Christ vs. Little Debbie (Addictions & Scripture Memory)

(This post is a little longer than normal but it is one that I have felt prompted to post for some time now so I going to just do it before I "overthink it" and chicken out. For a person who gravitates towards the private side it feels a little like opening up a personnal closet in my house and inviting every one to take a look. Scary. But if it could serve to encourage a fellow struggler out there~ I will count it worth it. Sorry for the length)

(Ms Team this is also your posting place for verse #10)

What’s your "go to"?

You know...when life gets tough and messy and painful.

Where do you turn?

This was the central question posed by a Bible Study I did a few years back. More specifically it was worded "Who or what do you feed on?"

In hindsight, I laugh at the irony of the wording because as I began to observe my own life, a disturbing pattern emerged. Something I didn’t want to face. I had been a believer for many years....of course Christ was my "go to" in all things .... or was He?

It’s amazing the truths the Word can surface in your life when you are ready to let it stir things up. As I began to peel back some layers, I saw a very unhealthy pattern.

If someone said something hurtful I’d sedate myself with dark chocolate. If I hurt my own feelings, I found consolation in creamy cappuccinos or chocolate chip cookies. Lonely? Depressed? Despairing? Nothing "Little Debbie" couldn’t help assuage.

Well, at least for a fleeting moment. Then, like all worldly solutions that ‘promise much and deliver nothing’ I’d come crashing back to the problem with the added hitch of having a few extra pounds to contend with on the treadmill.

If you would have told me my "go to" was a food addiction (more specifically a dessert addiction) I would have laughed at you. If you would have called it an idol I would have rolled my eyes and added you to the "over-the-top" list.

But the truth is....it was both. Because when I was hurt, upset, stressed or overly tired, that was the first place I landed instead of at the feet of Christ. If an idol is anything you put before Him, then I was guilty.

I didn’t like to admit that I was taking my hurt to something as helpless as an oatmeal creme pie instead of to the One who could do something about it. But that’s exactly what I was doing.

Okay...now that I could see the problem straight on I’d just eliminate it. Easy. Right? Wrong!

Have you ever tried to suddenly quit something that you’ve been doing for years?

I quickly exhausted my list of ways to change this behavior and in the end found myself to be exactly what I’ve been all along...helpless to help myself.

But thanks be to God as believers we are not left dangling there. "God helps those who help themselves" is not Scriptural.  But God does help the helpless. Check this out.....
　
But as for me, I watch in hope for the LORD, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me. Micah 7:7

O LORD, You have heard the desire of the humble; You will strengthen their heart, You will incline Your ear Psalm 10:17

Because the Sovereign LORD helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore have I set my face like flint, and I know I will not be put to shame. Isaiah 50:7

For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. Romans 5:6

While we were still helpless...good news for a heart weary of trying harder and harder. I was ready for Him to step in and do His thing. And if I can be honest here, I was kind of hoping He was going to do something fast in my life ~ like blink an eye and zap away the problem lightening quick. He has been known to act immediately and decisively in some people’s lives....but that’s not how it went for me.

Instead, He gave me one step at a time and asked me to obey it ~ without necessarily knowing the next step. I never have liked that "unsighted following thing" but I knew I had to do it. Sometimes the step didn’t make much sense. Sometimes it didn’t seem to have anything at all to do with what I thought my problem was. But I knew it was His way or no way, so I followed.

I bet you are thinking, how in the world does this connect with Scripture Memory and could you please get to the point!

The thing is, when God began to ask me to consistently memorize His Word I had no idea the dividends it was going to pay and I surely did not see how it connected to this specific issue. But I knew I needed to obey this step so I drew up a plan for memorizing the Word and invited many of you to join me in the journey.

One day this past year, God stopped me in my tracks and quietly called my attention to something that I could hardly believe myself except for the fact that I was utterly in the middle of it.

It had been a hard day. One of those kind that you feel like the enemy is defeating you at every turn. My old self would have come right home looking for "Little Debras" (that’s what my husband calls "Little Debbies"... isn’t that the most annoying thing you’ve ever heard of?) But instead, I walked right past the junk food cabinet and sat down at my desk. I went to my favorite Scripture Memory site (scripturetyper.com) and pulled up the verses that needed review. On a normal day there might be 6 to review but I was behind, so there were 24.  I was relieved to see that many because I had a lot of stuff to sort through and I wanted as many verses talking to me as possible. I started the review and typed in verse after verse after verse. With each one I would stop, offer it up as a prayer and thank God for how He had handpicked that one to speak into my life at that moment. Sometimes it was a word of encouragement, sometimes a word of wisdom, sometimes a challenge to forgive and submit. But always a cup of cold water being poured into my thirsty heart.  So much more satisfying than the creamiest puff you could bake up. And without the unpleasant side effect of an extra ounce to take to the gym.

What He showed me that day was that somewhere along the way, He had changed my behavior from the inside out. No magic wands, just one step obeyed which led to the next bit of instruction, then the next.

He broke an addiction and removed an idol that I was finding impossible to break free from on my own.

If you take nothing else from this post, please hear this.....HE did it.

Sisters if there’s one thing I am positive of, it is that this was ALL Him. I simply didn’t have the will power to do this. I needed a Deliverer and as I fastened my eyes on Him and obeyed His directing He came through for me like I never even imagined He would do. I don’t think it had anything to do with my faith because I wasn’t so sure it could even happen. But somewhere along the way He set me free and I am unspeakably grateful.

If you walked into my house today you would still find plenty of sweets and lots of dark chocolate in my cabinets. We are a dark-chocolate-loving family and love to celebrate with some good desserts. But what I can tell you with all honesty is that desserts are not the thing I "go to" anymore. Christ is.

Now when life deals its blows the first one I want to empty out to is Him. You might find me pounding out my verses on Scripturetyper.com, or curled up somewhere with my Bible, or taking a long walk telling the Lord all about it then waiting on Him to speak back into the situation. 

And He satisfies like nothing or no one else could.       Every time.

When I eat of Him my soul is full.

How about you?

Who or what do you feed on?

 If you are struggling to get some freedom in any particular area of your life maybe one of the steps He wants you to take is memorizing His Word.

The dividends are countless and tailored to your very needs...even before you know what they are.

Its never too late to start.

It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees.
Psalm 119:71 (NIV)