Most Beloved Shariel,
It brings me grief that Sarah is now living in addiction and sin. Sarah is in a very vulnerable place and I will be praying for you both during this difficult time.
By addiction I mean anything that compels her to do something, against her own will, as it were. I have seen any number of things bring God’s children to ruin against their own will. There has certainly always been work, eating, cleaning, alcohol, gambling, and sexual sin. But now today there are countless new addictions where humans spend hours a day in front of a screen, where they experience a faded imitation of the true human goods of storytelling, conquest, sexual connection, and social connection. Though some are more spiritually damaging than others, any one of these addictions lead to a sad state of human existence.
So, I understand why seeing Sarah like this so moves your heart with grief. It was very strange, when I first saw a child of God (who wanted to follow God’s will) make a choice that directly contradicted that desire. He desperately wanted to give up drinking, but he could never let it go.
The reasons behind addictions are complex and I do not wish you to think that there is only one cause. But for those souls that reform their lives, usually they return to addictions for one basic reason that drives them in the moment. These children of God are trying to numb themselves of some deep concern or lie.
For instance, I once interceded for a man who was so addicted to video games that he would play them at work and at home constantly. The reality that he was avoiding was that his daughter had cancer. The enemy focused their attack on him and they took such delight in his destruction because they knew they were hurting not only the man, but also the mother and daughter. The man eventually lost his job. When that finally happened, the man realized what he had done and the powers of darkness began to lose ground over the family.
The reason why the enemy had such a hold over him though was because they multiplied the lies that bounded him. First, the lie was ‘there is no good that will come from this.’ From that lie, he abandoned all hope. Then after playing countless hours of video games, he hears countless more lie, ‘You are horrible. You are scum. You are a pathetic husband and father.’ Each attack breaks him more and more. Before long, the man willpower hardly had any resolve left in the matter, because his body had been conditioned to do it as a way to escape the lies.
This is why we called the once Lucifer Satan or ‘The Accuser.’ Certainly, it is impossible for the prince of darkness to accuse everyone everywhere. He is nothing compared to Christ who is “before all things, and in him all things hold together.” (Col. 1:17) But all demons submit to Satan and all accuse men on his behalf. And in this accusation is their main strategy.
Thus, you will notice that before Sarah sins, your opponent will speak words sweet as poison, saying things like, “Sarah, you deserve this. A little bit of this won’t hurt. Just a little bit.” Then your opponent will distract Sarah from counting how much of this she is consuming. After a while, your enemy will say, “Wow. You’re pretty pathetic for doing this.” Then Sarah will experience shame. Immediately when Sarah experiences this (your opponent can tell) he tells her, “That’s not a fun thought. Why don’t you do this a little more to not think about it?” So, Sarah is sucked into a void of sinful behavior which day by day deepens in its severity and in its breadth of time.
Luckily, there are many strategies for these situations and I would urge you to use all of them for his glory. The first strategy is to speak with the guardian angels of the people in their lives (particularly their loved ones). The enemy knows that addiction thrives in isolation and they will do what they can to prevent this.
If this does not work, remind Sarah of how lonely her choices have made her. Though be alert! The enemy will do one of two things. He will either try to drown out those thoughts with an idea for more of the addiction. Or he will tell her “You see? No one loves you.” Remember this and act quickly. You must lead her mind to remember how much her family and friends love her.
This will likely not work right away. You must lean into her sense of guilt to achieve this. Though there is a huge difference between guilt and shame. One leads to repentance and the other to self-destruction.
You see, guilt is a human’s recognition that a certain action was a bad choice. Shame is a lie from the enemy that a human is terrible. Guilt focuses on actions. Shame focuses on being. Guilt says, “I did something terrible.” Shame says, “I am terrible.”
It is easy for us to see the difference, but in the heat of the moment it is often very difficult for humans to see the difference. At this point in the battle, the enemy will desperately berated Sarah with lies that, “That she is unlovable and unforgiveable.” If he does this, then the enemy in his pride will reveal himself to Sarah. Then, you must act quickly. Help her to see how absurd the statement is that “she is unlovable.” For Christ has loved her unto death.(Rm. 5:8) And she has already been forgiven when He said, “Forgive them Father. They know not what they do.”(Lk. 23:34) Remind her of this and of God’s infinite love and mercy.
As another strategy, your opponent may puff up Sarah’s pride. It is sometimes very difficult for humans to overcome this pride and admit that they did something wrong. But keep reminding them of their sin and once they are able to see this, you will see that the battle is nearly won.
When at last Sarah shares what she did with someone that is trustworthy, pray with her guardian angel that Sarah’s vulnerability is met with love. If it is met with love, the shame inside her will shrivel into nothing. Then inspire either Sarah or her friend with the idea to keep each other accountable. If this is successfully achieved, you may hear the enemy shriek with anger as he realizes how much spiritual ground he has lost in the battle for Sarah’s soul.
Let us pray that Sarah sees the truth of her own sinfulness and the truth of being wonderfully made in God’s very image as we angels see at all times. And let us pray that she encounters the love which will destroy the barriers that the enemy has placed around her. May “the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them night and day before God, be hurled down forever.”(Rev. 12:10)
The Servant of His Healing Spirit,
DAILY MEDITATION QUESTIONS:
What is a spiritual reality that I am now more aware of, having read this letter?
What is something I wish I could say to my guardian angel right now?
Is there something specifically I could thank them for?
What is a struggle that I wish my guardian angel could help me more with? Guardian angel, can you help me more with this, please? Please pray for me on my behalf that God’s grace might be poured into me to aid me with this.
After looking at this letter, what behaviors might I have to change? Or what sins do I need to repent of?
What are the main ways that I have numbed myself this week?
What lies am I being attacked with?
What is the main issue or lie that I am avoiding?
Is there someone in my life whom I can share my struggle of addiction or numbing with? What is preventing me from contacting them? Is there a time this week that I can contact them?
Dantes is the Author of the first book in the Aria’s Adventure series called Finding a Familiar. He also is the Podcast Host for The Raphael Letters, in which the author reads letters from the archangle Raphael to a gaurdian angel named Shariel.