Giving Up What Isn't Good
Friday, March 24, 2023
Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. Joshua 1:9, NIV.
Don’t let anyone kid you, caffeine is addictive.
As a child I didn’t like water or milk, so I drank Kool-aid, Coke, or Pepsi. I drank so much Pepsi I started to crave it. By the time I was 25 it was my only drink—four to six cans a day. Yet I didn’t know I was addicted.
In January 1989 a Seventh-day Adventist friend invited me to church. I had breakfast and my usual glass of Pepsi before we left. She didn’t tell me she had the whole day planned, so by late evening, with no Pepsi since breakfast, my caffeine addiction was more than I could bear. I abruptly got up to leave. Unable to concentrate, I couldn’t even carry my Bible, and almost fell down the steps. My friend stopped at a gas station and got me a Pepsi, which I drank in 20 seconds. Immediately I felt better. It was then I realized I had a drinking problem.
She took me to her place, made popcorn and smoothies for me, and listened and held me while I cried out in pain and confusion. She told me about God’s concern for my total well-being and how He doesn’t want me to be caught up in an addiction cycle. Not wanting me to be alone in my condition, she told me to stay at her house for the night. Although she made me a wonderful nutritious breakfast the next morning, I still had a Pepsi when I got home.
After that night I prayed to God to help me cut down gradually so I wouldn’t go through intense withdrawal. I told God the weekend I wanted to stop completely. I wanted to be alone with God if I had withdrawal symptoms.
To my surprise, God helped me, so when the day came to stop completely I didn’t have any cravings or withdrawal symptoms. Today I drink only water or juice. I am grateful to God, for He hears and answers our cries for health and healing.
Are you addicted to a drink or food? I challenge you to pray about it, cut down, pick a day to stop, and spend that day with God. He will help you through it.
Don’t let anyone kid you, caffeine is addictive.
As a child I didn’t like water or milk, so I drank Kool-aid, Coke, or Pepsi. I drank so much Pepsi I started to crave it. By the time I was 25 it was my only drink—four to six cans a day. Yet I didn’t know I was addicted.
In January 1989 a Seventh-day Adventist friend invited me to church. I had breakfast and my usual glass of Pepsi before we left. She didn’t tell me she had the whole day planned, so by late evening, with no Pepsi since breakfast, my caffeine addiction was more than I could bear. I abruptly got up to leave. Unable to concentrate, I couldn’t even carry my Bible, and almost fell down the steps. My friend stopped at a gas station and got me a Pepsi, which I drank in 20 seconds. Immediately I felt better. It was then I realized I had a drinking problem.
She took me to her place, made popcorn and smoothies for me, and listened and held me while I cried out in pain and confusion. She told me about God’s concern for my total well-being and how He doesn’t want me to be caught up in an addiction cycle. Not wanting me to be alone in my condition, she told me to stay at her house for the night. Although she made me a wonderful nutritious breakfast the next morning, I still had a Pepsi when I got home.
After that night I prayed to God to help me cut down gradually so I wouldn’t go through intense withdrawal. I told God the weekend I wanted to stop completely. I wanted to be alone with God if I had withdrawal symptoms.
To my surprise, God helped me, so when the day came to stop completely I didn’t have any cravings or withdrawal symptoms. Today I drink only water or juice. I am grateful to God, for He hears and answers our cries for health and healing.
Are you addicted to a drink or food? I challenge you to pray about it, cut down, pick a day to stop, and spend that day with God. He will help you through it.
Used by permission of Health Ministries, North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists.
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