One of the greatest ways to overcome
a destructive addiction is to
replace it with...
What’s the one thing we DO need to be addicted to?
The word, “needful,” means “necessary”.
The word, “addicted,” means “devoted by customary practice.” (1828 Noah Webster’s Dictionary)
Did you know that the word ‘addicted’ is found in the Bible?
“...they have addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints,)”
The word, “addict,” means “to devote oneself habitually; to devote time and attention by customary practice.” (1828 Noah Webster’s Dictionary)
Let’s look into God’s Word to see ‘one who devoted herself habitually’ named Mary who understood the One Thing Needful...
“Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard his word. But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me. And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her. ”
Mary was devoting herself to Jesus—devoting her time and attention to sitting at His feet, hearing His Word.
Our Needful Addiction is
To have a personal daily relationship
With Jesus Christ.
God tells of another one ‘who devotes himself habitually’ who sat at Jesus’ feet...
“Then they went out to see what was done; and came to Jesus, and found the man, out of whom the devils were departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid. ”
Both Mary and the Demoniac understood how much they needed to spend time with Jesus, hearing His Word—the one thing needful for a personal relationship with Him.
Are you ready to exchange
your old addiction for the Needful one?
My friend, that is exactly what I did and I can testify that there’s no high like the Most High!
I’m so excited to share with you one of the greatest weapons against the stronghold of addiction—having a personal daily relationship with Jesus Christ.
Having a relationship with the Creator of the universe is just like any other relationship we have in that there must be two-way communication.
Some ways to have two-way communication with God:
1. Prayer.
2. Studying in His Word.
3. Fellowship at church.
4. Listening to His Word being taught.
5. Seeking godly counsel from other Christians.
Let me encourage you to begin each day by having a daily quiet time with the Lord.
When I was at the RU Discipleship School, they taught us how to have devotions each morning. They gave us an “It’s Personal Daily Journal,” to use. (I just use a plain notebook now.) I encourage you to get one of their journals if you are new to having devotion time with the Lord.
Of all the wonderful godly counsel I received at RU, the most beneficial was learning how to have devotion time with God each morning.
And you know what the best part is?
The Expectation!
Yes...real curiosity to see what God will give me each morning! God is sovereignly in control and He already knows in the morning what I will be facing the rest of the day.
I can look forward to receiving my ‘daily manna’ from Him. He always prepares me ahead of time for whatever I will be facing.
By taking a verse from my devotion time, and writing it down on a piece of paper, I can take it with me and meditate on it throughout the day. It is usually the very verse I need and it really helps me to remember the truths He gave me that morning.
And guess what else?
It becomes an addiction!!!
The needful addiction.
Spending time with Jesus every morning, sitting at His feet...studying His Word and having that two-way communication is how I have a personal daily relationship with Him.
Dear friend, please trust me. As I write these posts, I don’t know where you are in your journey with the Lord. You may still be like I once was, still using, still trapped. Please believe God loves you and just be still. Rest in His arms a while. You are never alone and you don’t have to do this alone.
God calls His Word the Sword of the Spirit.
Realize that your own spirit is separate from your fleshly body. Sometimes when I would so desperately want to give up on ever overcoming addiction, I would want to die. But God showed me that really my spirit wanted to live. My spirit was just grieved by my lack of control over my body and soul.
That is why we need the power of God’s Word working in our heart and spirit.
I just want to encourage you to simply begin opening up your Bible in the morning and begin sitting at Jesus feet.
Go ahead and become addicted to Jesus and His Word!
Develop your own daily personal relationship with Him!
I’m thankful even with all that’s going on right now in the world—we DO still have control over the one thing needful: our personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
Thank you for taking time to read this post, I pray it’s been an encouragement to you!
