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BLINDED BY ADDICTIONBill Greguska2024-04-19T13:18:30-05:00
Are You Blinded By Addiction? Get Saved By God’s Light!
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Blinded by addiction, I thought I had it all figured out. My gut feeling told me that drugs were a waste of time, but the allure of immediate gratification lured away my flesh. At the time, I believed my parents knew nothing, and I had all the answers. Oh boy, was I wrong! Addiction can be so consuming that it blinds you to reality and distorts your perception of things.
However, if you are currently facing addiction or have been there before, like me, know this: there is hope for any addiction! Even though at first it may seem impossible to overcome your struggles with alcohol or drugs, believe in yourself and trust in God’s plan for your life.With determination and support from loved ones or professionals who understand what you are going through, recovery is possible! Remember – don’t let your past mistakes define youbecause they do not determine your future. ~ Bill Greguska
John 10:10The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.
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I became hooked on getting high, grew blinded by addiction, and my life was no longer my own. It was like I signed it over to Satan himself and could not get it back for many years’ worth of pain and heartache. I loved drinking Annie Green Spring and Thunderbird wine and would drink a bottle with friends at the park. The Annie Green Spring wine seemed to go down smoothly but hit me later, although the Thunderbird hit me hard since it was much more potent. It was not until I got my eyes off the drugs and alcohol and on to the possibility of being clean and sober that I finally started recovering. Through my experience with marijuana, without a doubt, there is an emotional type of addiction that happens. I lived to use and used to live. I wonder why I put drugs and alcohol more important than you, Lord, and other people like my family and other essential elements in my life!
Proverbs 23:31 Do not gaze at wine when it is red when it sparkles in the cup when it goes down smoothly.
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Humbly I can say that I was very good at basketball with the potential to do excellent in high school and maybe college. I fought to stay away from the drugs and did, for the most part, but my junior summer was a disaster. Sometimes, situational problems or depression can take us down to an unhealthy level. My best friend, Steve Mader, died when I was 16, and it was tough to process my feelings all on my own. Satan grabbed me in a headlock that made me fall to my knees, where I started to worship marijuana, beer, wine, and a wild, sinful lifestyle as if it were my God. Again, why did God allow bad things like this to happen? I know you give us free will, yet with that freedom comes responsibility, which I was lacking.
The immediate gratification from the drugs and alcohol was just a trap that messed up my life. If only I could have seen what my addictions were leading my life, I would not have done all that I did. The United States has been brainwashed with all the beer advertisements on TV alone! Why is there too much pressure on high school athletes to succeed? To cover up my use, I began to lie regularly to my parents and others and even steal from my parents. I had to find a way to support the full-blown habit during my junior year in high school. Unfortunately, I was expelled from Pius XI, and only one year earlier, on top of my game in basketball, was a huge setback. I had trained hard for many years to run and jump and play the game of basketball to the best of my ability. Again, I ask myself, why God?
Luke 21:34 Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness, and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap.
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I put in many hours a day in the off-season and many hours a day in the season to sharpen my skills. Being so dedicated to basketball, I wanted a competitive edge that almost helped me make the varsity team as a sophomore. I was a contender to possibly succeed in college basketball due to the many years of training and discipline I put into the game with God’s help. I put my whole heart into basketball and did pretty well, but looking back on it all, I would not have done it the same way. Even though I loved the game and still do, I treated basketball like a god, like alcohol and drugs.
As I said, I was blinded by addiction. The pressure to succeed in basketball put a lot of weight and stress on me, which was too much for a 16-year-old high school student. I focused on the wrong thing, and if I had focused on you, Lord, I would have been far, far better off! Why God was this was very hard for me since we all had known each other as good friends for the last five years, going to school and playing basketball on the team together. My basketball testimony was critical to me because basketball was my life. I finally got good at something to call my own. However, the dark side of my basketball testimony was that I turned away from God and grabbed tightly onto alcohol and drugs. That was a way of life I never expected to develop into in a million years.
I have done with my addictions and habits addictions, and habits were to give them to God, share them with others to get help, realize they are from the devil, and ask God to help me break the chains. Do you think that marijuana is a safe drug? Why did I start smoking pot around age 12, the summer I was going into the ninth grade? Many of my friends were going to different high schools the following year. But why God?
Psalm 6:2 Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am faint; heal me, Lord, for my bones are in agony.
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Some Specific Scriptures To Encourage You:
1 Corinthians 10:13 ESV
No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation, he will also provide a way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
1 John 2:16 ESV
For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.
1 Corinthians 6:12 ESV
“All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything.
James 4:7 ESV
Submit yourselves, therefore, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Matthew 6:13 ESV
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
Romans 13:14 ESV
But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.
