Conquer the Spirit of Addiction

 

Shaun’s story

 

His fingers slid over the blades of the razor.  The blades bit into his flesh leaving thin red trials on his finger tips.  He watched as the seeping blood formed a river, gushing down his upturned palm, dripping on the white basin. Mirrors lie, you know. The man looking at him in the mirror had no emotion on his face.  It was only skin deep.  Inside, he was in turmoil.  Silent screams filled his soul and his spirit cried out to the Lord.  “God, if you are there…help me!”  The emptiness of his life echoed a war cry in his head – “end it now, end it now, end it now….” non-stop, never-ending.  In desperation he pounded his head against the mirror. “Stop it, keep quiet….I can’t stand it anymore!” he shouted.  Would the voices in his head be appeased by his blood offer?

 

The intensity of the chants in his head increased, not appeased by the blood already flowing.  Shaun knew that “they” required more blood before he would experience any relief.  This has been going on for 2 years now ever since he was introduced to “dagga” or marijuana, at the tender age of 16.  It really started off quiet innocently.  He was visiting a friend, who’s older brother had a stash of dagga in his room.  They decided to experiment and see what all the fuss was about.  The effects were immediate and startling.  The only way Shaun could describe it was as follows:

 

“It was as if I put a pair of magical spectacles on.  I could see everything.  The colors were brighter and everything around me looked so much more appealing.  For the first time it felt as if I really saw everything.  It felt as if I understood everything…I even understood the meaning of life…and found that it was beautiful.  It felt as if I could do everything, I felt invincible – like a god! As the effects of the drug wore off, so all these new observations and knowledge diminished and I was left, feeling empty and robbed.  It was then that I hear the first whispers in my head…”

 

Two years down the line and the young man in the mirror are left staring at a body crisscrossed with scares.  The voices in his head were always demanding a blood sacrifice, but today it was different.  Today, they were demanding his life…and he was dead tired of the battle.  He lifted the glass in his hand in a silent toast to God, whom he felt was absent, in his time of need.  He tossed the lethal dose of pills down his throat and swallowed it in rebellion and deviance against life and all it holds.  He slowly slid down to the floor, awaiting the silencing of the voices… He was unaware that God used this situation, to draw him back to the arms of an ever loving, and ever present God!

 

The young man sitting in front of me, in my lounge has been temporarily released from the psychiatric hospital, on his brothers’ request.  His brother found him, that day, when he tried to commit suicide, and rushed an unconscious Shaun to hospital.  There they pumped his stomach and treated the wounds on his body before transferring him to the psychiatric hospital for observation and counseling.  His brother heard of our ministry and requested the doctors to release Shaun into his care, in order to bring him to us for counseling.  Shaun was to be returned to the hospital immediately after his session with us.

 

As I listened to Shaun’s life story, I was deeply touched by the level of stress and temptations our youth are exposed to these days.  I also realized the truth stated in Hos 4:6: “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge…”  Had this young man or his family have knowledge of the dark kingdom, they would have realized that they had to deal with several demonic entities in order to save his life and release him from bondages.  In Shaun’s case, he had a spirit of rejection which plagued him and opened up doors for spirits of suicide, addiction and Baal spirits to assist in taking his life.

 

Shaun was desperate for someone to help him.  We knew just the right Person for the job and led him in prayers of repentance before God.  Thereafter we prayed to God to help us with his deliverance. The spirits manifest rather violently and even made him try to kill himself again, but we stood in the authority of the name of Jesus Christ, who came in the flesh, and commanded the spirits, one by one to leave him.  After we worked through an extensive list of demons, that we had to drive out, Shaun recommitted his life to God, was baptized and filled with the Holy Spirit.  How his face shined with the glory of God!  He testified to feeling much lighter physically, and could hardly wait to testify of the miracle God performed in his life that day.

 

Shaun’s brother took him back to the hospital, where Shaun testified to all who were willing to listen.  On that very same day Shaun led three other suicidal patients to the Lord and baptized them, right there in the hospital!  He was consumed with zeal for God and after being released from hospital continued to gain knowledge to enable him to minister to people in need by the power and authority of God.