When we have an addiction, our willpower is at its weakest. What’s more is every time we give in to our addiction, we make it weaker. In a way, we are sacrificing our hearts to the thing we are addicted to every time we give in to it, when we ought to be sacrificing them to God instead.
With Lent around the corner, Zenith Ministries has devised a 40-day Lenten plan to help you strengthen your willpower, stop giving in to your addictions and find the peace that comes with ridding them from your life. Much of this may look simply look like a good Lent for anyone, but we believe that if one is focusing on overcoming their addictions by doing the following, they will find more success with their efforts.
On top of giving up your addiction, check out these tasks we set up below! Strive to follow this plan from Ash Wednesday to Easter and begin your progress toward addiction-free life!
Task 1: Give up good things. Much like every Lent, but with the understanding when you use your willpower to say no to good things, you are making it easier to say no to the bad. Strengthening your willpower will be necessary to overcome your addiction. Do this by choosing one or more you enjoy to give up during Lent.
Task 2: Daily meditation on Matthew’s Gospel. The Gospel of Matthew has 28 chapters, which fits nicely into Lent with days to spare. Better your knowledge of Jesus by reading and meditating on one chapter of the Gospel each day. We recommend reflecting on Jesus in each chapter and apply what you come away with to your battle against your addiction.
This will allow you to grow in your relationship with Christ which is necessary to understand what you are struggling with. Finally, by focusing on how the Gospel is reflected in your own life you will be able to conform your life to it more and more. You will be amazed how fruitful this can be!
Task 3: Fill Your Day. Stay busy. This Lent make it a practice to spend the last thirty minutes of each day making a schedule for the next so you can have something filling up your time. Make sure to include prayer time, job duties, food, and downtime activities. This will help you become more intentional and make it more difficult for you to be able to give in to your temptations for your addiction.
Task 4: Change your brain. Studies have shown negative thinking can have an adverse effect on your brain and even change its chemistry. With that in mind, we think that a stronger brain would produce better results in overcoming addiction. This Lent, within the greater plan set in place to deal with your addiction, follow this plan to think more positively:
- Write down three things that you are looking forward to that day every morning.
- Write down three things you are thankful for every evening.
- Don’t be discouraged if the three things you write in the morning change or do not happen. Instead focus on the things you are thankful for.
- When something bad happens, mentally acknowledge what good can be
brought from it.
Task 5: Get out of your head. Overthinking and rationalizing is where great battles are lost in the fight against addiction. With this task, we want to get out of our heads more so we can have the voices, thoughts, and opinions of others to ponder and even compare against our own.
Try to speak with at least one other person for more than ten minutes each day. Don’t simply talk about the weather but about things that are deep or important to you. The more we encounter others, the better, but for the introverts out there, try to encounter someone else deeply at least once per day.
We believe that if you follow this plan for your Lenten journey this year, you will have a more satisfying Easter and future. If you are still seeking more info on how you can overcome your addiction, please sign up here to download our free e-book, “Seven Steps to Overcoming Addiction”.
If you would like additional assistance with your struggles or you simply want to grow closer to God, check out our One-on-One Mentorship program. Find more info here. Reach out today to receive a free consultation!
