May 19, 2019
Morning Service

Recovery is often thought of in two ways, recovering from an addiction or recovering from a surgical procedure. Recovery can in fact be from a multitude of things, such as loss of a job, a loved one, mental health, physical health, spiritual health, a fall from status quo, loss of support from a group, organization or institution, and probably a whole lot more than I have not listed. The thing about recovery is that we are in a seemingly worse state than we once were and we are on the road to some sense of a normalcy of the time before the need for a recovery period began. Many times the situation cannot be as is was before due to the nature of the subject of the recovery. For instance, loss of a loved one we cannot bring back to life, loss of a job can only be substituted for another job, surgeries can end in organs being removed or a lack of body functions as we once knew them, and with drugs or alcohol addictions the situation we were living in before may lead us back to the same addictions. I would like to focus on drug and alcohol recovery in this message because I am a recovering addict of drugs and alcohol and this is what I feel our community needs God’s Help with the most! Let us pray!

With addictions it seems we are the first to notice it, but the last to admit it to ourselves and God and especially to other loved ones in our circles. It is not a thing that brings any sense of pride concerning our decisions we have made and the road it has led us down. However, this is a crucial first step to walking a different direction than continuing on the road to destruction. Drugs and alcohol when not partaken of in moderation can become such a hungry beast within us that we continue to feed it until it becomes a part of us that has controlled our actions, behaviors, and decisions. Often, addictions happen without a conscious effort to become this way, nobody usually starts out saying and thinking, “My goal is to become addicted to drugs or alcohol.” Furthermore, addictions have many paths of peril to fall into such as sex, drugs, alcohol, jobs, money, power, sports, social media, and religion. Yes even religion can be something not good for you.....if it makes you become puffed up about yourself, if you fail to realize the Spirit which has delivered you, if you do not humble yourself to God, if you do not realize where you came from, if you do not realize all of the misery and troubles of the old man or woman can be upon you again without a daily walk with your Lord, if you do not seek to make the Spirit within you grow and become matured, if you do not read the Word and ask God to hide His Words within your heart to have in the fight when needed, if you do not make God your priority above all others. But the road we travel down can become a slippery slope when we indulge in anything that can change our clear headed thinking and we must exercise caution in our decisions. There are many times in a recovering addict’s life when we must summon courage and find our strongest self. This is a reminder that obstacles are inevitable, but with God anything is possible.

1 John 16:33 “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

This is our Hope spoken straight from the mouth of Jesus to his disciples that this world will give you trials and problems, but we have a friend in Jesus we can trust and He has overcome all worldly things. These words in the Bible although spoken to people at particular times are also Words for us Christians today!

1 Peter 3:11 Let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it. 

1 Peter 3:12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their prayers; but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil. 

Getting sober and clean means constantly facing the demons that are triggers to use. In the path to become a more healthy and happy person, it is important to continue to seek things that bring peace and joy and to make the constant conscious decision to avoid decisions, people, and situations that are toxic. This may mean taking a new driving route to avoid certain triggers, or to form a new group of friends or a support group that have the same goal of staying clean and sober. Most of the time I have found when battling with my own demons of addiction, the fight became a matter of minutes or seconds even to do the right thing at the right time and avoiding the trouble certain to come from making the wrong decision. This is also why most support groups choose the, “One Day at a Time” concept because this shortens the amount of time for which you are attempting the new goals and lifestyle. The classic failure I always had with my attempts to get clean and sober was saying to myself, I will never do that again and can honestly say that I have had times that before the end of the day came, that statement was so over-bearing that I used or drank within the same day. Just the thought of doing something for the rest of your life is so hard to actually grasp, that it becomes our excuse to fail rather than to succeed.

James 4:10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up. 

One of the most effective and important things a recovering addict can realize is that he must let go of the idea that he has control over everything. The reality is, of course, that there are countless things in life that no one has control over, and rather than deal with these things by using, it is important to recognize or own powerlessness and to let God take care of us. With this faith, the strength will come to lead the lives we want. 

1 Corinthians 4:5 Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each one's praise will come from God.

It is important that in the quest to become a healthier and more evolved person that a conscious effort is made to avoid judging both one’s self and others. There is no place for judgment in recovery, and those who keep an open mind about themselves and the people they encounter are much more likely to have a closer relationship to God and to enjoy all of the help and love that the relationship will bring. With God, a recovering addict can and will find health. Now in certain support groups, you may have a sponsor you have chosen to help you in your recovery and if you ask this person to help, you must allow them to take a bit of your personal inventory which may seem judgmental, but it is actually more along the lines of accountability. As the saying goes, “To Thine Own Self Be True” and when deep in the depths of addiction, honesty has been far removed from our character traits. Sponsors for support groups should be someone with a smile on their face and they have something in working their recovery program that is something you would like to have in your own personal program. Someone you can talk with easily and you have camaraderie with and a sense of identifying with them on a personal level.

Hebrews 4:15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. 

Hebrews 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. 

Jeremiah 29:12 Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 

Jeremiah 29:13 And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. 

These previous verses in the Bible tell me of where the Power to overcome these extreme obstacles in our lives as addicts comes from, by way of our Lord and God our Redeemer!  Recovery comes from first making a decision that our life as we know it is no longer pleasing to us or to our God. Recovery comes from being able to cope, finding support, engaging in new activities, maybe getting involved with a support group such as AA, NA, Bible Studies, Rehabs, and last but not least, the ultimate Help you can find for dealing with problems in recovery is Jesus Christ our Lord. In order to turn from addicting patterns, we must realize we have reached a bottom and if we have not reached that bottom, we are still digging the hole and not ready to be in the mode of recovery.  In recovery we must learn to love ourselves as we are….. a recovering addict with a certain relapse if we do not take the task seriously and make it a priority to deal with the addictions and maintenance on a daily basis. We must first acknowledge the need for change and seek help to make the change happen. You do not have to fight the addiction alone, God loves you unconditionally. In fact, Jesus is a friend who sticks to you closer than a brother and He is there when the rest of the world may not be for you! There is nothing good or bad that God cannot make better!

Psalms 121:1 A Song of Ascents. I will lift up my eyes to the hills—From whence comes my help? 

Psalms 121:2 My help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth. 

Psalms 121:3 He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber. 

These three verses of Psalms 121 written by King David, a man said to be after God’s own heart have inspired me from the first time I ever read them. This passage of scripture tells it as it is, our true Help comes from God above and without Him, and this life will be so short of the goodness He has planned for us as believers. Bear in mind, God does not tell us this way of life is without trouble, he tells us exactly the opposite of that. But, if we are true to Him, great rewards are coming when Jesus comes again that cannot even enter into our feeble minds and hearts. The magnificence of God’s kingdom will be beyond our wildest dreams or imagination as written in 1 Corinthians 2:9. It is so important for us to acknowledge where our help comes from, God will not bring you to it if He is not willing to see you through it, nothing is impossible with God!

I have often thought of the resources and time lost searching for happiness through all other means than that of God and it is hard to admit that part of me was a real portion of my life. I now know that if I had put half the effort into my spiritual health as I did into my addictions, I could have had a much more rewarding life in my earlier years. The reason people become addicted to anything is because they are searching for a better feeling, a better state of mind, a relief from troubling times, a sense of being more than what we truly are in our natural state, a longing and hunger for escaping emotional or psychological pains. Most people turn away from the option of a Spirit filled life because they cannot imagine a life without the things or substances currently controlling their life and decisions they make, they cannot fathom even a single day without the addictive choice that has been chosen. Our vision, when we are an addict is limited to the addiction and it is even hard to think of what we can do for fun or what would replace the addiction choice.  This sounds silly to people who don’t understand the depths of addictions or who have never suffered from a dependency, but this is a real thought of most people entertaining the thought of a life without the drugs or alcohol or whatever the addiction.  Here is a verse from the Bible to stand upon and will serve to help you in the troubling times when in recovery.

1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it. 

 So we must look for the way of escape when we become tempted to engage in our addiction, it this way we can prevail and live to fight another day. I was once told something very profound about life and that is to be careful of the ruts you get into because you may not be able to get out of it once you are in it. Some of these addictions can become fatal if not dealt with and to die in the sin without accepting the Lord Jesus as your Savior and Redeemer is the greatest sin of all, it results in a permanent separation from God the Father forevermore. When we become an addict, something is missing in us needing a filling and the Holy Spirit from Jesus our Lord is the filling we need.

Lord help us to assess ourselves honestly measuring by the faith God has given us through the Holy Spirit!