-be alert and of sober mind-

When I was in middle school I broke my foot. I had to wear a ‘boot’ on my foot to help me walk. The boot gave me a limp, which I thought was cool at the time. Eventually, my foot healed, and I was fine to walk without the boot, but I kept it. I did not want to give up my access to the elevators at school, my early pass from class, and I surely didn’t want to participate in gym. So, I kept my limp.

There I was.. carrying around this unnecessary weight on my foot, that was now being a hindrance to my walk. 

Mirroring this story to my walk in Christ, my boot was alcohol. Because of my brokenness before Christ, I didn’t know how to cope, and used alcohol to try and mask problems. I thought it would be a “cure” for social anxiety. I thought it was what helped me be at peace. I thought it was what I needed to enjoy life. Without Christ, I was always looking for something to be my peace, give me joy, and help me be “me”. However, once I came to Christ, I kept subconsciously holding onto this idea that He couldn’t be my everything. I kept drinking for peace, when Christ said He was my Prince of Peace. I kept drinking for enjoyment, when Christ said “My joy may remain in you, that your joy may be full” I kept drinking to be able to talk in certain situations when the Holy Spirit gives me the words to say at the moment when I need them. Christ is actually our ALL in ALL. In Him we live, move, and have our being. With this understanding, I had to check my motive as a Christian and ask myself this question: “Why was I doing or participating in things that the world deems okay?” I had to strip off the weight that was still making me limp, and hindering me from fully surrendering to Christ.  

What I think the majority of Christians are doing is compromising here and there, getting drunk here and there, and in their own strength, thinking “I’ve got it under control.” However, when drinking becomes our source of joy, comfort, peace, or relaxation, then it has already taken the place of God, who is our ultimate refuge. When I found myself reaching for a glass of wine after a hard day at work instead of finding rest in the Lord, that’s when I knew that alcohol had become my crutch. It had become something I leaned on that was keeping me limping.

You may say to yourself, drinking isn’t a sin. And you’re right! It’s not. But truly consider, how beneficial has it been to your life? 

“You say, “I am allowed to do anything” – but not everything is good for you. You say “I am allowed to do anything” –but not everything is beneficial. 1 Corinthians 10:23

We know drinking isn’t a sin, but are you given more to wine and not to the Holy Spirit? 

“Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do. Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts.”

Ephesians 5:17-19

So, here’s 12 things I learned during my 12 months of sobriety. 

1. It’s not as hard as people say it is
   • This may be relative to the level you were at, but with the help of God, who was my strength, I can look back at 12 months like it was 12 days. This was easy to do, but would’ve been impossible without the Holy Spirit.
2. I had to find alternatives to what I thought “fun” was
   • Fun used to be going out on weekends, however once I stopped drinking, and went out sober, I realized I actually hated the club and didn’t find it fun at all. I found activities and gained friends that didn’t associate with alcohol that kept me away from the temptation, and still enjoyed life. 
3. Sobriety made me see people and situations for what they really were
   • Being under the influence made it hard to gauge when situations were getting dangerous, or when people had bad intentions.
4. I had many “firsts”
   • I saw someone say this and I was so shocked at how many “firsts” I have had this past year. Since I started drinking, I’ve had my first sober wedding, first New Years Sober, First birthday sober, first Thanksgiving sober, y’all.. even my first concert sober (I can vividly remember drinking a couple times right before Christian concerts… definition of double-minded!)
5. Triggers only came when I was around it.
   • When it was out of sight, it was out of mind. 
6. Being drunk isn’t fun, it’s exhausting 
   • The sleepless nights, the hangovers, the money in my account that seemed to grow wings, all made me more tired than joyful at the end of it all.
7. Losing inhibitions costed me 
   • Being under the influence has costed me relationships, and money.
   • It also costed me my purity, my health, my mind, and it’s costed me precious time! A commodity that can never be brought back, only by the grace of God.
8. The joy of the Lord is my strength
   • I used to think I had to have a margarita in order to enjoy my taco tuesday, or enjoy a nice day out. It wasn’t until I saw the true joy that the Lord gave me that I realized what a cheap alternative alcohol was. It pales in comparison to the joy of the Lord.
9. What fueled me, moved me.
   • If alcohol was the fuel in me, I was planning my days around it, and not around what I should have been doing. Being fueled by alcohol took me to places where it was, but being filled with the Holy Spirit has taken me to places where Jesus was glorified.
   • For example, Thirsty Thursdays were usually a time when i’d go out and get drunk, but now that i don’t drink, I found a bible study instead to attend.
10. Drinking was my gateway sin 
    • Picture this: Drinking is just the main stairway down to many doors that lead you to sin: gossip, lust, strife, fits of rage, drunkenness, division, hatred, selfish ambition
    • Many things are lawful, but not everything is beneficial!
11. I’m not socially anxious, and I can hold conversations without alcohol. 
    • I didn’t think that just showing up as myself without the influence of alcohol could engage a person as much.
    • “Liquid courage” is a scam!!! It actually made me very foolish instead. The real anxiety came the following day after drinking, especially after the gatherings where my friends had to tell me what I did the night before.. ahhhh keep it!
    • Now, with the help of the Holy Spirit, boldness comes over me in situations where I need to speak up or go talk to people! It’s a blessing to know the Holy Spirit.
12. I can hear the Holy Spirit more, and I am more sensitive to His voice and promptings in different environments  
    • Remember what it says: “Today when you hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts as Israel did when they rebelled.” Hebrews 3:15
      • It was easier to harden my heart to the voice of God while under the influence. It was even easier not to hear Him at all because I wasn’t even looking for God in those moments.
      • However, in environments where there is a potential for compromise or temptation, I can hear or even sense the Holy Spirit tell me to move or run like Joseph from Potiphar’s wife

I will leave with this verse. The Word is a double edged sword and when I read this verse during my turning away from alcohol last year, it felt like the sword was just sharpened before entering my heart!

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“Who has anguish? Who has bitter sorrow?

Who constantly complains and argues?

Who stumbles and falls and hurts himself?

Who’s the one with bloodshot eyes?

It’s the one who drinks too much and is always looking for a brew. Make sure it’s never you! And don’t be drunk with wine but be known as one who enjoys the company of the lovers of God, for drunkenness brings the sting of a serpent, like the fangs of a viper spreading poison into your soul.

It will make you hallucinate, mumble, and speak words that are perverse. You’ll be like a seasick sailor being tossed to and fro, dizzy and out of your mind. You’ll awake only to say,

“What hit me?

I feel like I’ve been run over by a truck!”

Yet off you’ll go, looking for another drink!”

Proverbs 23:29-35 TPT