Dealing with drug abuse
Dealing with drug abuse
Drugs and alcohol abuse continue to be big issues around the world. This has become more evident even among the younger generation. While the Bible doesn’t say much about cocaine, heroin or marijuana, we can assume that drugs are not a good choice for anyone.
The fact that drugs were not mentioned in the Bible has to do with the time in which the Bible was written and not that God doesn’t care about these things. In those times, the major substance abused was alcohol.
Therefore, as much as one may hate to admit, the word ‘alcohol’ when read in context of its abuse in most of scripture can be substituted with any other hard drug or substance being abused today.
The Bible does talk about alcohol and has some pretty clear thoughts about it. Let me just say this as a side note- If you live in a country that has an age limit for alcohol consumption, or deems certain drugs illegal, you need to abide by the laws of your country (Romans 13:1-2).
Thus, any drug or alcohol consumption for anyone underage or purchased illegally is breaking the law. This is quite straightforward. Where it becomes not readily conforming is when you become of age and have to make choices about these substances.
Read the following passages of scripture. Listen to the Spirit of God in you and begin today to decide how you are going to navigate the world of drugs and alcohol abuse from scripture. Eph 5:18, Prov 23:29-35, Gal 5:19-21, Isaiah 5:11-12, 22,
1 Cor 10:13
Personal Testimony:
For a number of years I was addicted to smoking marijuana. I smoked at least one joint a day and as with many addictions, I refused to admit that I was actually addicted- a lie that the devil kept telling me. I thought I had a hold of it.
Now I had given my life to Christ and was born again but I struggled with the fact that this habit of mine was bad, which I think stemmed from the point that I was addicted and just didn’t want to stop. As a result of many other things that were happening in my life, I knew that there was a need to change my life. The major life transformation came from me just wanting to seek God’s kingdom and His righteousness (Matt 6:33) and just have a deeper relationship with God. By the grace of God my life started changing when I embraced accountability and started being a part of the church community and diligently applying some other Kingdom principles like tithing (which opened my heart to God, Matt 6:21). In doing so, the Holy Spirit began to open my eyes to a lot of truths from His word- the most profound concerning this addiction being Ephesians 5:18. Truths like- anything that exalts itself over God in your life is an addiction. God is a jealous God and always wants to come first in your life. I really wanted God to come first in my life but this addiction of mine wasn’t just ending. Also, that my body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. Apart from the health disadvantages, ingesting this drug into this same body that the Holy Spirit resides wasn’t going to take me anywhere. I feared the Lord.
How did I stop?
So one day I was listening to message of a man of God who was once addicted to cocaine. This man would snort cocaine right off His Bible just so he could stay awake to read the Bible. This spoke to me. Many times I would be listening to the Word of God whilst smoking a joint and just confessing the Word of God. I kept praying Psalms 139:23-24 every time I was smoking. Really, I know how this sounds religiously speaking but God doesn’t care about religion. He’s after our hearts. The thing is, God sees our heart posture. That’s what He really is after.
In the nature of seeking God, this one time I went on a fast and by reason of this fast I wasn’t smoking. I found out that after this fast I had lost the urge to want to smoke. It just died all of a sudden. Totally healed! Glory to God!
Righteousness (having a right standing with God) is by faith and not by works (see Rom 3 and 4). No matter how hard you try to stop certain habits, as long as you’re doing it by your human mindset, it may never end. It is by the power of God. Just by committing these addictions to God He would be more than willing to to transform your life like He did mine.
In summary, in order to deal with this Goliath (giant) called drug abuse, we have to replace this habit with a healthy one. I suggest to start by intentionally seeking after God’s kingdom and His righteousness (Matt 6:33, Jer 29:13).
The good news is that God has made a way for these Goliaths to fall. It starts with believing that even though the giant you’re battling might be big but it’s not bigger than Jesus. In fact, He has already defeated the giants in your life. When He came to this earth, He endured hell for you on the cross and rose from the grave so you could shake off the prospect of a doomed life. He came to set you free from the giants who rise up against you and hold you paralyzed in form of an addiction.
Jesus has already overcome the enemy. However, as we read in 1 Peter 5:8, the devil still “prowls around . . . looking for someone to devour.” In many ways, he can likened to a snake with its head cut off. When you kill a snake, you have to be sure to bury its head, because even after death the serpent holds a lethal dose of venom in its fangs. If you step on a dead snake’s head, you can still get poisoned. In the same way, even though Jesus broke the power of Satan at the cross, he can still inject his deadly poison into our lives. He is dead but still deadly. His major tactic is to attack our minds.
The goal then is not to step on the snake’s head. In practical terms, this means resisting the devil ( James 4:7), equipping the defenses Jesus has provided (see Ephesians 6:10–18), and leaning into his sufficiency (see Proverbs 3:5). It means remembering that he is your David in the story of David & Goliath—and you can never bring down giants through your own courage, willpower, or efforts. It’s always Jesus who brings the giant down. It’s always by the wisdom of God.
If you truly want to see victory over this giant in your life called drug abuse, you need to understand your dependency on the all-sufficiency of Jesus Christ. Victory is all about trusting in Christ and not about trying to succeed. This is true righteousness. To take the first step against your dead-but-still-deadly enemy, you’ve got to make this paradigm shift in your mind. Christ is the only force that brings change. Not by our power or might but by His Spirit. My life is a testimony of God’s grace and I am sure yours will be too. Seek God and watch your life be transformed. God bless you!
