Pathways to Victory: Overcoming Addiction Through Faith

We are dedicated to helping you connect your struggle to your story and your story to God , because every bit of you is sacred by design . So often when we are praying on topics for this podcast , it can start with a word , and the word that kept coming up for this particular episode was path , and so , to start , i just want to begin with a story .

My family we used to have a little four by four garden , tiny , and my younger son was the master gardener And he had asked for a wheelbarrow to help him work his little farm .

Every day he would grab the handles and lift a load of dirt or caprisons or rocks , whatever , to the gate , and after a while there was a clear path worn out from all the back and forth and back and forth to the same stop .

This repetition cleared out a groove in the grass And he would every day steer that little wheel right onto that groove because it was an easy straight shot , with good momentum , right to the garden . Why am I telling you about a little kid pushing a wheelbarrow across the lawn to get to a garden ? Well , consider this .

What if your thoughts are a wheelbarrow and the groove in the lawn are the neuro pathways in your brain ? Is it a big leap ? It might sound that way . I'm not an neuroscientist , but the connection is pretty solid . So stick with me , because thoughts , how you think , have the same effect on your brain as that loaded up wheelbarrow on the grass .

Now , because this is regeneration ministries and you're here first , very particular reason , let's take it a step further and imagine that your addiction , the unwanted sexual behavior that you're battling , is loading up your desire , and your triggers and pain are steering down the same path back and forth and back and forth , leading you to the same ending .

Your thoughts are powerful . Loneliness has worn out a path . Anger may have worn out a path . Comparison can wear out a path . Your brain , and my brain , has bajillions of well-worn paths in them . Do you know what the greatest enemy of your spiritual life is ?

Your thoughts , specifically your negative thoughts , the ones that contradict the sacred voice that calls you beloved . So let me ask you what do you think of you ? What words come to mind ? Do words like true , honorable , right , pure , lovely ? Do those words make the list ? Or do words like dirty , unlovable , unworthy steer your thoughts ? Or how about these words ?

Never , always , can't These words direct thoughts ? Dallas Willard says the ultimate freedom we have as human beings is the power to select what we will allow our minds to dwell upon . It is in our thoughts that the first movements toward the renovation of the heart occur .

That's pretty heavy , so let me repeat it The ultimate freedom we have as human beings is the power to select what we will allow our minds to dwell upon . It is in our thoughts that the first movements toward the renovation of the heart occur .

So what if , right now , jesus is asking you , his beloved , to sit and think about how you end up masturbating Or how you show up at his house or her house again and again ?

Sure , it may have started out with a feeling , but how you think about that feeling , what you think about yourself , seems to be getting you to the same place , and it has created a path . Jesus wants to redirect your thoughts with you towards ultimate freedom .

The tricky thing about addiction and their neural pathways is those paths are easy to travel , right I mean ? the path is worn , it's comfortable , it's predictable And it leads you to the same disappointment , same kind of relationship , same dosage , the same shame . My goodness , what if this were the end of the story , the end of this podcast ? It isn't .

It's not because what if ? what if , now that we have a wheelbarrow and neuroscience and addiction in mind , we bring Jesus in to consider this passage ? I wish you could see the pom poms , the virtual pom poms , in my hand . I am the Lord who opened a way through the waters , making a dry path through the sea .

I called forth the mighty army of Egypt with all its chariots and horses . I drew them beneath the waves and they drowned their lives , snuffed out , like a smoldering candlewick . But forget all that . It is nothing compared to what I'm going to do , for I am about to do something new . See , i've already begun , do you not see it ?

I will make a pathway through the wilderness . I will create rivers in the dry wasteland . Yes , lord of armies , the Lord of armies is making a promise here based on a solid record of wins . Emmanuel , god with us , sees the pathways and says forget that , there's more . Is the Lord talking about neural pathways here ? Well , why not ?

I bet your path to porn feels predictable . I bet your path to masturbation leads you to loneliness . God wants to do something new . What do you think about that ? Here's another , very I'm like jumping . Is it possible to create new neural pathways ? Yes , it is . Is it easy ? No , mm-mm , cause there's this thing called resistance .

And hey , if you know it up front and you can call it out , oh , this feels hard . This must be resistance . This feels weird . This must be resistance . Oh , i want to give up . Nope , this is resistance . You , you are hardwired by a good God for freedom and victory and love and movement and rest and community .

You are hardwired by a good God for more than a predictable path that ends in lonely shame . Here's another quote I loved by Dr William Struthers The process of sanctification is an addiction to holiness , a compulsive fixation on Christ and an impulsive pattern of compassion , virtue and love . This is what we are wired for . This is what we are meant for .

Scripture says that God knows the number of hairs on your head . Consider that he also knows the thoughts in your head . In John 5.6, . God says do you want to get well . In Luke 1841, . What do you want me to do for you ? In Mark 10.51, . What do you want me to do for you ? Jesus wants to hear you , he wants to know your thoughts .

Your thoughts are powerful and have led you down a predictable path with the same endpoint for so long . But the Holy Spirit , the Spirit of God , the Spirit that God gives us . It doesn't make us timid , it gives us power , it gives us love and it gives us self-discipline . Paul told Timothy and is saying to you , girl , fan that gift into flame .

You are wonderfully complex , isn't it wonderful how complex you are . Ultimately , to change your behavior , you need to understand the why , the reason , the reason to change your behavior . You need to understand the why's to your behavior . The actions you choose are connected to your emotions , to your thoughts , to your beliefs .

That resistance in going back to the wheelbarrow , when I noticed that Joseph was going kind of a long way to the garden , i was like why don't you go this direction ? If you just go to the right buddy , you can get there quicker And it'll be easier to unload your rocks and caprisons .

And sure enough , when he would go to put the wheel in the direction that I was showing him he'd bump right into the grass And he'd get so irritated because it just wasn't easy . He was trying to get somewhere and it just wasn't easy because the grass was this resistance .

But then , when I showed him , like , oh , look at these steps , look how many steps it takes me to get to this side is 10 steps versus the 25 , right . And so with time he kept going and I would keep encouraging him .

That same partnership , joseph's willingness to hear my idea , that same cooperation is what can build new neural pathways When we lean into Jesus for his direction . These thoughts lead to our emotions , lead to our behaviors . Jesus , who is the discerner of our hearts and our thoughts . He wants to blaze a new path with you , for you , but it's going to be hard .

Are you willing to cooperate ? Are you willing to lean into what he has to say about a new path ? Exciting doesn't mean easy . It can look impossible , but we're talking about the God of the impossible , the waymaker . Two things I want to leave you with .

Can you pray that you allow Jesus to see what you've got loaded up in your wheelbarrow and ask him to help you push through the resistance and blaze a new path with him . Another idea is to try the pause app . John Eldridge offers a five-minute practice and it's called Five Minutes to Mental Strength Super simple .

Schedule it on your phone and start blazing a new path with the strength of Jesus' word and Jesus' hope . And in the whole process , because this is hard and this is work catch those thoughts with kindness . Catch those thoughts in authority .