Detox...

Detox: [verb] To undergo treatment to rid the body of poisonous substances.

I'm often asked the question, "so what happens next?"  It's a common question that comes up with people who have recently made the decision to accept Christ...or to get serious in their walk with Christ.  Although there's no one answer, in my personal experience I'd say the next step is a lot like going through Detox.  So I'll call it the "Christian" Detox.  It's when He must undergo a procedure on us to take out the things in us that are not like Him in order for us to grow. 

Here are some steps that I've come up with that will hopefully shed more light on the Detox process:


Step 1: Admitting you need a change

If you don't admit to step one you'll never be able to move forward.  You can't look for God to be your Saviour if you can't admit that you're in need to be saved.  What does it exactly mean to be saved? First it's acknowledging that this life you've been living...isn't really "the life" at all.  You're tired of doing things in your own strength and getting no results.  It's you admitting you need change.  It's you admitting you need Christ. (for more information on salvation click here)

Step 2: Make a decision

This step is crucial.  It's not enough to admit that you need change.  You have to actually make a decision to change.  I can't count the number of times people have told me "I need a change, whatever it is I'm doing isn't working," and then that's it.  They continue to go back to what they know, and never move further in their relationship with God.  If you're honestly ready for change, you have to make up in your mind that you're ready for God to work on you.

Step 3: Be prepared to lose some things

Step 3 & 4 are probably the hardest steps of the Detox process.  I know the #1 thing I feared in choosing to get closer to God was the things and people I would lose along the way.  I mean let's be real....who really wants to give up the fun things that make us happy?  Well, we think make us happy. Or even worse....how do we tell our best friend from elementary school that "we're just growing in two different directions."  That was one of the major things I fought with God on.  I dreaded having to have "that talk" with the people in my life that I thought wouldn't understand my new way of living.  But here's what I discovered: you won't have to.  The truth is, the people who will respect your decision will stick around.....and the others...well they won't.  But it will just happen, and when it does......let them go.

Step 4: Be prepared to stand alone

This was personally the hardest part of the process for me. There will be a time in your walk with God where it will just have to be you and Him.  You can't get around this step. You can't skip it....you just have to go through it.  It's the loneliest step, but it's the most beneficial step.  It's in this part of the Christian Detox process where God begins to pull out all the things in us that aren't like Him.  We think "we got it goin' on"....until God shows us what we've  really been looking like this whole time without Him....and we're not cute.  Although this time hurts, it's also the best time for our individual growth.  It's the phase where we go from incomplete to whole.  It's the hardest step, but it's the most rewarding.  There's nothing like becoming whole in Christ.

Step 5: Growth

Growth is the end result of completing the whole process.  We  begin to grow in Christ when we allow Him to work on us.  When we allow Him to pull out all those negative, selfish, unattractive traits in us that were nothing like Him.  As we grow in Christ, we're inevitably allowing Him to change us for the better.  You'll find the things that you once valued mean absolutely nothing now because they don't compare to the joy you've found in your relationship with God.  It's irreplaceable. 


The Christian Detox process isn't an easy one, but it's vital for growth.  Building a strong relationship with God will cost you some things....but what you gain far exceeds anything you will ever lose.

-Leah