Strange as this story is, it will clearly illustrate my
point. At the age of 2 ½, my older brothers convinced me that if I ever sat on
a toilet, I would fall in and be sucked down the vortex, out into the ocean
never to be found again. Being young and gullible, I believed this; it goes
without saying that this complicated my life. Reality clearly showed that my
body could never fit down into the little hole of a toilet; still, my mental
state saw it differently; thus my fear changed what I thought the reality was. This
false reality became quite a problem for me, and an embarrassment for my
parents. I would do outside what most normal humans did privately in their
homes. During this short period of my life, my mother worked for a US Senator;
and so hired a woman to come in 3 days a week to watch us. This dear lady caught
me outside in the act and reacted very quickly.
Before I knew what was
happening I was standing before the dreaded vortex, being challenged to
understand that my body could never fit down that little hole? I was not
moving…so she did it for me. Up in the air I went and came down seated firmly.
Screaming as she flushed for the first time, I realized I was still firmly
perched…by the third flush…there was no evil vortex to fear. Reality had
returned and life was going to get better!
The Scriptures states: For
as he thinks within himself, so he is. Proverbs 23:7
Our reality is impacted by our mindset. NOT the reality, for it
is what it is, however our perception of what is real can be controlled by how
we think. This is an important principle when dealing with destructive habits.
Let’s review – The first principle is to give the Holy Spirit His
greatest weapon.
[1] Engraft
scripture into your life and make it personal
The second principle
we find from the Book of Romans
Romans 6:4–14 Therefore we have been buried with Him
through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through
the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death,
certainly we shall also be in the
likeness of His resurrection, 6 knowing
this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so
that we would no longer be slaves to sin; 7 for he who has died is freed from sin. 8 Now if we have died with Christ, we
believe that we shall also live with Him, 9 knowing that Christ, having been raised
from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him. 10 For the death that He died, He died to
sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. 11 Even so consider yourselves to be dead
to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your
mortal body so that you obey its lusts, 13 and
do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God
as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. 14 For sin shall not be master over you,
for you are not under law but under grace.
[2] Importance of mental state: Reckon sin powerless
This is a must in the battle with destructive habits! This is
not mere positive thinking or some sort of hopeful prayer. This is setting our
minds to the reality of our life since salvation. Understanding that sin can
longer command us the way it did when we were bond slaves to it, accomplishes
two truths. First, that we have the upper hand, not sin. If we walk daily in
the Spirit (Controlled by the Holy Spirit) the new nature is in charge and it
will more difficult for the flesh to rule!
Galatians 5:16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will
not carry out the desire of the flesh.
Second, that we are actually more accountable now, than before
salvation. We have been set free and so we can choose to allow sin to rule or not.
This reality is essential in helping us measure the weight of our sin. When we
see how our Lord sacrificed Himself to free us, we will not easily go back into
it.
Paul precisely portrays this in another of his letters
Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ; and it
is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I
live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.
As we see –
the Scripture makes no qualms about our reality. We have been delivered from
sin’s ability to command us. We
died with Christ at the cross. We now live a life, if we choose, that is
controlled by the Holy Spirit and is walking by faith. Faith in what? The
trusting belief that when the Scripture states we are free and do not have to
give in to destructive habits, that is the reality! A little hole can become a
fearsome vortex if allowed to dictate our reality. Our circumstances or
emotions do not change the reality…unless
we let them!
Meditation Questions: When you fall into a destructive habit,
do you spend most of your time feeling bad and sorry for yourself, or do you
try to think over how and why it happened. What are your first thoughts when
you awake in the morning? What does that say? Would you go to a cemetery to get
advice? Then why listen to your old nature on how to live?
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