Tag Archives: 12 Steps

Denial… the roadblock to recovery

04 Wednesday Jan 2012

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In Jeremiah 6:14, God says,

You can’t heal a wound by saying it is not there!

How often in life do we deny issues that are affecting ourselves? I would bet that most people have done this at one time or another. Sometimes these avoidances can be about small things but often they are about much larger issues. The problem with denial is that the problem never goes away. And when that problem is addiction, it can be fatal.

Denial of our addictions allow us to continue our destructive behaviors. In fact, the very nature of denial encourages us to bury our feelings and emotions. Essentially, we just quit feeling anything. And when we can’t do that on our own, we seek “medication” to assist in that numbing feeling.

The first step in recovery is to “admit we are powerless over our addictions and that our lives have become unmanageable.” It can actually require a lot of work to deny this very basic step. Often times, others around us can point out where we fall short in managing life. But admitting it to ourselves is something completely different. It’s like looking in the mirror and really seeing all of the imperfections. We just don’t want to do that. So, avoiding that proverbial mirror seems the easier route. Actually, it can instill a lot of anxiety and stress, which in turn, prevents recovery.

Simply put, an addict cannot grow in their recovery until they embrace truth completely — no denial.

God made a promise in Jeremiah 30:17.

I will give you back your health again and heal your wounds.

That very simple verse can be the turning point for stepping out of denial into the truth. Until we fully believe that God will heal the wounds we have created through our addictions, shame and guilt will continue to fester, ensuring those wounds will never heal.

The first step is not an easy step to take. Many people joke about taking that “first step” but very few actually accomplish it. It’s the beginning of a new year. Why not take this new year and make it a new opportunity for a new life? Are you currently living in denial? Are you seeking fulfillment but unsure what that fulfillment is? Proverbs 14:12 says,

There is a way that seems right to man but in the end it is the way of death.

Lord, please forgive me for sinful pride. It can seem so much easier to do it my way and deny my life is unmanageable. Please help me to hand it over to you and begin a new life with you. I seek help from wounds that only you can heal. Amen.

What Is Addiction?

12 Wednesday Oct 2011

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Addiction.

The word can bring many images to mind. For some, it means the “junkie” on the street corner who hasn’t bathed. For others, it means the drug dealer in the expensive car. Still others see it as the alcoholic at the end of bar. But for some, it means the face staring back at them in the mirror.

Addiction isn’t selective in its victims. Rich. Poor. Young. Old. Religious. Atheists. Men. Women. It has discriminating qualities. It simply attacks and doesn’t let go. There are people of prominence who have openly discussed their addictions. President George W. Bush, Elton John, Kerry Collins, Samuel L. Jackson, and Eric Clapton – just to name a few. And then there are our neighbors, friends, church members, family and co-workers. Everywhere you go, addiction is there.

So, what is addiction? That is a hard word to define. There is the official definition. Mr. Webster defines it as

a compulsive need for and use of a habit-forming substance (as heroin, nicotine, or alcohol) characterized by tolerance and by well-defined physiological symptoms upon withdrawal; broadly persistent compulsive use of a substance known by the user to be harmful.

But it goes so much deeper than that. It is a disease of life-altering proportions. It literally destroys everything and everybody it touches. I have witnessed great people fall to improbably bottoms. I have watched lives end with “one last drink”. Families fall apart. Jobs are lost. Money disappears. Crimes occur. The list of negative consequences just goes on and on. And yet, the lure of “one more” can be greater then the need for air.

What can be done? Are these men and women beyond help?

NO!!!

The Bible says in Psalm 107:13:

Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and he saved them out of their distresses.

The Lord wants us to seek Him during our greatest moments, our darkest moments and all the moments in between. For the addict, the mere idea of reaching out to God is one, both foreign and frightening. In fact, for many in the depths of the disease, their will to disbelieve is so powerful that they would rather die then seek answers through God. But the 12-Steps can help. You see, the original 12 steps were formed for Alcoholics Anonymous. A.A. founder Clarence Snyder said, “since our A.A. program was based on the Word of God, God says there is no access to Him except through His Son Jesus Christ.” Without God, A.A. and the 12-Steps could never have been born.

Are you interested in learning more about the relationship between 12-Steps and God?

Lord, I pray that those who need help with addictions will seek your guidance. I pray for their willingness to understand that there is a power greater then themselves and that power is You, Lord. I pray they will come to have a relationship with you so that they might find answers to this very difficult question of addiction. Amen.