The church in Galatia was Paul's problem child. After he had preached that Jesus was the only means of freedom from sin, others came behind him, insisting that the dietary and religious laws of the Old Testament also had to be kept.

In his letter to the church, Paul exclaims, "I am amazed that you are so quickly turning ... to a different gospel" (Galatians 1:6). He reminds them of the gospel he preached that Jesus died to pay the price for sin. He hammers home his argument: "Christ has liberated us to be free.

Stand firm then and don't submit again to a yoke of slavery" (5:1). Christ set you free. But you can become a slave again to a number of things. If you deal with your pain in the freedom Christ has given you, it may hurt worse before it gets better. When you ask Jesus to help you with an addiction, He will take you right back to the problem. You begin to confront it with Him at your side. You can get to the place where you say, "This is my fault. I take responsibility and ask forgiveness for this," or "This was not my fault. I'm releasing it. I'm not going to carry it." You face it, and Jesus gives you victory over it. You're no longer afraid of it. If somebody brings it up, you can own it.

But when the addiction is gone, the pain you've been trying to avoid is waiting for you. Not only do you have to deal with the pain, but also the damage caused by your addiction.

In Philippians 4:6-7, Paul says, "Don't worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses every thought, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." Christ is your Savior and Lord. You belong to Him, and He belongs to you. When you fill your life with Jesus, anxiety and pain are pushed out. Here's where most of us fail. We rank stuff in our lives according to what we can handle and what we think Jesus should handle. There are things we pray about and things we just do. Too many of us look at our lives and determine we don't need to pray about this or that. Then we get into trouble. Paul says to pray without ceasing.

We have the privilege of being in conversation with Jesus throughout the day. We can be in constant conversation with Jesus all day about every aspect of our lives. Everything is under His lordship. Since everything belongs to Him, we can talk to Jesus about it all.

Paul tells us to think about things that are noble, righteous, beautiful, and of high moral character. Fill your mind and heart with a scriptural vision of Christ. From that vision, add to your life those things Jesus has in His life that you don't have in yours. Get rid of those things that aren't part of Jesus' life. The anxiety that sets up a huge hole in your heart can cause you to act out of anger or resentment. It can cause you to be bitter. Nobody gets through life unhurt. All of us have been wounded. All of us have been rejected. All of us have been betrayed. All of us have been let down.

Allow Jesus to heal your fears, pains, and anxieties through prayer, Bible study, worship, and fellowship with other believers. Prayer can be a time of honest self-appraisal as you review the things in your life you're doing well, not doing well, things you're struggling with, and things you fear.

We think of peace as the absence of war. In the Bible, peace means wholeness, completeness, finished. The peace of God defends, attacks, and pushes back anxiety. God's peace will guard your heart and your mind. It will guard your heart, so that you aren't anxious in your desires.

It will guard your mind, so you aren't anxious in your thoughts. Addiction is easy. In addiction, you become a slave. Decisions are made for you. But you weren't created to live that way. It is for freedom that you were set free. Jesus died to give you your freedom. He wants you to be free from everything and indebted to nothing. He wants to bring healing to your heart and peace to your anxieties. He is Lord. He is King. He wants His people to live free.

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Freedom from Addiction

This article is courtesy of HomeLife Magazine.

Mike Glenn is the executive editor of Mature Living and serves as senior pastor of Brentwood Baptist Church in Brentwood, Tenn. Follow his blog at mikeglennonline.com.