What I am trying to communicate here is what  freedom  means…   freedom means  that I am  set free by a supernatural intervention  of God… He  delivers me  from the addiction… it is not that God  helps me  to overcome some addiction… it is not that God gives me the  strength  to handle the temptation… it is not that Philip was somehow able  to stop anything… it means that Jesus’ life came in and Philip’s life went out… Philip became a  new creature… by a  sovereign act  of God in Philip’s life.

I have told the story several times about  my addiction to cigarettes...  3 packs  of Camels every day….  my very first experience after surrendering my life to the Lord and giving Him the right to run my life… (anyway He saw fit)… was the peace that flooded over me… that peace that passes understanding... wow… so… Philip does what Philip does… reaches for his pack of Camels… and Philip  hears the voice of God  for the very first time in his life…

“You never have to do that again”…  Such a gentle… loving voice… I knew it wasn’t the guy sitting next to me in my car, so I looked around to the back seat.  Hmmmm.  Nobody was there.  I say to myself… “this is really different”…. looked at the pack of cigarettes, crumpled it up and chucked it out the window.  Haven’t had a cigarette since that moment.

I had experienced years of  trying to quit… I had stopped for a week … or a month or two… but I was  never free….. always went back… I was still addicted.  This was so totally different.  No desire… no withdrawal… no  substitutes… just totally free.

And that is what I experienced with the  other two  as well…  tomorrow….

🙂