God invites us to a good, pleasing, and perfect life with freedom. In His word in the Bible he tells us to seek Him first and do what’s right, and He will take care of everything else. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. (Matthew 6:33 NLT)
The evil one, the ultimate deceiver, wants to destroy us. He’s forever offering us solutions to our problems which will actually create more harm than help. He’s quick to tell us that God’s way doesn’t work and put a counterfeit alternative right within our grasp. In our ignorance and self-will, we’ve welcomed all kinds of dark and evil influences into our lives through the use of mind altering drugs, sexual immorality, heavy metal music, gambling, horror and violent movies, fortune telling and occult practices, as well as through gluttony, lies, anger, envy, and fear … the list is long and incomplete.
For example, never sacrifice your son or daughter as a burnt offering. And do not let your people practice fortune-telling, or use sorcery, or interpret omens, or engage in witchcraft, or cast spells, or function as mediums or psychics, or call forth the spirits of the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord. He practiced sorcery, divination, and witchcraft, and he consulted with mediums and psychics. He did much that was evil in the Lord’s sight, arousing his anger. (Deuteronomy 18:10-12, 2 Chronicles 33:6 NLT)
The devil never waits for an invitation to suggest a counterfeit to God’s way. When we try to cope and cover our pain by depending on practices that are of the evil one, we need to realize that we are actually making those things a higher priority than God’s way. Setting aside God’s way in favour of any other way is idolatry. Idolatries are beliefs and practices we engage in as we seek help or guidance, rather than seeking God. Idolatrous choices open the floodgates to problems. When we seek God first, His promise to give us everything we need is trustworthy.
PRIORITY FOR SUCCESSFUL RECOVERY: Seek God’s will first. Flee Satan’s counterfeits.
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