Posted: 01/26/2009 at 2:23am | IP Logged

Hi Jess,

It's not dumb at all to try and express your struggles and try to get help.  That is wise not dumb!  It'd be dumb to not seek help with something you're struggling with.

In your hypothetical situation, it seems that candy has become an addiction, the thought of not having it causing distress.  As we grow up we resort to using coping mechanisms for dealing with the stresses in our lives.  Food or candy addiction is one such coping mechanism.  It's a way of providing comfort when stressed or anxious.  You can probably think of many more that people use.  They give the illusion of working, but in reality they don't do a very good job, and they cause other problems such as overweight.  It's the enemy's cunning, to get us to do something that's not good for us then to make us feel ashamed for doing it.

At the end of your writing you say you keep repenting but don't know how to overcome it.  I've been there too and it is very depressing, I know.  That's because there is a deep seated reason why we turn to candy, or whatever else it may be, and it's this that needs fixing.

Repentance is coming to Jesus, confessing the mess we're in, taking responsibility for it and acknowledging that we can't fix it ourselves.  When we come to the end of ourselves and admit that we can't do it, that's a good place to be in.  The next part is to invite Jesus to do it for us.  We give the whole mess to him and trust him to fix it.  It may take a bit of time, but we can be sure he's working on it.

So I reckon you're in a good place Jess!  You just need to make the next step, which is surrendering all to Jesus for him to sort out.  This is the best bit.  It's his job, not yours.  It's the same as needing healing.  We can't do it ourselves, only Jesus can.  It's good when we realize we can't do it and stop beating ourselves up because we can't.  You're not a failure because you can't overcome it, you're no different to the rest of us.

Love Mandy