strangled in another,” she said. 54
Finally Sandy saw firsthand that she could be freed forever! She experienced the overwhelming love of Jesus and began calling upon Him for help to overcome her compulsive behaviors. “I was the object of a love greater than any I had ever known. My compulsive lifestyle was reordered by a power outside myself, which I continue to experience and call Jesus Christ.” 55
Addictions and the Tendency to Sin
Q UESTION : “When I became a Christian, shouldn’t that have changed my addictions and my tendency to sin?”
A NSWER : When you put your trust in Christ, you did indeed receive a new life! God’s Spirit lives within you and enables you to overcome sin. While you have been saved from the penalty of sin (eternal separation from God) and while the power of sin over you has been broken, you must still choose to not sin when you are tempted. You must choose daily to put off your old self with all its bad habits and inclinations and not be controlled by it. Instead, you must put on your new self and be controlled by it—your new self, which was created to be like Christ.
“You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness”
(E PHESIANS 4:22-24).
D. How to Break a Bad Habit
Before releasing her from the hospital, Bethany Hamilton’s doctor summarized her prognosis this way: “The list of what Bethany will have to do differently is long; the list of what she will be unable to do is short.” 56
Prior to the attack, her training routine was simple: Surf…and watch videos of herself surfing so she could improve her technique. Those habits would hardly suffice now, for she had to train to compete against elite athletes possessing endurance, strong core muscles, tremendous upper-body strength, and…two arms. 57
To compensate, Bethany added workouts to her regime of grueling physical therapy that were nearly twice as hard as before. Because her spine began curving toward her stronger right side, she incorporated spinal realignment exercises into her routine. Instead of swimming (it’s too hard on her arm), she runs, does push-ups (one-armed!), hikes, lifts weights, and, of course, surfs—between two to eight hours a day when the waves allow.
When Bethany found it too hard to duck underwater while paddling out to catch a wave, she formed a new habit—riding a custom-made board with a handle she could hold on to. She also learned to use her legs more efficiently to help compensate for her slower paddling.
“She’s working at a huge deficit with only one arm,” Bethany’s trainer said. “Yet the things she is able to do…like competing in paddle battles, out-maneuvering two-armed surfers for waves, or getting whipped around in 25-foot surf…it’s just amazing. She copes incredibly well with her disadvantage and makes it seem like it doesn’t exist.” 58
Breaking free of an old habit is not a quick or easy task. Just as it takes time to develop a habit, it takes even more time to break it and establish a new habit. If it is true that we are creatures of habit, as the familiar saying goes, then we are establishing new or practicing old habits on a continuous basis—and sadly do so, often on a subconscious level. No wonder the psalmist beseeched God to examine him—something we all need God to do on a daily basis so we do not unwittingly develop dangerous addictions.
“Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts .
See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting”
(P SALM 139:23-24).
As you seek to replace the old way with the new way, remember to…
• Will to do God’s will.
– Commit your will to God.
– Regularly remind yourself of your heart’s desire to do God’s will.
“I
Finally Sandy saw firsthand that she could be freed forever! She experienced the overwhelming love of Jesus and began calling upon Him for help to overcome her compulsive behaviors. “I was the object of a love greater than any I had ever known. My compulsive lifestyle was reordered by a power outside myself, which I continue to experience and call Jesus Christ.” 55
Addictions and the Tendency to Sin
Q UESTION : “When I became a Christian, shouldn’t that have changed my addictions and my tendency to sin?”
A NSWER : When you put your trust in Christ, you did indeed receive a new life! God’s Spirit lives within you and enables you to overcome sin. While you have been saved from the penalty of sin (eternal separation from God) and while the power of sin over you has been broken, you must still choose to not sin when you are tempted. You must choose daily to put off your old self with all its bad habits and inclinations and not be controlled by it. Instead, you must put on your new self and be controlled by it—your new self, which was created to be like Christ.
“You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness”
(E PHESIANS 4:22-24).
D. How to Break a Bad Habit
Before releasing her from the hospital, Bethany Hamilton’s doctor summarized her prognosis this way: “The list of what Bethany will have to do differently is long; the list of what she will be unable to do is short.” 56
Prior to the attack, her training routine was simple: Surf…and watch videos of herself surfing so she could improve her technique. Those habits would hardly suffice now, for she had to train to compete against elite athletes possessing endurance, strong core muscles, tremendous upper-body strength, and…two arms. 57
To compensate, Bethany added workouts to her regime of grueling physical therapy that were nearly twice as hard as before. Because her spine began curving toward her stronger right side, she incorporated spinal realignment exercises into her routine. Instead of swimming (it’s too hard on her arm), she runs, does push-ups (one-armed!), hikes, lifts weights, and, of course, surfs—between two to eight hours a day when the waves allow.
When Bethany found it too hard to duck underwater while paddling out to catch a wave, she formed a new habit—riding a custom-made board with a handle she could hold on to. She also learned to use her legs more efficiently to help compensate for her slower paddling.
“She’s working at a huge deficit with only one arm,” Bethany’s trainer said. “Yet the things she is able to do…like competing in paddle battles, out-maneuvering two-armed surfers for waves, or getting whipped around in 25-foot surf…it’s just amazing. She copes incredibly well with her disadvantage and makes it seem like it doesn’t exist.” 58
Breaking free of an old habit is not a quick or easy task. Just as it takes time to develop a habit, it takes even more time to break it and establish a new habit. If it is true that we are creatures of habit, as the familiar saying goes, then we are establishing new or practicing old habits on a continuous basis—and sadly do so, often on a subconscious level. No wonder the psalmist beseeched God to examine him—something we all need God to do on a daily basis so we do not unwittingly develop dangerous addictions.
“Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts .
See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting”
(P SALM 139:23-24).
As you seek to replace the old way with the new way, remember to…
• Will to do God’s will.
– Commit your will to God.
– Regularly remind yourself of your heart’s desire to do God’s will.
“I
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