We had a new admission last night to the facility in which I work. This was a gentleman 57 years old. His medical history was really unremarkable. Diabetes, COPD, and those things I see on almost every patient but he had two diagnoses that stood out to me. Alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence.
I met with him briefly as I do with every new patient who is admitted to the facility. I talked to him for a while and brought up his alcoholism. This gentleman stated he had struggled with the disease for 20 years. He would go for a period of a year, maybe a year and a half of sobriety but eventually would relapse and the nightmare would start all over again. He said he would drink a fifth or more of vodka. Every single day. He had been in and out of rehab a few times but clearly that didn’t serve as a permanent solution for him.
He and I spoke some more and I probed him about his alcoholism. As I said before he told me he went through good periods of sobriety. He said during his sobriety he would absolutely love life. He would be active, visit with friends, go to work, etc. But all it took was a single problem. A fight with family. A loss of a friend. Then he would convince himself that he could handle a drink or two. Well then over the next few days he would think to himself that he could maybe handle half a pint. After all, he could handle a few miniatures. Then he could handle that half pint. No problem, he could handle a pint. Then before he knew it he was back to drinking a fifth of vodka or more. Every single day.
He was admitted to our facility because he needed to be able to better care for himself. He had just come out of a rehab (alcohol rehab) facility and wanted to come to where I work to get stronger physically. Then he said he wanted to admit himself to a psych facility to get stronger mentally. He had a solid plan to beat his addiction.
He discharged himself against medical advice from our facility back to his home less than 24 hours after first being admitted. I have no doubt that his first stop will be the liquor store.
We have to sometimes ask ourselves what we are doing that keeps us in a rut. We have to ask why we can’t stay on the straight path when we try so hard. We have to ask why temptation is so overwhelming that it causes us to fail. Fail again and again and again. Why can’t we beat the enemy when we know fully exactly how he is going to attack us?
Temptation is an ugly machine of war. The enemy knows all of the dark places in our minds, and that is where he sets up his fortresses. He builds up walls. Tall walls that we can’t see over and we can’t see what he is doing. He sends out smoke so we can’t even see the fortress sometimes, it is hidden. He is building a machine of war. He is in his library, studying us and laying his plans against us. The when we are depressed, sick, tired, weary, he sees his opportunity. The gate to the fortress lowers and his war machines come pouring out. He attacks us relentlessly and tries to pound us into submission, submission to his will.
Temptation is an ugly machine of war built by the enemy, but we have defenses that he cannot breach. We have powerful weapons with which we can use to counter attack. His walls are strong but God’s weapons can foil the enemy’s onslaught. We only need to ask for them. Oh we have the weapons but sometimes they feel like they are silent. Like the guns aren’t even loaded. God gives us the ammunition to load the guns and attack the enemy in full force and beat him back.
You know where the weapons are, they are in your faith with God. You can load the weapons. You can launch the counter attack. You have all of the firepower you will ever need and more. Take up your weapons. Advance your troops of faith. Win the war.
You can do it. Under God’s Umbrella.
2 Corinthians 10:3-4 (NIV) For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.
