When TImes Are Good, Don’t Lose Ground
When TImes Are Good, Don’t Lose Ground
"Things are seriously going so well!"
"It feels like I really haven't been struggling for such a long time it seems."
"I've been so good with my phone lately! Could I have my App Store password again?"
Sobriety is such a gift! The feeling of complete freedom and the ability to be fully transparent with loved ones is priceless. Have you ever experienced it? There are seasons of life when the mind and heart are laser-focused on good things regularly. It can feel like temptations are less of a draw. You're making strides in the right direction. Do not take these seasons for granted!
The thing is temptation never "goes away." It can feel like it has subsided, but no enemy can attack 24/7, 365. The enemy must regroup and strategize when to reappear next (Genesis 4:12). Sabotage doesn't always come from an outside force. The enemy is conniving enough to show up from inside your protective walls.
Here are 9 Bible Verses to help you not to lose ground, especially during the good times.
1. Listen and Be Wise
Gain regular dosages from Godly counsel, Godly friendships, and God's Word. Proverbs 8:33 "Listen to my instruction and be wise; do not disregard it"
2. Be Continuously Aware of Your Strengths & Your Weaknesses
Be keen on troublesome areas that your past proves are potential pitfalls for you. Lamentations 3:40 says "Let us test and examine our ways, and return to the Lord!"
3. Focus Your Mind Upward
What do the movies, music, and web searches you engage with feed into your mind? Philippians 4:8 "Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."
4. Do Not Procrastinate In Doing Good
Download technology accountability software. Calendar accountability lunches with a friend. Create time for open conversations with a spouse. Intentionally take good steps toward the person you desire to be in Christ. James 4:17 "So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin."
5. Strive For Self Discipline
A marathon is not 26.2 miles. Rather, it is composed of 1,661,220 inches! Your progress will be defined by one's discipline towards a long obedience in the same direction.
Hebrews 12:11 "For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.”
6. Abide In The Spirit
This is not a self-help guide. Our help, our true freedom is only found in Christ! Control and steward what is given to you and leave the rest up to God. John 15:4 "Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me."
7. Walk With Godly Men
Jesus had the 12 disciples. And even within the 12, His best and closest friends were Peter, James and John. Who are your closest friends? Ephesians 4:9-10 "Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up!"
8. Continue to Love Yourself and Others Like God Does
Sometimes our gifts of serving others can be to the neglect of ourselves. Don't be like a starving baker, surrounded by food and feeding others but forgetting to love and feed yourself. Mark 12:31 "You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these."
9. Serve & Be Vigilant
Nehemiah was a Godly leader with the monumental task of rebuilding Jerusalem's walls. They were under continuous threats from both the inside and outside of the city walls. His instructions to the workers were to always be ready. Nehemiah 4:17 "Those who built on the wall, and those who carried burdens, loaded themselves so that with one hand they worked at construction, and with the other held a weapon."
"It feels like I really haven't been struggling for such a long time it seems."
"I've been so good with my phone lately! Could I have my App Store password again?"
Sobriety is such a gift! The feeling of complete freedom and the ability to be fully transparent with loved ones is priceless. Have you ever experienced it? There are seasons of life when the mind and heart are laser-focused on good things regularly. It can feel like temptations are less of a draw. You're making strides in the right direction. Do not take these seasons for granted!
The thing is temptation never "goes away." It can feel like it has subsided, but no enemy can attack 24/7, 365. The enemy must regroup and strategize when to reappear next (Genesis 4:12). Sabotage doesn't always come from an outside force. The enemy is conniving enough to show up from inside your protective walls.
Here are 9 Bible Verses to help you not to lose ground, especially during the good times.
1. Listen and Be Wise
Gain regular dosages from Godly counsel, Godly friendships, and God's Word. Proverbs 8:33 "Listen to my instruction and be wise; do not disregard it"
2. Be Continuously Aware of Your Strengths & Your Weaknesses
Be keen on troublesome areas that your past proves are potential pitfalls for you. Lamentations 3:40 says "Let us test and examine our ways, and return to the Lord!"
3. Focus Your Mind Upward
What do the movies, music, and web searches you engage with feed into your mind? Philippians 4:8 "Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."
4. Do Not Procrastinate In Doing Good
Download technology accountability software. Calendar accountability lunches with a friend. Create time for open conversations with a spouse. Intentionally take good steps toward the person you desire to be in Christ. James 4:17 "So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin."
5. Strive For Self Discipline
A marathon is not 26.2 miles. Rather, it is composed of 1,661,220 inches! Your progress will be defined by one's discipline towards a long obedience in the same direction.
Hebrews 12:11 "For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.”
6. Abide In The Spirit
This is not a self-help guide. Our help, our true freedom is only found in Christ! Control and steward what is given to you and leave the rest up to God. John 15:4 "Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me."
7. Walk With Godly Men
Jesus had the 12 disciples. And even within the 12, His best and closest friends were Peter, James and John. Who are your closest friends? Ephesians 4:9-10 "Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up!"
8. Continue to Love Yourself and Others Like God Does
Sometimes our gifts of serving others can be to the neglect of ourselves. Don't be like a starving baker, surrounded by food and feeding others but forgetting to love and feed yourself. Mark 12:31 "You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these."
9. Serve & Be Vigilant
Nehemiah was a Godly leader with the monumental task of rebuilding Jerusalem's walls. They were under continuous threats from both the inside and outside of the city walls. His instructions to the workers were to always be ready. Nehemiah 4:17 "Those who built on the wall, and those who carried burdens, loaded themselves so that with one hand they worked at construction, and with the other held a weapon."
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A Spiritual Green ThumbThankfulness in Times of TrialOne New LifeOne StepOne DecisionOne PossibilityOne FearOne LieOne DayFurther Up. Further In.When TImes Are Good, Don’t Lose GroundBlessings From The FatherWill shame stop exploitation?New Life in ChristNew Life: A Beautiful MessWhen It’s Hard To Do What You Said you would doConviction vs. ActionNot By SightFinding Identity In The Deep EndRefuge In The StormCan I Really Change? One Guaranteed Way Inside“I Made It” A Tribute To Terry TurnerOne Decision. One Choice.Free IndeedI never knew that something that merely peaked my curiosity at the age of twelve, would turn into years of relentless shame and secrecy. Over the course of four years pornography had consumed more of my life than I ever intended to give it. I vividly remember one of my most desperate prayers to God when I was sixteen. With knots twisting in my stomach, and tears uncontrollably running down my face I said, “God, I can’t do this anymore.” It was in that moment He replied, “Jessica, you don’t have to.” If you are reading this, I don’t know where you are in life or the magnitude of the struggles that you face. What I do know, is that there is such a thing as freedom. For me, it was freedom from more than a pornography addiction. Lust, deception, shame, guilt, comparison, rejection, abandonment, and condemnation have all reared their heads in the years that followed that night when I was sixteen. At times I found myself asking, “When will this ever end?” Somehow, I fell under the impression that the surrender of one thing meant that things in this new relationship with God would inevitably be effortless afterward. Not only was I wrong, but I am glad I was wrong. John 8:36 reads, “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” To this day, it is a verse that has brought me the greatest joy, and I want to tell you why. Jesus starts out this verse by saying “if the Son sets you free.” I couldn’t keep up with the facade that everything was okay, and that I didn’t have an addiction. Freedom came in the moment I said that I couldn’t do it anymore. It wasn’t ever going to be found in my own ability, and for that I am thankful. I am thankful that I can never be too proud of my own strength and resistance to sin. On my own I will miserably fail. Then later in the verse comes my favorite part: “free indeed.” For only six letters, indeed is a powerful word. According to Strong’s concordance, some definitions include “really, truly,” and “actually.” In other words, Jesus was saying that this freedom is without question. It’s not a distant, unattainable fantasy. It’s an undeniable reality that only He can make possible. So where does this leave you now? It leaves you with a choice. Regardless of where you consider yourself to be in this life, Jesus is the only way to lasting freedom. The lies that tell you that this is how it always must be are exactly that – lies. There is a life beyond addiction. Ten years ago, I found myself at that crossroads where I had to decide if I wanted to keep living the way I was. Jesus wasn’t just as my crossroads, but on the road leading to it. I only had to recognize that He was there.
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