Can Jesus Actually Break Addictions and Curses?

When you enter the promises God has for you, you might face some junk hidden in your life. In Leviticus 14 God tells the people of Israel that when they arrive in Canaan - the land of promise - some houses may be contaminated with mildew and mold, growing in hidden places. The Hebrew word tzara'at covers leprosy, mildew, mold, and defiling disease. All of us, the moment we are saved and start living in the promises of God, can be in a similar situation - things growing in the hidden places of our lives. But God says it is not your job to diagnose it, study it, inspect it, or treat it on your own. It is your job to go to the priest. The priest in Leviticus points us to Jesus, our great High Priest. Hebrews 4 says He understands our weaknesses, for He faced all the same testings we do, yet He did not sin. So we can come boldly to the throne of grace and find mercy and help. Theo Von, a podcaster with millions of followers, recently talked about the man at the pool of Bethesda - after 38 years, Jesus asked him, "Do you want to be healed?" Theo said he has been wrestling with that, because if he were healed his life would change and he would have to live differently. I believe Jesus asks us all the same thing: do you actually want to be healed? God is saying bring Me to your situation. Bring your stuff to Jesus and ask for help. James 5:16 tells us to confess our sins to each other and pray for each other so we may be healed. But when you bring up what you're going through, make sure it's with a righteous person - not someone who might diminish it or convince you it's okay to stay stuck.

Once the priest inspects the house, he steps outside and puts it in quarantine for seven days. After seven days he returns, and if the mildew has spread, the contaminated stones are removed and taken outside the town, the walls are scraped, new stones are brought in, and the walls are replastered. Some things in our lives can be triggers that keep the junk hidden and growing. Jesus comes into the dark areas of our lives when we ask Him to, and calls us to quarantine away from the triggering areas until that addiction, habit, or generational curse no longer has a hold on us. Seven days in Hebrew meant spiritual completion and holiness - but this is not literally seven days. This is until that sin no longer has a hold on you, until it is complete and finished. Whatever that thing is in your life - separate from it, with Jesus in the middle. That thing that traps you back into bad habits can even be a person. Romans 13:14 says, "Clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. And don't let yourself think about ways to indulge your evil desires." Galatians 5:16 says, "Let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won't be doing what your sinful nature craves." You cannot keep feeding what you are asking Jesus to free you from.

After the stones are replaced and the walls are replastered, if the mildew reappears, the whole house is torn down. But if it does not reappear, the priest pronounces it clean because the mildew is clearly gone. It is much easier to convince yourself everything is fine rather than opening up and removing what is rotting. The thing most Christians fail to understand is that when things are removed from our lives we need to replace what was removed - or else, leaving the hole open, satan will slither back in and convince you to put back the old familiar stone. The old house is rebuilt. Bad, contaminated stones, walls, and beams are replaced with brand new ones. This is what Jesus and the Holy Spirit do in our lives. We have a new life from the blood of Jesus, and the Holy Spirit is continuously working in our lives. Galatians 5 lists the fruit the Holy Spirit produces: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control - the opposite of the old contamination. When something is removed from your life, what are you replacing it with? How are you following the Holy Spirit and replacing old habits with the fruit of the Spirit? Walking in faith is daily allowing God to actively work in us and through us.