Wednesday, January 9, 2013 -- Addiction And The Whole Person (1)
Wednesday January 9, 2013
Addiction affects the whole person – physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, and social. To live well in recovery requires that we look at the whole person, find out where the pain lies, find out where the default reactions are when it comes to challenging thoughts and feelings. We search for life-giving tools that will enable us to change our thought patterns and control our feelings. We ask for God to bring us into a safe, nurturing relationship with Himself and with others. We want to become our real self, that person that God created us to be. That seems like quite an agenda!
The tools of our trade aren’t for marketing or manipulation, but they are for demolishing that entire massively corrupt culture. We use our powerful God-tools for smashing warped philosophies, tearing down barriers erected against the truth of God, fitting every loose thought and emotion and impulse into the structure of life shaped by Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:4-5 MSG)
Addictions and dependencies are not just alcohol and street drugs. We often switch to new expressions of our addictive personality when we leave one set of behaviours behind. To really break free and finally experience life, we need to come to God and let Him heal us in the deepest areas of our being, areas where we’ve been wounded, where we carry shame, where we are afraid to trust. Only in the presence of unconditional love, hope, and dependable help can we begin to take steps to face real problems. God makes an amazing invitation and promise to us: “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for Me wholeheartedly, you will find Me.” (Jeremiah 29:11-13 NLT) Some core beliefs underlying addiction are: •No one cares. •I’m not safe. •I don’t have what I need. •I’m no good. •I can’t be forgiven. •There’s no hope. •No one really knows me. •No one understands. •My needs are never met when I depend on anyone else. •I need “this” to feel good and I deserve to feel good. Addictions are our responses to these false beliefs. What are the problem issues I carry in my core beliefs?
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