Christian Intervention: When Someone You Love is Addicted

Many Christians in addiction attend church regularly while others have quit going to church altogether. Some have completely turned their backs on God and rejected the practices of responsibility and personal accountability.

Whether functioning in the world and in church or moving into total dysfunction, Christians who actively abuse drugs and/or alcohol are selfish and create real problems for themselves and everyone in their sphere of influence. While they get what they want at any cost, their close friends and family members worry about the addict’s health, safety and spirituality.

As a counselor for both the addicted and their families, I’ve taken note that the addicted are overly concerned about getting high, and their loved ones (codependents) are overly concerned about getting them well. Both are obsessed. Both need freedom. Therefore, there’s a dire need for Christian intervention strategies.

It’s true that faith is necessary when dealing with those in addictions, but faith alone may not be enough as many have discovered. Praying for years while the addict continues destroying the family and bringing in darkness may seem like the only answer, but it’s not.  In fact, The Solid Rock Road team believes that at some point, families and friends of the addicted have to set boundaries and take very bold steps to ensure that addiction is no longer part of their lives. The following Scripture in James 2:20-24 provides Biblical back-up for this philosophy:

“You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless?  Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.” 

So what does this mean for the loved ones of the addicted? It means that you must combine your prayers and your faith with real action. This often requires that you create a crisis – not for yourselves, but for the Christian in addiction. It's the same challenge that Abraham faced. Will you put your loved one on the altar, not knowing the results, but trusting God for the outcome? 

Will you do the hard thing? Will you act in a godly and Biblical manner in order to allow God to be God? For now, pray and ask God to open your eyes, and surrender your loved one into the mighty hand of the Creator!

Check out our website at www.thesolidrockroad.com. You can also follow The Solid Rock Road recovery program in Oregon on Facebook and Twitter.

The Problem with Christians in Addiction

There’s not really one problem with Christians in addiction, but there’s one that stands out above the rest, which is separation from God. Ask anyone dealing with substance abuse issues and they will tell you that they no longer have a close relationship with God.

We hear stories about how in the midst of a person’s addiction they saw God, or God spoke to them. We acknowledge the reality of these kinds of spiritual experiences, but believe they are rare and meant to remind certain backsliders who they are in Christ. But on the whole, the sin of addiction causes a major separation.

Some addicts ask our ministry leaders, “Where is God?” Our answer is that God is still around, but he’s waiting for you to come to your senses – like in the story of the Prodigal son. And like the father in that story, God doesn’t chase after the addict. He waits and allows the consequences of choices to bring people to their bottom. It’s in their weakest moments that addicts and others allow God’s strength and enabling grace to rescue them.

Christians in addiction can’t be rescued unless they want to be. This is the troubling news for family members who work so hard to help their loved one get set free from drugs and alcohol. Often times, they work harder on sobriety than the addict. And the results are discouragement, frustration and many questions for God. Oftentimes, the loved ones of addicts find themselves separated from God because He hasn’t worked on their behalf.

The problem with Christians in addiction is that they have been taken captive and need to be set free once and for all so that they can connect with their source of life and energy, which is God.

The Solid Rock Road Christian recovery program in Medford, Oregon, works with Christians in addiction who have made the decision to get right with God. The program also works with family members to help them with issues of co-dependency, which is also sin. You can call The Solid Rock Road at 541-778-8680 for more information, or visit www.TheSolidRockRoad.com. You can also follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

In addition, there’s a recovery book available titled “Follow The Solid Rock Road: Pathway to Radical Recovery.” It’s available on the website, on Amazon.com.

Christian Recovery: Taking Our Thoughts Captive

"We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." (2 Cor. 10:5)

As Christians we are given the mind of Christ, and yet, our fleshly filter appears to be the default. So the challenge is, how do we switch from our natural way of thinking to access God's thoughts?

Here's the way our minds naturally work: We receive information into our brains and we process it through our life experiences. Satan is always there to add pain, anger and torment through memories, old offenses, insecurities, perceptions and other unfair means. If we allow these thoughts to persist, they literally become obsessions in our minds. We can't stop thinking about the situation, and because Satan is involved, the obsession grows and negative thoughts fester.

For those who have a propensity for addictions, these obsessions always lead to relapse. And in most cases, these obsessions will take the most devout Christian to very dark places. Many people spend days, weeks and even months and years cornered in the dark recesses of their fleshly minds.

We can avoid obsessions if we learn to take our thoughts captive as described in 2 Cor. 10:5. To do this, you must first become aware of how Satan traps your mind. And there's a simple test you can take to see if you're heading away from God's light. Compare the acts of the sinful nature with the fruits of the spirit in Galatians 5:16-26. You'll know where you stand.

If your thoughts have fallen into the "acts of the sinful nature" category, your job is to grab all your negative thoughts together and throw them out like garbage. You must also wield the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. If you can't think of any scriptures that fit your situation, simply recite 2 Corinthians 10:5, especially the portion that reads, "we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." It's best to actually personalize this scripture by repeating, "I take captive every thought and I make it obedient to Christ."

Be persistent in your spiritual battle against the enemy of your soul. Satan is determined to have your mind, so you must be even more determined to have the mind of Christ. If you have been diligent to counteract the negative obsessions, but are unsuccessful, don't give up. Instead, call your leader, pastor or faith-filled friends to help you work through it.

You will be set free. You will have the victory. God said!

Jamee Rae Pineda has co-authored a Christian recovery book called Follow The Solid Rock Road: Pathway to Radical Recovery. You can also find her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/solidrockroad