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Month: September 2021

I Promise I’ll Stop

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” 2 Corinthians 12:9 Every time I used pills, I promised myself it was the last time. Consumed by guilt as the high wore off, I’d sink into this remorseful, shameful state where I’d clench my fists,…
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Just Pray the Depression Away?

Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. 2 Corinthians 12:8 There’s no reason I should feel depressed. I’ve got a great life. I feel guilty for feeling this way. I’ve heard statements like these many times from those who wrestle with depression or anxiety for no apparent reason.…
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No One Likes a Bragger

If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. 2 Corinthians 11:30 In general, boasting is an annoying behavior and most of us find it off-putting when someone tells us how wonderful they are. Pride is an ugly thing that we despise in others, even while we indulge in it…
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The Morning After

 Their end will correspond to their deeds. 2 Corinthians 11:13 One of my greatest life problems is that I’ve often impulsively followed my appetite without considering the cost. In high school and college, I’d overeat because I wanted to, and then I’d struggle to make weight for wrestling. I understood that overeating would be a…
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Fatal Attraction

For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. 2 Corinthians 11:13-14 When I ask the guy in jail or treatment about his last relapse, he usually admits it began long before he consumed the first drug.…
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Recovery in a Pill

Or did I commit a sin in humbling myself so that you might be exalted, because I preached God’s gospel to you free of charge? 2 Corinthians 11:7 Working in addiction medicine, I regularly meet those who desire recovery but who also don’t want to change too much. They want to be sober, but when…
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Temptation

But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. 2 Corinthians 11:3 Looking back to the first time I obtained and abused opiate pain medications, I had no idea of the calamity that I’d create in my…
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Marriage Vows

For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ. 2 Corinthians 11:2 As with most weddings you’ve attended, my wife and I exchanged vows when we got married. We can’t go back and watch it, because we accidentally taped a…
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Going to Treatment

Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord. For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends. 2 Corinthians 10:17 Seven years ago today, I was sitting in treatment for my addiction to opiate pain medications. Someone recently asking about the story suggested that…
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The Comparison Trap

But when they measure themselves by one another and compare themselves with one another, they are without understanding. 2 Corinthians 10:12 While in high school, I was the tallest one in my family. My son now towers over me, but back then, I was the tallest. So, if I compared myself to my immediate household…
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