I am typically the kind of person who forges ahead and completes whatever task I have set my mind to. Quitting is not really a word in my vocabulary. I am a go-getter, a driven person, someone who does not back down when I believe in something, an eye on the prize kind of girl. So why have I decided to be a quitter now?
As you found out in a previous post, Crumpled Edges, I am was a smoker. Since writing that post, I have felt the need to be a quitter. It is okay to quit some things.
Things that cause us harm.
Things that are not healthy
Things that take us away from our family
Things that take us away from time with God.
Things that prevent us from living in the presence of the Holy Spirit.
Smoking, for me, is one of those things. I realized I cannot be fully in his presence as a smoker. I'm not saying I am loved any less by God because I smoke. I'm not saying I cannot live eternally with him because I smoke. I'm not saying I am a bad person because I smoke. I'm simply saying, for me, I have made the decision to quit.
Now, it has not been easy. I compare it to someone who simply has to have a soda at least once a day. What if told if you continue drinking that soda every day, you would die. What if I told you that you can no longer have your soda—EVER! Or Starbucks, or cake, or chocolate, whatever your vice is. That is sort of how it is for someone who has smoked as long as I have. At the tender age of fourteen, I picked up my first cigarette because I thought it would make me cool and help me to fit in. Even though it didn't help in the areas I thought it would, I was hooked. Thirty years later, I wake up every morning with a heavy chest and a smell in my hair and clothes that me.
So how have I done it? A few things; nicotine patches, nicotine and prayer. Lots of !
Q - Quiet my heart - in order for me to prepare for the severing of an addiction, I have to be still and know he is there to protect me. (Psalm 46:10)
U - Understand - I have to understand God does not want me to be harmed and what I am doing is harming me. (Jeremiah 29:11)
I - Intervention - Ask for him to intervene and deliver me from the addiction. I know I cannot overcome it alone. (Isaiah 63:7-9)
T - Thank him - Be thankful to him in all circumstances, even when things are difficult. (1 Thessalonians 5:18)
Once God led me through the Q.U.I.T. exercise with smoking (he is still working with me on it), I realized the same could be done with other things that get in the way or when I have too many irons in the fire. I tend to be overzealous in almost every aspect of my life. I have a great idea to do something and I go all in. I also have a difficult time saying no, especially to myself. I tend to agree to do too many things at one time. Can you relate?
I am reminded I can apply the same principals in other areas of my life as well. God does not call us to do everything; he calls us to do all things with purpose and in love. If what I am doing is not with purpose or is not done in love, then maybe I need to be a quitter!
This is my story, what’s yours? I would love to hear from you! Click on the “Tell Me Your Story” link and know that all stories shared are done so in confidence. I may even contact you for permission to use your story as a featured post in the future! Inspire other about your story of quitting something in the name of Jesus!