Christian principles, like faith, love, forgiveness, perseverance, and service, bring people hope. Perfection isn’t one of those principles. Sometimes relapses happen, and when they do, it is important to recognize that Christ is as forgiving and loving after the 50th relapse as He was after the first.
Whether you’re working to prevent relapse or raising yourself back up for another try after a relapse, Christian principles can help you on your journey. The Lord wants to help you become free of addiction, no matter how long the process takes, and He will empower you as you put these principles to work in your life.
Testimony
If you have a testimony of Christ, of His saving power and willingness to forgive, you are more likely to forgive yourself. You can let go of past hurts, heal, and move forward in your life rather than swim in guilt. Guilt and shame lead to relapses and serve no purpose beyond creating the initial motivation to change course. Trust in God’s saving grace and accept His forgiveness in your life.
Compassion
One of Christ’s defining characteristics was His compassion for the people He served. He saw their frailties, imperfections, and humanity and loved them as they were. He met them in the slums, on the road, and in alleyways. He taught them in fields, temples, and homes. Everywhere He went, He healed the blind, lame, deaf, mute, crippled, palsied, and afflicted.
There is hope, no matter your past, what you’ve done, where you’ve been, or who you’ve hurt. God extends His mercy and compassion to you and offers His strength and healing. Accepting compassion from God can eventually allow us to feel compassion for ourselves and more readily extend it to others.
Forgiveness
Many people drink and use drugs to deal with pain from abusive relationships, trauma, betrayal, and other difficult situations. Substance abuse cannot change what happened. It cannot make the responsible person sorry for their actions or repair the damage they caused. Holding a grudge, even one that seems well-deserved, is like sipping poison to hurt your enemies.
Without God’s intervention, forgiving those who have wronged you is hard, sometimes impossible. Yet God has commanded us to forgive all men and stands ready to help you accomplish that goal.
Pray that He will soften your heart as long as it takes and as often as necessary until you can let go of thoughts of hatred and revenge, emotions that drive relapses. You will gain peace that will strengthen you in all your daily battles.
Choice and Accountability
Owning your actions while under the influence can be uncomfortable. You may have done or said things you would never do or say sober. Your drug of choice is to blame, but you made the decision to relinquish control of your actions to drugs and or alcohol.
Comfortable or not, hiding your actions or deflecting blame perpetuates a cycle of shame and defensiveness that will damage your relationships and prevent healing. You can move forward on your sobriety journey only by being honest with yourself and others.
Stand in Holy Places
One might think this admonition means going to church regularly, and it does in part. Churches are holy places that lead people toward God and away from vice. The same could be said of AA or NA meetings, drug and alcohol treatment centers, and any other place that strengthens you against your addiction.
Standing in holy places also means avoiding places or scenarios where temptation is strongest. If you are addicted to alcohol, avoid bars. If you’re used to getting drugs at a certain location, avoid that place or person. There will be situations that trigger your addiction and stressors that make you want to use. Don’t make it harder on yourself than necessary by running toward temptation.
Serve Others
When you serve others, you gain perspective for your own problems, are strengthened by the Spirit of God, enjoy fellowship as you work toward a common cause, and stay busy. When you help others by supporting them in their sobriety journey, like working with a faith-based treatment center alumni group, you are harnessing the power of service to help you keep your addiction under control.
Work
Conquering addiction is difficult but possible through faith and hard work. Each step is a tool that requires practice. Accepting God’s will for your life rather than trying to go your own way can be difficult. Facing people you’ve hurt with your addiction can also be a challenge. Yet every step has an important role in healing your body and spirit.
Reading through the 12-step program one time won’t cure your addiction. It takes dedicated time and effort to go to meetings, attend therapy, practice stress management and other coping techniques, make reparations, and live in harmony with your Creator. Only those willing to put in the work will succeed.
Final Thoughts
If you’re ready to see how Christian principles can help you reach your sobriety goals, call our Christian-based rehabilitation centers in Utah or Idaho today.