Post by Cindy on Oct 22, 2019 9:39:28 GMT -5
I started smoking when I was 18. I'm 63 now, so smoked for 45 years. About twenty years ago, I went from smoking one pack a day to two packs a day, mainly because I was in so much pain all the time. About 2 years ago I asked the Lord to help me go back to only smoking one pack a day. He did help me and taught me a great deal by the way He did it. Up until then, whenever I tried to stop smoking, I always wound up smoking more, because I was thinking about it all the time. But I really wanted to drop down to one pack a day, so wanted to try. But the same thing happened, every time I "tried", I smoked more! But what was astonishing to me was that when I "gave up" and just smoked when I wanted to, I smoked less! And so it became a battle for me to "not think about smoking less". 
In less then a week, the Lord had me down to one pack a day and I never "denied myself" in any way. I just smoked whenever I wanted a cigarette and God took care of the rest.
I understood that this was an important lesson for me, but wasn't quite sure what to do with it. I wondered if I should stop smoking, but I honestly didn't want to stop. Then, one day when I was praying for two of my sons who are addicted to either drugs or alcohol, I had a thought that just wouldn't go away. The thought was, "How could I honestly tell my boys that God can take away their addictions and make them new creations if I wasn't willing to show them by having Him take mine away." So now I had a new battle, because, as I said, I really didn't want to quit smoking. But to help my boys, I was willing to ask the Lord to change my heart and bring me to the point of wanting to quit. So I had a long talk with the Lord about it, asking him to first change my heart, and then asking that when it came time to make me stop smoking, that He would take both the desire to smoke away from me and even the thought of cigarettes away from me. After that, I didn't think of it very often, but when I did, I'd pray the same thing. This went on for almost 2 years.
Then, last August I got very sick. Bruce took me to the ER and they put me on antibiotics and prednisone and nebulizer treatments. It took a whole week before I even started to feel a little better. During all that time, all I did was sit in my recliner and talk to the Lord. My cigarettes and an ashtray were sitting beside me on a table the whole time. It just didn't occur to me to smoke. When Bruce was home after work, he smoked as usual, which didn't bother me or cause me to think about smoking myself. It was as though I'd never been a smoker; like the cigarettes that were on the table belonged to someone else. I never experienced the thought of, "Oh I need (or want) a cigarette badly now". Normally, if I'd been somewhere I couldn't smoke, I'd start feeling the need for a cigarette and would want one badly within a couple of hours. But it just never happened. After I got over the infection and began feeling better, I still had no desire for a cigarette and still never thought about smoking unless Bruce brought it up. Then my thoughts were simply that I was amazed the Lord had done it so well and so quickly. After I hadn't smoked for close to a month, I caught myself reaching for a cigarette when I was sitting at my desk. (as that's where I generally smoked the most) I had to laugh then because I realized it was a physical reaction without any thought of actually smoking being part of it. Over the last two months that's happened a total of two times. Both times I used the occasion to thank the Lord and praise Him for making me stop smoking so easily!
What's funny is that I also don't think about the fact that I've stopped smoking, usually not unless someone else brings it up. A friend asked me to keep them informed when they found out about it, so they could keep me in prayer. I said I would, and intended to do so, but then a month went by before my daughter reminded me of how long I hadn't smoked for, which reminded me to tell my friend. It's really weird. The only way I can think of explaining it is that it's like I never smoked at all before; so unless something or someone reminds me of it, it just doesn't compute. Seeing someone elses cigarettes doesn't make me think of it, it just tells me they smoke. Being around other people who smoke doesn't make me want to smoke either. But being around cigarette smoke does smell bad to me. I have no desire to smoke and generally don't think about cigarettes or smoking at all. God is just amazing!
For those who suspect that it was my illness that made me quit, let me share that I had the same thing about 10 years ago, and was very sick that time as well. The difference is that I smoked the whole time I was sick and of course continued to when I was well. So, sorry, it wasn't the illness, it was God.
In less then a week, the Lord had me down to one pack a day and I never "denied myself" in any way. I just smoked whenever I wanted a cigarette and God took care of the rest. I understood that this was an important lesson for me, but wasn't quite sure what to do with it. I wondered if I should stop smoking, but I honestly didn't want to stop. Then, one day when I was praying for two of my sons who are addicted to either drugs or alcohol, I had a thought that just wouldn't go away. The thought was, "How could I honestly tell my boys that God can take away their addictions and make them new creations if I wasn't willing to show them by having Him take mine away." So now I had a new battle, because, as I said, I really didn't want to quit smoking. But to help my boys, I was willing to ask the Lord to change my heart and bring me to the point of wanting to quit. So I had a long talk with the Lord about it, asking him to first change my heart, and then asking that when it came time to make me stop smoking, that He would take both the desire to smoke away from me and even the thought of cigarettes away from me. After that, I didn't think of it very often, but when I did, I'd pray the same thing. This went on for almost 2 years.
Then, last August I got very sick. Bruce took me to the ER and they put me on antibiotics and prednisone and nebulizer treatments. It took a whole week before I even started to feel a little better. During all that time, all I did was sit in my recliner and talk to the Lord. My cigarettes and an ashtray were sitting beside me on a table the whole time. It just didn't occur to me to smoke. When Bruce was home after work, he smoked as usual, which didn't bother me or cause me to think about smoking myself. It was as though I'd never been a smoker; like the cigarettes that were on the table belonged to someone else. I never experienced the thought of, "Oh I need (or want) a cigarette badly now". Normally, if I'd been somewhere I couldn't smoke, I'd start feeling the need for a cigarette and would want one badly within a couple of hours. But it just never happened. After I got over the infection and began feeling better, I still had no desire for a cigarette and still never thought about smoking unless Bruce brought it up. Then my thoughts were simply that I was amazed the Lord had done it so well and so quickly. After I hadn't smoked for close to a month, I caught myself reaching for a cigarette when I was sitting at my desk. (as that's where I generally smoked the most) I had to laugh then because I realized it was a physical reaction without any thought of actually smoking being part of it. Over the last two months that's happened a total of two times. Both times I used the occasion to thank the Lord and praise Him for making me stop smoking so easily!
What's funny is that I also don't think about the fact that I've stopped smoking, usually not unless someone else brings it up. A friend asked me to keep them informed when they found out about it, so they could keep me in prayer. I said I would, and intended to do so, but then a month went by before my daughter reminded me of how long I hadn't smoked for, which reminded me to tell my friend. It's really weird. The only way I can think of explaining it is that it's like I never smoked at all before; so unless something or someone reminds me of it, it just doesn't compute. Seeing someone elses cigarettes doesn't make me think of it, it just tells me they smoke. Being around other people who smoke doesn't make me want to smoke either. But being around cigarette smoke does smell bad to me. I have no desire to smoke and generally don't think about cigarettes or smoking at all. God is just amazing!
For those who suspect that it was my illness that made me quit, let me share that I had the same thing about 10 years ago, and was very sick that time as well. The difference is that I smoked the whole time I was sick and of course continued to when I was well. So, sorry, it wasn't the illness, it was God.
!!
