1CO 10:12 So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall! 13 No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

I used to hear the above scripture that said God would not let me be tempted beyond what I could bear, but there were times where the temptation sure felt "unbearable", and down I'd fall. Most of the time I fell because I allowed myself to give in to depression, fear, boredom, or I just plain wanted to feel pleasure and no longer feel anymore physical or emotional pain. Whatever the case, I'm sure that there were many times that I probably "could" have just resisted the temptation to relapse, but I just didn't want to. I think that part of me in the back of my mind was always playing with the idea of maybe returning to my old addiction again.

Later on down the road though, when I was finally fully free, there were still times that I was either weary, afraid, or battling depression or distress, where I did feel vulnerable. These are the times that I want to talk about. Even after you truly get free you still must be careful about thinking that you are "un-temptable", because there are evil spirits that have watched you and have information on you that have trapped you in the past, so we must stay strong in God, and not allow things to become so overwhelming that we start playing with our old addictions again in our head. Addiction dreams can also be a sign that you're on overload.

Depression comes because we feel that things are hopeless and that we are helpless to do anything about it. Demons can whisper things into our ears like "God doesn't care about you, God won't help you, look at all the bad things that God has allowed to happen in your life, you are just cursed, nobody loves you, you have a right to treat your pain with a little bit of pleasure, etc". These lies are meant to get us so discouraged that we will give up on our efforts to recover and relapse, so that those same demons can then use our bodies for their own pleasure and then later condemn us for being so weak and pathetic as to relapse again.

EPH 6:10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes.

During certain tough times I have been walking along and come across whole cigarettes, porn, strange women propositioning me, and a full bottle of hard liqueur just sitting right by the sidewalk. Coincidence? Maybe, but there were no other times in my life that I ever came across a full bottle of hard liqueur just sitting by the sidewalk when I was drinking. There are many times in our recovery especially when we have had something very bad happen to us (which the demons have usually also arranged) that the perfect "set up" to relapse presents itself right in front of us, but we must learn not to take the bait, and to use God's weapons.

MT 4:3 The tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread." 4 Jesus answered, "It is written: `Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God."

When Jesus was led into the desert to be tempted by Satan He always used God's word as a weapon against him. Jesus used God's truth to combat Satan's lies, and that is how you will successfully get through any time of temptation. Whatever your addiction is, go find out what the bible says about it, and speak that scripture out loud when everything within you is screaming to give in to the temptation. In time your "crave wave" will subside, and not only will you be glad that you did not fall, but you will see that you do in fact have the ability to resist any temptation. Plus, when you starve an addiction, its power over you will die out.

JAS 4:7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

Satan wants you to get so exasperated with things that you begin to distrust God and go back to your addictions so that he can control your life again. When the hard problems and temptations come we must run to God and not away from Him, we must run to our help and protection, and not away from it. If you get a set up when you are trying to quit an addiction, or even if it has been many years since you've quit, resist the urge and get help. Restarting your addiction just restarts the craving and the addictions power over you. It's just not worth it and you pay the price in the end. Know this, you can get through a set up with God's help.

HEB 2:18 Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.