Two Years Today

   Today marks the 2 year anniversary of me being a non-smoker.  TWO YEARS! HALLELUJAH!  Not only did quitting smoking improve my health and my finances (can you say $5.00 per pack) it did much more.  Quitting smoking was a key moment for me to realize that “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” ((Philippians 4:13).  Quitting smoking also gave me a testimony, and a victory to look back at. Before David defeated Goliath he had his testimonies and past victories to draw on “Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God.”(1 Samuel 17:36)

 

   What bondage or defeated mental state does the enemy have you in today?  Take a moment and look at the past victories in your life and realize that through the blood of Jesus there is nothing you can’t overcome.  But if you’re feeling so beat down that you can’t get yourself to recollect your own victories, look at the testimonies of others and remember “For there is no respect of persons with God.”(Romans 2:11).  If God did it for them He will do it for you.

 

   Below is a re-post of my quitting smoking testimony.  My hope is that it will encourage you and help you to reflect on the past victories in your life.  Use the past victories to stir yourself up in the Lord. Let that devil know God pulled you through before and He’s doing it again, right now because you have the name of Jesus. Anything coming against you no matter how big it seems will have bow to the name of Jesus. “That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;”(Philippians 2:10).

 

Finally Free From Smoking!!!  (originally posted November 2007)

I quit smoking on April 14, 2006. Yes, many people quit smoking. But this was the beginning of so much more. You see, I loved smoking. All smokers do. But I think it meant more to me.  As long as I can remember all the “cool” people smoked, everyone in the movies, and in my family smoked. Even when I was a child I knew I would smoke when I grew up. When I turned 16 I started smoking in front of everyone. When other kids were hiding it from their parents I was kicking back in my bedroom, or sitting at the kitchen table having a bedtime or after dinner smoke.
   
From that time until I was 36 I smoked anywhere from one to three packs a day. I made smoking a priority. Even when I was sick I would slog out to have a few. After years of smoking you can imagine, like most smokers, my lung capacity was diminishing; so I got an inhaler. My problem was solved. If I couldn’t breathe and felt like I needed more air I’d take a hit of the inhaler so I could muster up enough pull to get a cigarette lit. This lasted a long time as I continued to use medicine to avoid the root issue. But all that changed as I grew in my walk with God and my idea of who He really is changed.
   
The first steps in getting past my addiction came from learning about the real Jesus who says: “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I (Jesus) am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly” (John 10:10). 3 John 1:2 says “Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.” I was learning that God really loves me and wants me to do well all of the time.  I learned that when we go through difficult times or something bad happens it isn’t because God is teaching you something or because it’s God’s will; if there is stealing, killing or destroying it is not Jesus at all.  I now understand that God wants only the best for us.
 
Once I started to realize that God wants me to succeed at everything I do, and how much He really loves me, it made it easier to love Him.  Before this I would say “Sure, I love God” but I was really thinking “Sure, I’m afraid I’ll make God angry and have to suffer His wrath.”   I learned that, no matter what, He loves me, and will never leave me or forsake me. (Hebrews 13:5)

 A big revelation was that Jesus died for so much more than salvation alone. When God created Adam and Eve He gave them authority and dominion over the earth; when Adam sinned satan was able to take that authority from Adam.  Through His own death, burial, and resurrection, Jesus gave this authority back to us-giving us power over the devil and making us joint heirs with Himself.  Armed with this new knowledge, I knew I could quit smoking once and for all.  I was able to see it for the affliction it was. It was a master that would call me to stop working or from being with my family and go outside to smoke.  Knowing I could only serve one master this one had to go.  As I sat in church and heard a Good Friday message about knowing the real Jesus and how He gave us authority, I decided I was done smoking, in Jesus name.  I went home sat down smoked my last cigarette, put it out and that was it.  It’s been a year and seven months now 2 years now.  I know I’m free!