I'm not going to lie. I enjoy smoking. But I fear that God is turning a deaf ear to my prayers because of this sin. And come what may, He is going to allow bad things to happen to me until I turn from my sin of smoking.
No Way! God is not turning a deaf ear to your prayers!
What you're experiencing is CONDEMNATION and not that gentle leading of the Holy Spirit that calms your nerves and begins to give you HOPE that the desire CAN go on it's own by Him.
You've probably been smoking for some time and are physically and psychologically addicted and that is NO DIFFERENT than being hooked on antidepressants which are just as dangerous, if not more so to the brain chemistry, past a certain point of taking those.
There's chemicals in cigarettes that increase the dopamine [the pleasure hormone] and it's also an amphetamine like a cup of coffee. The brain and body gets those two 'feelings' from smoking and after one is hooked - it also calms the nerves.
I'd no more speak badly about someone addicted to cigarettes than those that are dependent [for whatever reason] on antidepressants or tranquilizers. There are people that have had a very rough life and their Dr will put them on a mild tranquilizer. I personally have a grudge against Drs that give out antidepressants like their harmless candy though.
Now, I'm not trying to say that there's no hope for you but your hope will only come as you just calmly ask the Lord to help you and then forget about it - as far as condemning yourself and then look into quitting aides. Most States are supposed to help people and even supply the Gum or patch replacement or something to help but some in my family have found those e-cigs to be a greater help as do the statistics on those that quit by trying the gum/patch as compared to the e-cigs.
My brother is now dying from lung cancer. My step-mom who I was very-very close to, did as well. So, I'm not saying "Go smoke your brains out" ... but I do understand that some people eat junk food or are over-weight, others are on the meds mentioned earlier and all of those things hurt the body. In fact, on Christian radio I heard that obesity had topped smokers death already. Some people buy food that they never check the ingredients of ... I see it all the time at the Store. MOTHERS loading up the carriage for the kids with JUNK and SODA ... sorry, but that drives me nuts.
The same people that are guilty of other abuses of their body will condemn the poor human that is chemically & psychologically addicted to nicotine.
I take a little magnifier card in my wallet to read the ingredients of all the food at the store. Bread for high fructose corn syrup - Everything for aspartame [it's in ALL GUM]: and other products -- MSG if you look it up online comes under a bunch of other names to fool the public -- and there's other chemicals in some foods that need to be avoided -- especially treats and processed foods - but yep, even bread .......... that are just as dangerous to the body and brain as the fluoride and chloride, etc in most water supplies. Bottled distilled water is cheap and better than any of the others.
I could go on and on because I'm a health food fanatic - but at the same time my bottomline is -- when it comes to prescription drugs and any other chemical/psychological addiction like what your praying about -- beating oneself will never set you free. Only His mercy and you trusting that He 'can' take it and replace it with something else and is capable of miracles as well and then leave it with Him and trust Him with a calm assurance. You can limit 'where' you'll smoke first ... like only outside or in the bathroom -- then sometimes when the urge comes, just get on here or get doing something to distract and the urges only come in spurts anyway, so you'll that one urge will subside. Make smoke free zones wherever you can. Don't make it easy by smoking where you're used to -- or like with your coffee or whatever other thing that triggers the urge.
Some advise setting a Quit Date ... but everyone is different and some need to wean themselves and others can do the cold turkey ... YOU'LL KNOW with His Help and in His timing when and how is best for you as long as that desire is there to be financially free of it --- but sometimes He allows the quitting part to be hard so that the person won't go back to it so easily -- especially during stress and other triggers - cuz they don't want to go through that withdrawling or struggle again.
Maybe find some hard candy like cinnamin drops or spearmint - some with that Tang to it or even a vitamin C tablet ... which will only do your body good because cigarettes eat up 100 mg of C per cig. Yikes - that is a lot and affects everything. You should be taking 100 mg of Vit C for every cigerette you do. You can't overdose on C but it absolutely Vital for your health and the most important antioxidant. My step mom couldn't take C [so she thought] and my brother wasn't taking enough.
TRUST GOD and do not get into condemnation -- because the more condemnation that you feel the more stress you're under and the more you'll need a cigarette to calm down .... but look for calm and effective ways to start to replace a cig here and there and where you smoke and pray knowing that He Loves you so very much that He would not beat you with condemnation but will gently help you step by step easing down --- just as they get people off of antidepressants or tranquilizers as the addiction is just as strong for those as for nicotine .... so have mercy but keep calmly praying and doing what you can to ease back some and above all things - Trust that He can give you different replacement tricks along the way and you're on His Timetable not other people's. They'd never have an antidepressant taker quit over-night or cold turkey. A missionary doctor told me that he went to a seminar on smoking and it's right up there as No#1 with heroine. Some have a brain chemistry that can quit easily - other don't, but HE Knows every cell of your body and you're precious to Him. Conviction is Not Condemnation. There's a Huge difference when it comes to these lesser sins. It's not like the sins He mentions in 1 Corth and Rev, etc. ... but just something addicting that doesn't make you "high" - just whatever it does for you. Some folks drink and that's wrong ... except for maybe an occasional one glass of wine -- if needed.... but there's chemicals in beer and even some wines now that are not healthy for the body.
Some people are harder on smokers than on alcoholics or those that need meds for every normal mood that all humans go through and that's trusting the drug industry to have 'pure' drugs with no dangerous "other ingredients" in those drugs ... like our food and water does as well. Do what you can and please trust Him with it.
Keep your Eyes On Him. He doesn't mind at all if we use our own brains, but He's the pretty Ingenious One, ya know,
and He Loves you!
Will be praying for your money situation, for your needs - as your van. Joining with all others that are praying too.