Quitting Smoking

The success rate for those trying to quit a bad habit is low. The enemy attacks our minds and bodies with such force we fail before we ever begin. He encourages filthy habits to fester within us. And he is good at using temptation to lure us back again.
Some addictions are mental and some are physical, but regardless, the withdrawal symptoms are tremendous. I have quit smoking many times. After a couple of days clean I always start smoking again.
I am miserable without my Nicotine. I instigate fights. I argue. I cry. I can't function. All because my body is crying out for the substance it craves. If I could go back in time I would never have started smoking in the first place. I tell teenagers, "The easiest way to quit, is to never start."
I'm not saying that bad habits can't be broken. I am saying that without God's help it is very difficult. Why do you think the twelve step programs are based on a power greater than we are? Left relying on our own power we are failures, to weak to succeed.
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Abstinence has to come from within. It is an inside job that comes from God's Spirit. If you face a battle of self will, and the lack of self control, turn it over to God. He wants to and will deliver you.
When I finally quit smoking for the very last time I was told to give myself permission to feel the feelings. Many times I tried to quit but I could not stand myself. I was moody and nasty and people couldn't stand to be around me.
I would convince myself that smoking was the easier softer way and I would be back to smoking again in days. I think the longest I went without a cigarette was 9 days. And then one day I knew it was time so I called nicotine anonymous and they walked me through the first two months.
They told me it was all right to have mood swings and if the people in my life loved me they would tolerate me through them. Well, with great endurance they did, and I quit. I haven't had a cigarette since and I don't want one.
Changes are hard. I don't like change. I like my world to go the same way every day. I have my comfort zone and I don't want any interference. But sometimes God has different plans. He can see into the future and he knows what's best for me. So I pray and ask Him to help me face the changes with confidence and courage.
I run on a schedule. I plan my life accordingly. I am not spontaneous. It doesn't matter what my schedule is as long as it is planned. This drives my family crazy. But I tell them, just give me at least a days notice and I will schedule it in. What is so difficult about that?
I remember when I quit smoking. I did not know what to do with myself. It seemed I always had a cigarette in my hand and now I didn't. It took me months to get over that habit. I think the change in my schedule was harder than the nicotine withdrawal.
Giving up alcohol was another big change. A friend told me to picture myself standing on the edge of a cliff with nowhere to go. My only option available was to wait on God. So I waited. And God provided comfort and solutions for every dilemma I faced.
I often wonder how people go through change and difficult times in life without God. I absolutely think I'd fall apart if God were not by my side. The circumstances would be completely unbearable. But God gives me peace and removes the fear. And He tells me everything is going to be all right.
One of the hardest changes I have gone through has been the loss of my father. Nothing could have prepared me for that change. Everything in my life changed when my father passed away. But, by the grace of God I have survived. Life is different. But I have adjusted. And the good thing is, I always do.
Using cigarette smoking as an example, I remember swearing I would take those cigarettes with me to the grave. I loved smoking and I was never going to quit. But having been a non smoker now for quite a few years I thank God everyday for taking the desire away from me. We kick and scream to avoid change even when it turns out to be the best thing that ever could have happened to us.