My husband and I are founders of a ministry that advocates for mental health, recovery from addiction, ministering to the incarcerated and the homeless. Many ask why we focus on mental health. Well, if you turn on the news or listen to the radio at any time, you will hear the same message – mental health is declining and addictions are rising. It’s true for any community. Self-medicating with drugs and/or alcohol leads to addiction and is cunning, baffling and powerful. But it doesn’t have to be.
Mark Twain once said, “Giving up smoking is easy…I’ve done it hundreds of times.” The quote illustrates the confounding nature of addiction; while it may be difficult to stop an addiction, it’s even harder to “stay stopped.” Dependence on drugs and/or alcohol is so powerful many steal or even kill for a fix. I’ve never had an addiction, but I’ve witnessed the affects on people’s lives which are real, frightening, and eye-opening.
For generations addiction was understood to be a lack of willpower. Today recovery is possible successfully one day at a time, sometimes one minute at a time. Extensive support and accountability is in every community through various 12-Step Groups, including AA, NA, Al-Anon,and Celebrate Recovery.
Sometimes I wonder if at the core of addiction we feel that we are unworthy of God’s love, and we either don’t understand or have lost faith in His power. Perhaps we never understood our true identity, or have forgotten it, and we feel lost in the storm. Caught in this struggle, we fight feelings of inadequacy, doubt, pain and worthlessness. We continually chase after our addiction, hoping that it will assuage our fears and pain. Believing that somehow we can overcome on our own, or that we’ll only give in “one last time-then I’m done for good”, we are often unable to fight the urges. In the following moments of self-loathing and defeat, we set up a firmer foundation to return to the addiction to fight the pain. And so the spiral goes downward, and with each spiral, we continue believing the LIE that recovery is not possible.
If you, or anyone you know, are struggling with addictions, please do the following:
- Tell someone: We are never more vulnerable to the influence of darkness than when we are alone. Don’t be afraid to tell someone you can trust about your struggle.
- Get help: Whatever your struggle, there IS a way to fight it. You need help to truly heal; don’t hesitate to get the support you need to recover.
- Pray continually: Prayer can lift you out of darkness and into an abundant life. God is mighty to save you and He can and will help you rebuild if you will seek Him.
- Help others: There is no greater way to encourage yourself, to get perspective and to open up your heart in humility, than helping those in need.
When discussing this topic, we should remember these verses: “..for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8
“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39
Debby Efurd is co-founder of Cary John Efurd Ministries of Pittsburg, TX. She has been a contributor to Bound for Life and written numerous articles published in LifeNews, Christian Post and the Baptist Standard, and is the author of Go Tell It! Debby can be contacted at caryjohnefurdministries@gmail.com.
Tagged: addiction and recovery, God’s love, mental health, scripture
