Proof The Bible Is True

“We’re starting a fundraising campaign to help with the cost of the new Family Life Center. And to make some renovations to the church,” my pastor announced after his Sunday sermon. “Please consider donating—no amount is too small. Anything would be a help.”

 

I didn’t have a lot of extra cash to burn, but I was dropping more than $30 a week on cigarettes. If I quit smoking, I could donate that money. After church ended, I left with that thought still on my mind.

 

At that point, I’d been a smoker for most of my life. I had picked up the habit when I was 15 years old. I was 55. I’d tried to quit many times. But inevitably, a few hours after my “last” cigarette, I’d start itching for another hit of nicotine. I always gave in.

 

Years ago, I’d ripped a photo of a blackened pair of smoker’s lungs out of a magazine at my doctor’s office. I’d kept it, to motivate myself. It was tucked away in my desk drawer, along with a list I’d written of reasons to quit. It numbered more than 20. But it hadn’t stopped me from smoking. More recently, my father, a lifelong smoker, had died after a long battle with lung cancer. That hadn’t stopped me either. So what made me think this time would be any different?

 

My wife, Jackie, was supportive when I told her my idea to donate the money I would have usually spent on cigarettes. I didn’t tell anyone else, though. Just in case it didn’t work out.

 

I made several earnest attempts over the next few weeks, but I just couldn’t stop smoking. One night, I stepped out onto the back deck (no smoking in the house) for a cigarette. I shook it out of the carton, rolled it around in my fingers and then lit up. I looked at the burning cigarette in my hand and hung my head. I was so frustrated. So disappointed with myself.

 

During my life, I’d prayed to God for many things. But I’d never once asked him for help conquering my addiction to nicotine. It never felt right to bother God with it. Smoking was my problem, something I needed to deal with on my own. But right now, I was at my breaking point.

 

Read More: Divine Intervention Helped Him Quit Smoking | Guideposts