Beth's Testimony

Cigarettes were going up to $5 in April.  I had made a vow years ago I would not pay that for a pack of smokes.  It was time to make some choices.

Pastor Dan, from New Beginnings, prayed for God to deliver me from the addiction of nicotine.  People from the church’s leadership offered me their phone numbers to call if I needed help to get through any rough spots.  I was able to walk victoriously for about a week.  Then I got really mad at something and decided, Fine, I’ll just go back to smoking.  Instead of making a phone call, which I knew would get me through this rough spot, I stopped and bought a pack of cigarettes.  I got home & lit one up only to discover it was the nastiest tasting thing.  It wasn’t like the taste of the previous 34 years.  It didn’t make me feel better either like before.  Cigarettes no longer gave me the same satisfaction.  In fact, now I felt worse!  God was showing me He was the only thing that would satisfy.  I let my sons rip up the cigarettes and throw them out.

During this time, God was showing Himself in other amazing ways.  He had plugged my nose to the smell of cigarettes on others.  My husband and 3   of our employees all smoked.  Other members of my family smoked.  I could smell cigarette smoke before I quit smoking, but could not smell it the first couple of weeks of not smoking.  It really was a God thing.

People started commenting how good I looked.  There was something they couldn’t explain they would say, a clearness in my face, a shining.  People noticed there was a difference in my personality too.  Where I would usually be withdrawn, I was friendly and more outgoing.  My husband mentioned I was actually nicer even while going through the withdrawal time.

It’s not that smoking is a sin as far as I am concerned.  I know some religious people might argue, but I never felt like God was telling me to quit smoking.  What I did know in my heart was that cigarettes were my god, and it is not God’s best for me.  I could not, would not quit if God HAD asked me.  In fact, it would have just made me mad and I would have run away from Him.  God knew this and worked with it.

Even though I have been a Christian all of my life, I didn’t know how to trust God to deliver me.  There are a lot of things that could have contributed to God being able to step in and take over.  Was it the ministry session at New Beginnings?  Was it a sincere seeking of God’s face?  Was it finally deciding to stop running?  These things I don’t know.  What I do know is God was so very faithful to deliver me.  Faithful in ways that I could not imagine.  Faithful in ways that only He can be.

I have been cigarette and alcohol free for almost 4 months.

Praise be to God!

May God bless you today!

Beth