troubled

[micah7:9]

I believe in Jesus Christ crucified. I have not been in denominational/orthodox religion for sometime now, in fact its been over 30 years. I have studied the Book, I do not believe in most of the doctrines taught. I believe in forgiveness, what I do not understand is: I am an alcoholic and over the past 30 some years I believe the Lord has taken that desire away, for I am not the drunk I was, but I fall back to drinking sometimes. It would seem I am allowed to stop the drinking for years sometimes, and I am a good worker for Him, I believe in Him, His Faith. When I drink my mind is two spirited, fighting, warring one side trying to beat this habit, calling on Him for deliverence,While the other side says you will not be delivered this is the hell you have found yourself in.  I read and reread Romans 7 to find relief, I know the entire answer is not there. I pray for my family, my friends. I am blessed. I pray when I drink or when I am not, I pray and thank The Lord for deliverence when I am not drinking, I pray and thank The Lord for keeping me praying when I am drinking for the deliverence and the blessing He has bestowed on my family and friends. I continue to study all the time. Am I lost in this realm of  two spirits? Have I never been forgiven in the first place  have I been  fooling myself these many  years? The Lord shows me things when I am not drinking and does not take those things away when I may drink again. Good things.

[onlytruth]

Hi ,I will be praying for you, that God will take any desire to drink away and fill that spot with how much you are worth to him!

[marie glen]

Hi ,I will be praying for you, that God will take any desire to drink away and fill that spot with how much you are worth to him!

Amen, me too.. that Jesus will fill with himself to overflowing.. giving peace and serenity.. and joy

[Nathan]

Brother, what God has revealed to you, he's not revealed to your head, he's revealed to your spirit.  The alcohol can not bring your spirit into bondage, only your body.  Thus the warring.  It's your mind accusing you of something that is not true.  You're head is trying to feed your spirit a fruit that is forbidden and God is working in you . . .giving your spirit strength to reject what your mind is trying to convince you of.

The truth is, there is no condemnation awaiting you.  So when you sense it, know that it is not coming from Truth, it's coming from carnality.  Carnality is like a drug lord.  It sells you something knowing it will become an addiction and then use the very thing it sold you as leverage to control you. 

But God has severed that control over you and he's been having conversations with your spirit.  Pursue that, stop wrestling with the other thing.  This earth we live on is actually a replica of man, only in greater magnitude.  The moon affects the tide of the ocean.  Some days it presses in, other days it pulls back. 

There are constant high pressures and low pressures affecting the earth on a daily basis.  Personally, I believe the things happening in the climactical arena actually affects our attitudes and moods.  Some days the craving for an addiction seem to be all but gone, other days, it's all you can do just to get through an hour, let alone a day and not fall of the wagon of whatever the addiction is. 

My point is, just because my body "outwardly" still craves old addictions does not dictate the truth of what God has done "inwardly" in bringing me into a place of light, life and rest.  I think that's why Scirpture encourages us to FILL OUR MINDS with heavenly thoughts.  If I can get my mind to focus on something else, I've already won the battle.

[Syndicated]

Have I never been forgiven in the first place  have I been  fooling myself these many  years?

Hi Micha,  I understand what this feels like.  I have been there most of my life, and still struggle with this thought once in a while even now.  The things I ask myself when I think/feel this way is 'Did Jesus die on the cross for the sins of the world?'  I have to answer with a 'yes'.  Am I part of the world He died for?  Yes.  Did He die for me so I can spend eternity with Him?  Yes!  Is there anything I can do that can take away what He did on that cross?  NEVER!

Romans 8:38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.



1 Peter 3:18 For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit;

He died ONCE, for ALL sins for ALL time.  If I do something that's not good for me I still need to acknowledge it in order to move past it and heal from it, but I'm still forgiven even if I DON'T acknowledge anything.  If I don't, I'm no worse or better a person, but I can't move past and heal from what has happened if the truth has not been 'confessed'.  I am still constantly learning that to live in the Truth is to live in the Light!  I don't always succeed, but the one thing I try to stick to is that I'm still forgiven no matter what I do.

When I drink my mind is two spirited, fighting, warring one side trying to beat this habit, calling on Him for deliverence,While the other side says you will not be delivered this is the hell you have found yourself in.

It sounds like you're trying to put more and more pressure on yourself to not drink and judging yourself as a failure when you do drink.  You're NOT a failure, you're human!  Every person on the face of the earth will fail at things they struggle with, some more than others.  The thing to remember through all of it is that God loves you whether you're sober or not!  His love for you and His opinion of you will NEVER change!  And it's HIS judgement of you that ultimately matters.  This is how come He blesses you in which ever state you happen to be in!  I know that I don't deserve all the blessings I have gotten in my life, especially as of late, but He gives to me because He loves me, just the same as He loves you!  Even in moments of doubt!

There is a great freedom that comes from understanding and believing that God has already judged you as worthy to stand beside Him.  I believe that one day you WILL find this freedom.  There is nothing in this world that you can do that will make Him love you more, forgive you more or accept you more because it has already been done for you through Jesus' blood.  God states that He will NEVER leave us or forsake us... Ever!

[micah7:9]

With all humility I cry tears of thanks to you all. My Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is working His Grace I know. The thoughts and reason you saints have responded with is what He tells me every day. When He takes me to the height of Joy Unspeakable, I rejoice in thanksgiving for the mountaintop. When I walk in the valley of death, my rejoicing is there, holding on to the very knowledge that He is there with me, yet every error, every bit on darkness I have commited prances before me....and I pray and thank Him for that mind of Christ, that is my only stable and rock of reason and strenght. You all have confirmed, by your witness, that our God and Father loves His children and will not let one remain away from Him. Thank you again for your love and comforting....I needed that!

[Paul Hazelwood]

I believe in Jesus Christ crucified. I have not been in denominational/orthodox religion for sometime now, in fact its been over 30 years. I have studied the Book, I do not believe in most of the doctrines taught. I believe in forgiveness, what I do not understand is: I am an alcoholic and over the past 30 some years I believe the Lord has taken that desire away, for I am not the drunk I was, but I fall back to drinking sometimes. It would seem I am allowed to stop the drinking for years sometimes, and I am a good worker for Him, I believe in Him, His Faith. When I drink my mind is two spirited, fighting, warring one side trying to beat this habit, calling on Him for deliverence,While the other side says you will not be delivered this is the hell you have found yourself in.  I read and reread Romans 7 to find relief, I know the entire answer is not there. I pray for my family, my friends. I am blessed. I pray when I drink or when I am not, I pray and thank The Lord for deliverence when I am not drinking, I pray and thank The Lord for keeping me praying when I am drinking for the deliverence and the blessing He has bestowed on my family and friends. I continue to study all the time. Am I lost in this realm of  two spirits? Have I never been forgiven in the first place  have I been  fooling myself these many  years? The Lord shows me things when I am not drinking and does not take those things away when I may drink again. Good things.

Actually, the aspect of forgivness is often misunderstood.  You believe that you must go to God for forgiveness everytime you drink, but you have already been forgiven.

Go to him for comfort and strength to have power over your flesh.   The flesh is what you are battling, you are not in a battle for your soul concerning your drinking.

[Beloved Servant]

I pray that we all, Father, learn to run to you first in hope and faith; not just afterward in sorrow and shame.

[Dallas]

Micha 7:9, You need to find out what reason you drink for. After 30 years there most likely is some chemical dependency, but you didn't first start from that dependency.

Was it to numb yourself to a feeling caused by abuse or frustration, depression, acceptance, lonlieness... you will unltimatley need to face some harsh truths...God isn't letting you drink, you drink because you get some kinda benifit out if it.

Until you can face the reason howcome you drink you can never be released from it, but will remain a slave to useing it for that reason. I will pray that God will enlighten you to see it.

It doesn't matter if you stop, the reason to drink keeps pulling you back...and it's not the alchohol calling you back it's the emotions attached to the reason how come you started.

[Nathan]

Gee, if only God were stronger than our emotional scars . . .

[Dallas]

Gee, if only God were stronger than our emotional scars . . .

Nathan

Well Nathan, guess you could always just pull out the great Christian magic wand!

[Nathan]

Magical?  Affirmative.  Magic?  Nah . . .we call it the Father's love.

[Cardinal]

  We wrestle not against flesh and blood (not even our own) but against the powers and principalities of the air (spirit). I've always found prayer and fasting to be the only effective weapon against a stronghold of any kind. My  Blessings.....

[Syndicated]

Magical?  Affirmative.  Magic?  Nah . . .we call it the Father's love.

Actually Nathan, if you think about it, this statement pakes perfect sense...

It doesn't matter if you stop, the reason to drink keeps pulling you back...and it's not the alchohol calling you back it's the emotions attached to the reason how come you started.

Think about it like this:

You have a car that keeps getting a flat tire from a slow leak, so whenever you drive you keep getting pulled to the side, and you have to fight to not go off your course.  The more flat the tire, the harder you have to fight the pull.  You can temporarily remedy the situation by putting air in, and then you can drive for a while again, but sooner or later, that flat's going to appear again.  So what has to be done?  You have to deal with the air leak itself.  Unless you deal with that leak, you're still going to eventually be having a flat.

Dealing with emotions is no different.  You have to deal with the actual issue, not just put a temporary fix into it or throw it to God and expect Him to deal with it.  God's love is the patch that will fix the proverbial 'leak' in our lives, but we have to find where the leak is coming from first before it can be dealt with.  Only then, when we seek God's help, can it be handed over and the leak fixed for good.

[Nathan]

Here's my point . . .if God can deliver me from being an alcoholic, who's to say he can't heal the emotional scars that drove me to drinking in the first place?  Do we actually think God's healing power is limited only to the natural body and not to the emotional mind?  And everything mentioned here is "assumed".  None of us know the exact reason why Micah 7:9 started drinking in the first place  . . . it could have started at college during a spring break for all we know. 

For me, who cares where it started.  That's like saying that God will forgive you for all your sin, but now you have to go back and identify each experience in your life that led to that particular sin before you're finally and really free.  I don't accept that and as far as I'm concerned, I hope Micah 7:9 doesn't either.  It's the Son that sets us free, not we ourselves.  There are no limits to what God can heal, so why would I want to set limits for what he's capable of doing, which by the way, is much more efficient and final than any attempt that I personally could ever do on my own.

No wonder he titled this thread "troubled"  The moment there's a hint of freedom, somebody has to be right there to rope him back in again.  Let our words set each other free rather than bring confinement and caution.  How big is the God you serve?  Because the one I know not only delivers alcoholics, but he heals the emotional scarring that drove them to drinking as well. . .not only without any help from us, but also in spite of our attempts to help as well.

[Beloved Servant]

Hey Nathan!

Mark 4: 15
15 Now these are those beside the road, where the word is being sown. And whenever they should be hearing, straightway comes Satan and is taking away the word that has been sown in them.


Luke 8:12
12 Now those beside the road are those who hear; thereafter the Adversary is coming and is picking up the word from their heart, lest, believing, they may be saved.

[Nathan]

Amen to that bro.  He that hath an ear . . .

[Cardinal]

  He does give understanding for what caused the problem in the first place. A personal example......

When I was married and pregnant my husband was running the bars and running the women. I would cry every weekend while he was gone. He was abusive and I couldn't figure out why I was crying cause I didn't care anymore if we were married anyway. I kept trying to deal with it in the flesh.

Finally after about 4 months of this, I resolved not to try to "fix" him, but to seek God about what was IN ME, that was keeping me from walking in victory over my circumstances and being in peace in ANY situation.

So I told Him I wanted Him to protect the baby as I was going on a juice fast until I got free. So the 3rd night of this, as I lay down to cry as usual, the Lord spoke to me and said, "I am now delivering you of fear of abandonment", and dropped into my spirit WHERE it came in at.

My parents traveled a lot. They were gone sometimes 5 days a week and I would have to stay with my grandmother, who was 74 and getting slightly senile when I was born. She would tell me that one day they just might not come for me and I'd be her little girl. I heard this my whole childhood.

I was delivered of fear of abandonment that night on the spot, which was what was tormenting me, cause fear hath torment, and at 4am when he drug in, instead of seeing me crying and hassling him, I was smiling reading my Bible. I'll admit it was thru clenched teeth at that moment, but He had me tell him I loved him and nothing more. He looked stunned at the difference.

We don't always know the origin of things, but He does and He is faithful to heal us. Blessings....

[Dallas]

if God can deliver me from being an alcoholic, who's to say he can't heal the emotional scars that drove me to drinking in the first place?

I think YOU completely missed the whole point. When God reveals to a person the source of thier issue they can be healed by that. No one here said God doesn't heal peoples emotional injuries, but what I do see is someone who is acting the fool.

None of us know the exact reason why Micah 7:9 started drinking in the first place  . . . it could have started at college during a spring break for all we know.

Who's debating it? You seem to be freaking out about something that isn't happening, a conversation of one. From my post I suggested he find it out so that he could take it to God otherwise he is fooling himself thinking God is allowing him to continue in it.

That's like saying that God will forgive you for all your sin, but now you have to go back and identify each experience in your life that led to that particular sin before you're finally and really free.

Some rivers run so deep that God needs you to go back to the beginning to set you free...and from my experience and time spent counciling people to freedom through Christ, it usually if not always goes way back....

No wonder he titled this thread "troubled"  The moment there's a hint of freedom, somebody has to be right there to rope him back in again

Stay your tounge little man...for he declared that he wasn't free, but does fall back into drinking. That's not freedom that is slavery. If that's the freedom you think your wand waving God gives, why wopuld you worship such a failure?

I passed on information that would hopefully help Micha, to deal with and encourage Him that God can deliver him not from time to time, but for all time!

[Dallas]

Hey Nathan!

Mark 4: 15
15 Now these are those beside the road, where the word is being sown. And whenever they should be hearing, straightway comes Satan and is taking away the word that has been sown in them.


Luke 8:12
12 Now those beside the road are those who hear; thereafter the Adversary is coming and is picking up the word from their heart, lest, believing, they may be saved.

If I am taking this wrong please by all means tell me...but what I see is two self-puffed egotistical children teaming up on a new member and completley defaming them. That's not the purpose of these boards and it should be stopped, and you two need to give your heads a shake to be behaving in such a manner, especially to a new member!

[Beloved Servant]

the fool
and
little man

As I read your reply those are the highlights that jumped out first and foremost.

[Dallas]

I can act just like you, but what's the point...I think your behaviour is summing up all you represent.

[Beloved Servant]

Feel free.

[peacemaker]

All healing begins within the heart.

peacemaker

[Cardinal]

  This topic will be temporarily locked to give everyone a chance to take two steps back from their keyboards. Blessings.....