Cravings, Addictions, and Deliverance

True confession of deliverance.  I believe when YHWH delivers a person, they do not have to fear the addiction.  I don't believe "once an addict, always an addict."  By that same token we are not to tempt Adonai.  I know if I ever started smoking again, it would be back on me seven times worse.  I know that, so I don't even consider trying one.  They don't smell good anyway, anymore.

I was never much of a soda pop drinker and haven't touched the stuff at all in well over a decade.  I'm not a chip snacker either.  I used to be a cake-aholic.  Seriously, I knew my weakness.  If there was a cake in the house, there would be no other food, until it was gone.  I didn't consume it in a single sitting of course, but in all honestly it didn't last long, either . . . and I lived alone.  I've actually been given victory and deliverance in my cake-aholism and without Cakers Anonymous.  

I also come from a long line of folks who enjoy a good cup of coffee with a dish of ice cream.  I've had those phases or seasons, but that particular treat is rarely a craving.  Ministry overseas, years ago, took care of that for me.  Coffee wasn't as plentiful as it is here, and working in an orphanage, ice cream was a very rare commodity.  Don't get me wrong, I still like my coffee, strong and black, but I don't really trust what might be in ice cream any more, and home-made is a summer event with kids and grandkids, that is completely consumed at the time.  

I believe cravings can be an indication of discontent or a feeling of lack, or even the result of boredom.  Cravings can literally be a physical hunger or a certain vitamin or mineral is lacking, but more often than not, I think cravings have to do with our emotional state.   Some cravings go with hormonal changes, and hormones and emotions are definitely intertwined.     

 I'm not preaching doctrine here, but rather something I've dedicated to my King.  For all the Feasts of YHWH, I have always baked a cake, as dessert is my understanding of the difference between a meal and a feast.  Dessert has never been a regular part of my cooking, but my daughters and I did love our girl talk around a cake, each with a fork in hand.   I think between empty nest syndrome and smoking cessation, I turned to cake.  It reminded me of good memories and was hand to mouth motion.  That's why I knew my cake craving was really an addiction and it was a problem.  When I stopped smoking, I replaced one addiction with another and just called it a craving.  Thankfully, I was delivered before my figure got any fuller!  

Cake in and of itself is not evil, but it's not comfort either.  Cake is actually mention in Scripture.  There is a different special cake I bake for each Feast, except Yom Kippur.  I tried one for a breaking the fast, but it didn't seem respectful.  Now, when the eggs are abundant in the spring and I'm blessed to prepare for guests, I bake an angel food cake.  As a part of the Feasts or when guests are coming, are all the cakes I bake.  I don't buy cakes or even cake mixes, so the instant gratification factor is also eliminated.  Since all cakes are now baked to honor the King, or for guests, cake consumption isn't the focus, as the cakes are not mine.  I'm blessed to be commanded and invited to celebrate the Feasts of YHWH, with deliverance I now have cake moderation manners!