Come to me all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Matthew 11:28

Each one of us is responsible for our own walk with Jesus. I’m responsible for me and my actions, and you are responsible for you and your actions. We all make our own way, good or bad, most of our storms in life are consequences of our own actions.

That is one of the hardest things I have had to learn regarding others. I am responsible for me. I am responsible for me, I am responsible for me. Let’s try and get a good understanding of that. We can’t earn freedom for a loved one by being a good Godly person ourselves. They have to do that. They have to have that desire. You may be thinking, Does God love them even if they are sinning. Well none are perfectly without sin, so does He love you and me? Of Corse He does. It’s not about love, its about what we do has consequences. Good or bad. Our decisions we make will lead us in this life. As a mother of 4 children, (one in heaven), I can say we watch our kids and see some of the decisions they are making and I know this is not a good decision but I have learned I have to let them find out for themselves. Do I still try and tell them?? Of course, if you know me you know I can’t just let it go. But then at least I know I tried. I do make sure to be there for them if they do happen to need me.

This should be the way we deal with loved ones in addiction. We need to speak truth to them in love (most wont listen as addiction seems to close the ears of the person suffering), but at least we know we tried. Then be there for them when they do try and turn their life around. How many times should we try or forgive? Well the word of God says seventy times seven. So, my guess would be as many times as it takes. Most important thing to know is never give up, never give up, never give up. Sometimes I have to repeat myself to me so I remember. God loves us so much that He gave His only Son so we would be forgiven. Should we be just as forgiving to others as He is to us?

We need to remember that the person suffering form addiction is most likely not being themselves. They may steel for us, lie to us, use us and even in some cases abuse us. If you are in an abusive situation you need to contact someone that can help you right away. No one deserves that. I have lived in that situation myself, and no matter how scary it may seem you need to be somewhere safe.

What I am talking about right now is not letting your loved one control YOU and YOUR life. We get so caught up in what they are doing we forget about ourselves and what we are doing. I have caught myself getting so caught up that it’s all I think about, I begin to pray the problem not the answer, I tell God over and over how that person is doing ( like He doesn’t know already) and sometimes without knowing I tell Him how to fix it. Ugh, Then I have to get my head on straight and think, all I can do is pray for my loved one to see truth, to fight in the Spirit by praying for them. To never give up on them, but I have to remember, it is ultimately up to them to change their life, to cling to Jesus, and find peace and freedom. Not up to me. No matter how close I get to Jesus it will not change how close they are to Him. They have to do it. I can pray and fight for them, I will never stop, but if I start to feel like they will never change, worry and worry, stay up late at night or wake up all during the night, I am just making myself stressed, trusting in no one, not giving it to God. It helps nothing as I start to feel weak and lose faith. It affects my relationship with Jesus because I start to feel like He is not answering me… and so on and so on. Nope, not happening, I will stay strong SO I can fight for my loved ones. No weapon formed against us will prosper. The devil will not take me down.

So, Matthew 11:28

Come to me all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.