Seek Help From Others
We are not alone in our struggle against sin. We need other believers and counselors, support groups, recovery programs, and accountability partners to succeed in our battle with addiction.
1 Corinthians 10:13The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.
James 5:15-16And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.
2 Corinthians 1:37God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. Even when we are weighed down with troubles, it is for your comfort and salvation! For when we ourselves are comforted, we will certainly comfort you. Then you can patiently endure the same things we suffer. We are confident that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in the comfort God gives us.
Ecclesiastes 4:910Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble.
Having Had A Spiritual Awakening As The Result Of These Steps
Carry This Message to Addicts and Practice These Principles in All Your Affairs
We must allow Gods love to flow through us to othersthe more we give, the more we receive. Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you .
Before concluding, there is one aspect that I have come to recognize as important in recovery from addictions that is not specifically addressed in the 12 steps: bringing every thought into captivity to Jesus Christ . Science has revealed that even though we may avoid unhealthy behaviors if we engage in the behavior in our imagination, the same neural circuits fire as when the actual behavior is carried out. This means that if we long for the addiction in our mind, if we imagine the good ol days, if we wish we could engage in our addiction but dont merely because we know it will harm or kill us, then our brains will not rewire and our characters will not change. Such persons never experience genuine freedom from their addiction.
However, when we not only change our behavior but our thinking as well, over time our brains actually rewire and what we once found pleasurable will, in time, become repulsive. This is the freedom that unity with Christ brings!
Theres Always A Way Out
The Bible is also very clear that while God puts temptations in front of people, there will always be a way out if they are willing to pursue it. Life may lead you into addiction and pain, but there will always be ways to pull yourself out, through your community, through rehabilitation and substance abuse treatment, and through God.
There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. 1 Corinthians 10:13
What this will look like for you will likely heavily depend on your home and social life, your community, and your relationships. But, no matter what, God will provide a way.
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Addiction As An Oppressive Force
Active addiction often feels like youre under the thumb of an oppressive force. You may have a strong desire to quit and pursue other goals in your life. But the constant compulsion to drink or use drugs holds you back. The Bible often talks about sin in general as a similar force that can gain mastery over you. In Matthew, Jesus is recorded as saying, Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin.
Later in the New Testament, the apostle Paul speaks about sin in a way that may be extremely relatable to people who struggle with substance use problems. In his letter to the Romans, he says, We know that the law is spiritual but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do, I do not do, but what I hate, I do.
Even Paul, widely regarded as a great Christian preacher and writer in the early church, struggled with his internal desires to do what he knows isnt right, much like someone who is struggling to overcome a substance use disorder.
Active addiction can blind you to the nature of your problem, but even people who realize they have a substance use problem may still struggle to resist compulsive drug use. However, the Bible offers hope for people who battle with sinful desires like Paul, and that hope is also available for people with substance use disorders.
What The Bible Does Not Say
Surprisingly, the Bible actually doesn’t address any form of illegal drug use at all. There are no explicit prohibitions against marijuana, heroin, or cocaine. They don’t even mention meth, acid, or magic mushrooms. The Bible doesn’t speak about snorting, injecting, or any of the different avenues of ingestion either. This can lead many people to dismiss the Bible right off the bat, because they believe it doesn’t readily apply to our modern times.
However the Bible doesn’t mention addiction, either. This was all because at the time the Bible was written, these words didn’t exist. However God saw the future and He knew what was to come. While He did not come out right saying that smoking cannabis was harmful, He was sure to include several clear Biblical principles that would lead us to believe that drugs are outside the realm of acceptable behavior.
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Understanding Gods Hope And Help For Substance Abuse
As a counselor, Ive been asked these two questions many times over the years:
What does the Bible say about substance abuse?
What does the Bible say about addiction?
If youre using prescription drugs or alcohol to mask the hurt and pain, you are not alone. And you can begin your healing right now.
These verses of hope will help you cope with difficult emotions. As you read, think about how much more healing Gods love is than the empty high that comes from substance abuse, and find more lasting comfort in Gods love for you.
Christian Quotes For Overcoming
Determine that the thing can and shall be done, and then we shall find the way. ~ Abraham Lincoln
To trust yourself to test your limits. That is the courage to succeed. ~ Bernard Edmonds
God has equipped you to handle difficult things. In fact, He has already planted the seeds of discipline and self-control inside you. You just have to water those seeds with His Word to make them grow! ~ Joyce Meyer
Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life, as by the obstacles one has overcome trying to succeed. ~ Booker T. Washington
No horse gets anywhere until he is harnessed. No stream or gas ever drives anything until it is confined. No Niagara ever turned light and power until it is tunneled. No life ever grows great until it is focused, dedicated, disciplined. ~ Harry Emerson Fosdick
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I Think It’s Dangerous To Call Addiction A Disease
1. The way we think is powerful.Saying addiction is a disease builds on the, “Once an addict, always an addict” mentality which only creates hopelessness.
2. It removes personal responsibility, perpetuates the victim mentality, and encourages denial.
3. Addiction is “drunkenness, idolatry and debauchery. If we say its anything else, we are going against Gods Word.
4. Addiction cant be cured with medicine, but it can be cured by following Jesus! Using medicine to take away cravings is a bandaid solution.
“The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”
-John 10:10
5. We’ve been told to lean on God and He will sustain us. Addiction is self-medicating and a coping mechanism that takes away our need for God.
6. If we dont believe addiction is a sin theres NO reconciliation with God.
“See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.”
-Colossians 2:8
How Much Is Too Much Sugar
I hear it all the time, But I am addicted to sugar!
Many of us feel that if we tried to cut out sugar, we would fail because of our addition. Speaking as a former addict myself. I can tell you that it is very possible to cut it out even if you feel you are addicted. It is also very possible to at least CONTROL the amount you are consuming. I am not saying it is always easy, but it is possible. Sometimes the best things are the hardest things.
About 15% of the calories in the American adult diet come from added sugars.1 Thats about 22 teaspoons of added sugar a day. We are consuming altogether too many sugars! The American Heart Association recommends limiting sweeteners to no more than 6 teaspoons for women and 9 teaspoons for men per day, on average. That includes all sources, whether its agave, sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, or anything else. That means we are eating 2-4 times as much sugar as we should be!
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Can A Married Couple Get Addicted To Sex
Sex between a husband and his wife in marriage is “pure” and right it’s God’s way of allowing a married couple to love each other intimately and release sexual tension. It is completely fine for a husband and wife to desire regular sex with each other. Sex in marriage is not sinful God designed it for good! A husband and his wife are biblically allowed to have sex as much as they want, as long as they both want to .
God’s Help In Fighting Addiction
- “His grace teaches us to say no to godless ways and sinful desires. We must control ourselves. We must do what is right. We must lead godly lives in todays world” .
- “No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down hell never let you be pushed past your limit hell always be there to help you come through it. So, my very dear friends, when you see people reducing God to something they can use or control, get out of their company as fast as you can” .
- “For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him” .
- “So let God work his will in you. Yell a loud no to the Devil and watch him scamper. Say a quiet yes to God and hell be there in no time. Quit dabbling in sin. Purify your inner life. Quit playing the field. Hit bottom, and cry your eyes out. The fun and games are over. Get serious, really serious. Get down on your knees before the Master its the only way youll get on your feet” .
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They Arouse Gods Anger
- He made his son pass through the fire and burned him he practiced witchcraft and divination, and dealt with mediums and soothsayers. He did great evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking Him to anger 2 Kings 21:6
Those that partake in such mystical acts do great evil in the sight of God. When Gods anger is set towards someone who can save him?
Christ Came To Set Us Free From Sins Control
Galatians 5:1 says that Jesus Christ set us free, and therefore, we should not get tied up again in slavery to sin. John 8:36 also says that the Son of God sets us free, and so we are free indeed.
Romans 6:67We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin.
Romans 6:11So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus.
Romans 6:12-13Do not let sin control the way you live do not give in to sinful desires. Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God.
Romans 6:14Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of Gods grace.
Romans 6:1819Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living. Because of the weakness of your human nature, I am using the illustration of slavery to help you understand all this. Previously, you let yourselves be slaves to impurity and lawlessness, which led ever deeper into sin. Now you must give yourselves to be slaves to righteous living so that you will become holy.
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What Does God’s Word Say About Disease
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Gods Word says, healing from disease is a blessing:
WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD, and his blessing will be on your food and water. I will take away sickness from among you.
-Exodus 23:25
Worship the Lord we cannot worship the Lord and simultaneously give way to addiction.
The Bible says that light can have no partnership with darkness. We can cry out to the Lord from the darkness to save us, but we need to commit our ways to Him if we want to live in the shelter of His blessing.
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Gods Word gives instruction on how to handle disease and sickness:
Is anyone among you SICK? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.
-James 5:14
Of course it would be great for anyone struggling with addiction to have prayer and anointing, but there’s a definite difference in the Biblical approach to disease versus addiction. Like, one you anoint their heads with oil, and the other you cast out the devil in the same of Jesus. Small differences .
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Gods Word says, He will strengthen the sick:
The Lord will strengthen him ON HIS BED OF ILLNESS You will sustain him on his SICKBED.
-Psalm 41:3
God strengthens and sustains those who are weakened by sickness. I do believe this also means mental illness, which many who struggle with addiction have, but mental illness is not an excuse to sin.
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Gods Word distinguishes a difference between sickness and sin:
-Psalm 103:2-4
What The Bible Says About Intoxication Inebriation
Most people interpret the Bibles condemnation of alcohol abuse as a condemnation against all forms of substance abuse. If the term drunkenness is interpreted as a general state of intoxication to any drug, then the Bible clearly admonishes drug use.
The Bible may not be straightforward about drug use, but it is clear about staying sober.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:6-8
- So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.
- 1 Peter 1:13
- Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming.
- 1 Peter 5:8
- Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
The Bible wants us to be sober because being intoxicated makes us more likely to sin. Decades of research proves that alcohol and other drugs lower self-control and contribute to increased rates of violence and other unsafe behaviors, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Many of those behaviors are sins. And the Bible tells us to avoid things that tempt us to sin.
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Exposing Satans Devices: What The Bible Says About Masturbation
What does the Bible say about masturbation? is one of our most frequently asked questions. Many Christians have found it difficult to answer the question of what the Bible says about masturbation according to the Bible, because the Bible never mentions masturbation specifically. To understand how God feels about this subject, we must examine other verses that deal with issues such as lust, self-control and purity. Also, we must examine its fruit to see if it is from God. We have tried to address this issue by answering some of the most frequently asked questions. Our prayer is that God will use this page to bring freedom and deliverance.