Originally published Monday, 11 December 2017.
Dear precious daughter of the King,
You were made for more than the party and bar scene.
When I was younger, no one bothered to tell me that.
I thought what I was doing was harmless. I figured drinking alcohol was just a part of growing up. It wasn’t like I intended on getting drunk…
…I knew that was frowned upon in Christian circles.
But one day, I found myself isolated from my youth group/church friends and around a completely different group of people. Many of my new friends did not profess Jesus at their Lord and Savior, and if they had, they didn’t speak of Him much, unless they were swearing with His name. It bothered me a little bit, but they were really great people and I enjoyed being around them.
Then all of a sudden, I found myself dating someone who frequently drank alcohol and smoked pot.
As long as he doesn’t do it around me, I’m fine, I thought to myself.
But there came a night where he and a close friend of mine wanted me to experience the college party scene. I agreed to tag along, but I WOULD NOT allow myself to drink.
I walked down that path once before when I was fifteen, and I ended up in the backseats with high school seniors and a not-so-flattering nickname.
I surrendered that lifestyle to the Lord, I was going to try to live pure.
But that was my problem: I thought that I could abstain from sin in my own strength. That, my friends, is a dangerous mindset.
I gave in.
That night, I had a drink, and another, and another, and another. I had to be carried out of the house. It wasn’t long until I was no longer a virgin.
Alcohol and the opposite sex (and sometimes even the same sex) is a recipe for debauchery.CLICK TO TWEET
I eventually realized that I could not live purely in my own efforts, so I gave up and made my home in the pit of sin. I lived there for the next three years in utter bondage to my sin.
Alcohol became a way for me to escape reality for a few hours and have fun. I didn’t have any stress or worries. I wasn’t introverted or shy like usual. I felt attractive and funny. Men gave me attention and even took me home with them sometimes. The regret always hit me like a ton of bricks the next morning, but like a dog returning to its vomit (Proverb 26:11), I foolishly entangled myself in the party scene time and time again. If I didn’t wake up in another man’s bed, I would often wonder how I got home…did I drive myself home last night?
Foolish. Absolutely foolish!
A part from God's grace, the help of the Holy Spirit, and God's Word, you cannot walk in purity.CLICK TO TWEET
It breaks my heart, beloved, to see you walk down this slippery path that only leads to destruction.
I speak from experience.
That lifestyle isn’t harmless. It costs you fellowship with your Heavenly Father.
Behold, the Lord’s hand is not so short
That it cannot save;
Nor is His ear so dull
That it cannot hear.
But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God,
And your sins have hidden His [a]face from you so that He does not hear. (Isaiah 59:1-2 NASB)
It can also cost you your life if you are not careful.
If you find yourself embracing the party scene and flirting with drunkenness, repent, dear one, repent!
Repentance is not simply saying that you are sorry for your transgressions, it is completely turning away from that way of life and allowing the Lord to change your ways to look more like Christ. When you go back to the same sins time and time again, you have never allowed God to do a deep work in your heart. You are holding onto a lifestyle that you think brings you joy and true pleasure.
You cannot live with one foot in the world, which is sinking sand, and the other on the solid foundation of the Rock, Jesus Christ.
Are you ignoring the conviction that the Holy Spirit is bringing? If you can’t hear Him, you need to do some serious soul searching and find out why.
Devote some time in prayer and reading His Word and find out why you long for illegitimate pleasures of this world instead of His presence and fellowship.
Any time I see a young girl, such as yourself, caught up in the party scene, I am utterly sick to my stomach. If there was a way to jump through that Instagram pic that you just uploaded and take you home with me, I would do it in a heartbeat!
Instead, I lay awake in bed, while you are sipping on that dangerous cocktail, and pray that you would wake up from the slumber of lies that enemy has whispered in your ear that you can eat, drink, and be merry with no consequences. “Live it up…live the life,” he says!
I pray for your soul, that you would find pleasure and joy in God’s presence above all else.
You will show me the path of life;
In Your presence is fullness of joy;
At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore. (Psalm 16:11 NKJV)
You are so beautiful to God, my darling. You are His daughter and He longs for you to find that path of true life and walk on it.
Sincerely,
Your sister
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