerable to knowing other things about yourself which at the moment, you haven't had to face yet. This journey may not be even the tiniest bit easy, but, I know from having made my own difficult journey, that healing from inner pain is very more-ish - even addictive! :-) and the sense of never having been so emotionally well as 'now', is also a great thrill - full of hope, expectation and anticipation of what God can now do through a person who is inwardly sound.

This has to do with 'the inner man'.

Ephesians 3
16 that He would grant you, ~~[u]~~according to[/u] the riches of His glory, ~~[b]~~to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man[/b],

19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

20 Now to Him who ~~[u]~~is able to do[/u] exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, ~~[u]~~according to[/u] the power that works in us,

Those words 'according to', mean 'in agreement with'; God will work in agreement with you and His Spirit which He has given you; He will not force you into anything you can't handle, even if you feel you are risking that when you pray.

God is interested in you making progress. He doesn't set you up so you are bound to fall. We do that to ourselves, often, by setting our sights so transcendently high, that the possibility of ~~[u]~~not[/u] failing is off the scale of probabilities. So, do some Maths with this, and set yourself attainable goals, and remember, while you're putting all your concentration into this, God will be working other things into you while you're not watching.

~~[u]~~Don't[/u] be put off by how long it might take you to work through everything. Make a start, and trust God to keep you until He is finished.

I once looked imploringly to an elder for consolation about a situation I was in and he said 'I know, it's like a big roll of carpet that just keeps on unrolling, but don't worry, there ~~[i]~~will[/i] be an end.' He was right.