Scripture offers supernatural help to change believers' lives. If you're ready to quit smoking, turning to the Word of God can provide guidance and strength. It's not a magic bullet and it doesn't mean it will be easy. While smoking is a physical habit, the habit also has chemical and spiritual factors.
Have you failed in the past?
Smoking is a habit. It's something that is woven into the fabric of life. It is so much a part of life that people who want to quit often fail. It takes more than will power because, for many, it becomes a way to cope. People smoke as a way to cope when anxious, stressed, angry, or sad. They smoke to relax. For others it is a way to socialize; to give your mouth and hands something to do. Some even turn to smoking to keep their weight under control. With these things in mind, as you turn to Scripture for help to quit smoking it is helpful to identify why you smoke.
Bible study to quit smoking
Trying to give up smoking can be overwhelming. If you're ready to turn to Scripture for help, you may wonder where to start.
Start with prayer
You already know you can't do it on your own. Matthew 26:41 says, "Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak" (NASB).
Renew your thinking
Realize your body is not your own. If you are a believer, you belong to God. It is also important to realize that addiction affects your thinking. Romans 12:1-2 says, "Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect" (NASB). To renew your mind, turn to God's word daily. Make it your new habit. Find a bible reading plan to follow.
Scriptures to ponder
Write scripture out on Post-It notes and place them in places where you would normally turn to a cigarette. Put one on your steering wheel. Stick one to your coffee cup before bed so when you are ready to pour a cup in the morning, it is there to remind you. Place one on your computer monitor or other places where you would normally smoke. Email Scripture to yourself as a reminder. Use the following Scripture to get you started:
- Jeremiah 33:3: "Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know" (NASB).
- Psalm 16:11: "You will make known to me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever" (NASB)
- Matthew 7:7: "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find;knock, and it will be opened to you" (NASB)
- Ephesians 3:20: "Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us" (NASB)
- Hebrews 4:16: "Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need" (NASB).
- James 4:8: "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded" (NASB)
Self-control
One of the fruits of the Spirit is self control (Gal. 5:22-23). Other fruits of the spirit include love, peace, patience, kindness and goodness. Ponder these things. Their opposites are often the reason people reach for a cigarette. Ask God to fill you with his Spirit and through his power he will cultivate new fruit in your life. You are not alone in this. "You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart" (Jer. 29:13). Surrender your will to him and he can change you from the inside out.
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law" (Gal. 5:22-23) (NASB)
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