Read: 1 John 1:9; James 5:16; Isaiah 10:20

Think: In Pastor Ben’s ongoing series, Is it just me? his focus this week was hiding ourselves from others and trying to manage our sin rather than dealing with it in a Biblical way: Confession, Repentance, Restitution. It brought to mind a situation in my life from many years ago.

When I was a senior in high school, I had surgeries on both knees. The left knee didn’t heal well and my doctor prescribed a painkiller. Within a few months I was addicted. I took my medication every four hours and I could tell you the exact minute any time of day that my next dose was due. I took three or sometimes four pills at a time and became very nervous when I had fewer than a dozen in my pocket. In my tenth year of addiction, I took a weekend trip to my parents’ home about two and a half hours from where I was living and discovered I’d left my pills at home. After dinner I casually explained that I was going to visit a friend and drove the five-hour round trip to get my pills. The feeling of relief was frightening, driving back I knew I had a big problem… and no one else knew how severe it was.

As a Christian I knew that I was not depending on God for my well-being (See Isaiah 20:10). In the next few months I confessed to God and my family and sought my doctor’s help. I was warned about how tough rehab was from the drug I was taking… but I flushed the last 100 pills and entered the rehab hospital. God miraculously delivered me from a ten-year drug addiction that weekend. I never felt one withdrawal symptom and have never craved them since.

There was some serious fallout though from all those years of addiction. My marriage failed, I struggled with self worth and often contemplated suicide. But God stuck with me and brought wonderful restoration and healing, and He has given me a wonderful marriage and family.

Do: List those things that you depend on rather than God. Pray about each one and confess any that cause you to depend on Him less and on them more.

Pray: Father, You are dependable and completely trustworthy and I thank you for that. I want to depend on You for everything in my life. I confess there are areas that I depend on myself or other things instead of depending on You. Forgive me, purify and heal me in Jesus’ name. Amen

eDevotional is written each week by a team of volunteers from Timberlake Church.