Marijuana addiction. In drug circles this has been laughed off as benign for decades. I recall as a young man that such a concept was treated as an oxymoron by my peers. "You can't get addicted to marijuana!" They'd scoff. "It's a dependency! Not an addiction!" I remember hearing that statement, and had trouble making sense of it as the two terms seemed synonymous. Nevertheless I figured a dependency meant it was much less serious. I feel one of the many reasons marijuana is not taken seriously is because of the great over exaggeration of it's effects from propaganda akin to Reefer Madness. However, in these times the opposite has seemed to occur. With the push of it's health effects, now even grandmothers dotingly say they got a script for their "medicine" after stopping by their local marijuana dispensary. Marijuana is argued as harmless by many today, but in my personal experience with it for over a decade it became a ball and chain I could not sever from my heart. I eventually got delivered from it along with alcohol, but not in the ways conventionally taught by the world.
My friend, are you addicted to marijuana or something else? Deep down you want to quit, but just can't seem to buck the habit? I was in that place for years and years. I remember I would get overwhelmingly anxious when I wasn't a puppet under it's effects. You see as a young man, I struggled with depression and anxiety. Marijuana would provide a fleeting escape for me, I would forget my struggles, and as soon as they'd mushroom back up, I'd go right back to it. It became a cycle that crystallized more weight upon my shoulders and eventually became too much for me to bear. My work performance became less than mediocre, I became impulsive and toxic. I found myself spending less and less time with my family, and more time with vain entertainment. I became incredibly lazy, and didn't want to spend an ounce of my schedule outside of servicing myself in my hedonistic sphere. In the beginning, I could recall things under the spell of the drug, but as I got older my memory got worse and worse. I would see movies on it, and completely forget what I watched the next day. This bled into a fragmented reality where years became a blur, and I could not live a moment without being absolutely consumed by it. I remember I wanted so desperately to escape it, I sought counselors, and read self-help literature. Meditation seemed to help but it never lasted. I wanted a normal life, but it was the only thing that seemed to offer calmness to my mental chaos. Ironically marijuana use was making my life worse at the same time. At it's peak it lead me to a place where I was completely heartbroken. I want to share with you what I discovered to be the solution to my addiction problem, and pray you discover this wonderful treasure for yourself.
Are you heartbroken? You may not know it and neither did I at the time, but if you are you're in a great place for deliverance.
The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. -Psalm 34:18
The good news my friend it that if your heart is in fact broken, the Bible says God is near. If you're still in denial about your problem, or take pride in your habit, your heart is not ready. You see, our hearts are where our treasures are, is your treasure of this world? The world only can offer you temporal treasures that will rot over time. Meditate on this fact if your pride still consumes you. The reason you seek marijuana is because your heart seeks after corruptible things that have no lasting impact.
Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth. and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: Matthew 6:19
For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Matt 6:21
You see, the reason we seek and build up worldly strongholds in our hearts is because of man's appetite for sin. Sin is insatiable, meaning it can never offer lasting fulfillment.
[Those that walk after the flesh] Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin. -2nd Peter 2:14
And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. -John 3:19
My friend the reason you struggle is because the world can only offer you a temporary solution to your sin problem. Sin is the entire reason that we have a void in hearts, it's what separates man from God (Isaiah 59:2). It's what causes men to lose hope, and the world offers nothing but pleasures for a season. Just as the world offers no real solution in our time here, it offers no solution after death.
[Moses] Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; -Hebrews 11:25
For the wages of sin is death;. -Romans 6:23
My friend, all of mankind's hearts are filled with a void the world simply cannot fill. Humble your heart my fellow struggler, God is near and wants to help you.
But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. -John 4:14
Jesus will fill you with an unlimited supply of water your heart thirsts after. Believe in Christ with your whole heart, and he will not only save you from a much grander eternal penalty but will also deliver you from your current problem of addiction. This was the case with me, I wanted deliverance more than anything, I needed a savior. Carnal weapons have no place against spiritual strongholds so I sought Christ with my whole heart (Acts 8:37). Not only did my addictions fall off without any effort of my own, but Christ filled me like His Word promises. I no longer thirst for the strongholds that consumed my life, and so long as you continually seek and feed on His Word, you will no longer have an appetite for the temporal things the world has to offer. Input the Lord Jesus and lasting fulfillment will be your output. Believe on Him to have eternal life, cling to Him and he will protect you from the wicked desires of your heart. You will never be perfect, but he is your advocate. He will be your shepherd just allow him to lead, His power is beyond measure.
(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds; 2nd Cor 10:4-5)
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Psalm 23:1-13
