Radiant Ministries Today

Not everyone who comes to church may be sober. Some of them might be struggling with addiction, and they still manage to show up in church.  

Recognizing the addicts in the church is important in assisting them to find help so that they can start their journey to sobriety.

Addicts in the church need counseling to help them get their health on track.

The primary purpose of this counseling is to provide a therapeutic and guided approach that combines psychological and theological concepts to help them understand their addiction and break free from it.

Below are some of the reasons why counseling is important in the church for addicts

Holistic and self-discovery journey

When an individual is struggling with addiction, the effects can come in different forms. Some of them might struggle with their spiritual walk. Others might experience mental health disorders which could be very disturbing.

Irrespective of the effects of their addiction, counseling helps to address these issues. It is interesting to mention that counseling helps the addict to get in touch with their inner being to address unsettled problems that they have kept for a long time.

Counseling also helps them to figure out the root cause of their addiction so that they can make better decisions in the future.

Guidance from Christ-centered therapists

Another beautiful reason why counseling is needed in the church is that therapists can provide life-changing support because of their identity in Christ.

Some of these counselors might be pastors in the church whose purpose is to provide people who are seemingly lost with guidance. Hence, while they provide you with some quintessential tips, they will also teach you from the word of God.

Reestablish their fellowship with God

Some addicts might not be having a smooth time fellowshipping with God because of their addiction.

Counselors in the church are aware of this, and they help such individuals to explore their relationship with God again. Doing this will be helpful for them while they undergo other aspects of addiction treatment.

Addicts need all the help they can get to fight off addiction. If they are left to handle it on their own, they won’t be successful for long.

In the church, the case remains the same. Addicts need the church to come through for them as they strive to conquer addiction.  

Here are some of the responsibilities of the church in helping addicted members

• Counseling

Every addicted individual needs counseling. This is because counseling is the bedrock of addiction treatment.

Addicted individuals need to know the root cause of their addiction, and this is one of the many benefits of having a counselor.

Asides from this, a counselor provides the addicted individual with sufficient support that they need to pull through addiction treatment.

Even after addiction treatment, in the aftercare phase, the counselor is still available to support the individual.

In the church, addicted individuals will have access to counselors who will put asides the official demands of their work, and offer pro-bono services.

• Support in prayers

One of the advantages of having the church in your corner is the type of support they offer. The power of prayer is very profound in helping an individual defeat addiction.

When the church is aware that one of their own is in the web of addiction, they will rally around to offer prayers of intercession to God for strength and willpower for the addicted individual.

This would continue for a long time even when the individual is showing strong signs of getting sober.

• Love and care

Unlike the secular world where addicted individuals are stigmatized, the case is different in the church. The church fully understands that it is not the fault of their loved ones that they are addicted. Therefore, they offer all the love, care, and support to ensure that they don’t feel left out.

In addition, if the addicted individuals are not on good terms with their families, the church helps to mend the rift between them.

There is this feeling of hopelessness that comes with addiction. The addicted individual would have already ditched all hopes of getting sober one day, except if something unusual happened.

In the Christian faith, this is far from what Christian addicts experience. There is hope in the power of Jesus Christ to save them from addiction, even as they take physical actionable steps by going for rehabs, etc.

Anyone can be addicted, even Christians. But, it is not a big issue as there are extra privileges that addicted Christians are likely to enjoy.

Here are some tips for addicted Christians to recover

• Acknowledge that you are addicted

Someone who lives in denial about their addiction will find it difficult to recover. Christians who are addicted should find no shame in opening up that they are addicted and need help.

When you accept that you are addicted, it becomes easy to open up to any help that comes your way. Similarly, you will find it more convenient to follow through with the addiction treatment to the end.

• Acknowledge that the power of Christ can help you

When some Christians are facing some challenges, they merely rely on the power of Christ to help them. They try everything within their power to find a solution without remembering that they have an extra advantage with God.

Addicted Christians need to remember that there is nothing that cannot bow to the power of Christ.

More so, they have to know that God is interested in various aspects of our lives. So, if you are addicted, he is interested in helping you fight it off.

• Seek support from Christians in your local church

Some Christians distance themselves from their brethren at church when they are addicted. This is not great enough because when God wants to send support, he uses men he trust, and those close to you.

You need to open up to Christians around you so that you can receive all forms of support like prayer, counseling, financial aid, etc.

In case you are not aware, addiction is a sin against God. The fact is addiction draws you further away from God and makes you indulge in other sinful practices including addiction.

For believers, addiction disrupts the fellowship you have with God, but your relationship with God remains intact because he is still your father.

Now, it is the duty of every father to lend a helping hand to his children when they are in need. So, all they need do is ask. The sad part about this is, God wants to help us but we are ignorant of this fact.

Some believers who are addicted do not think the input of God is needed to help them break free. The amazing part is once we ask God, he would definitely come to our aid.

So, in summary, our fellowship is affected but our relationship is not. Addiction creates a form of guilt in our hearts.

Even though we are aware of our relationship with God, we do not feel free to communicate with him because he is angry with us. Although, we are not aware of the fact that God’s hand are held out wide waiting for us to return just like the prodigal son.

God does not like sin, so inasmuch as he wants to turn away, there is a provision of reconciliation he has provided for us in form of Jesus Christ.

So, once we accept the fact that we are sinners and we need God’s forgiveness, he would accept us back.

God gives us grace to defeat addiction but we must be ready to play our part. Out of which we must be ready to attend rehab and counseling sessions.

You would be surprised to find out that they would be as seamless as possible. This is because God’s grace is available for you to use.

An addictive lifestyle is a sinful one and it prevents us from developing a blossoming relationship with God.  

We struggle with several things in our lives because we do not involve God. Hence, we keep running the rat race when we are indeed meant to soar.

God is our heavenly father and one of the most interesting facts about him is, he is super-interested in every minute detail of our lives. So, there is no problem that God would not like to help us solve.

But a good number of us will rather seek ways to do it by ourselves instead of involving him. And since he cannot force us to accept the divine intervention he has, he watches till we are ready to call on him.

Sometimes, he can be gracious to us and help us solve these problems, but we term such help or assistance as luck, instead of divine help.

We all believe in the existence of a higher power but the truth is a good number of us do not make efforts to communicate with him and develop a relationship with him.

For people who are addicted, they do not know that God can help them solve their addiction problems. So, they try all means to get better and sadly, their case becomes worsened.

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Addicts need to draw closer to God because he alone has the power to help them defeat addiction.

The first thing you discover when you draw closer to God is the peace of mind you will get. You will not be troubled as you used to be.

Addicted individuals have trouble within because they are in bondage. The only person who delivers from bondage is God, this is why addicted individuals need him more than ever.

With the supernatural healing power that God gives, it is possible for an individual to break free from addiction without any extra assistance.

Although, it is important to go to a Christian rehab as you draw closer to God. The reason is, those who work at the Christian rehab are God’s servant and they will help you get back on track with your creator.

Sometimes, despite our best efforts, we find ourselves in the midst of some sort of sin – such as addiction. We find ourselves putting a substance or someone before God, or maybe harming our body, or maybe losing our faith. There are several aspects of sin, but all those aspects can easily entangle us in its deep, dark wrath.

But, amongst all of that negativity, there is some good news…

God can heal those who are willing and who put in the effort to do their part. So, you don’t have to be a victim of addiction forever – you can break the cycle and break free of that sinful pattern.

But, it doesn’t come easy and it doesn’t just happen overnight. And, you will need a lot of faith, encouragement, and energy to put forth the effort along the way.

So, once you have decided to hop on board and begin your first steps to taking control of your life and becoming a new and healthier version of yourself, here are a few steps to help you out.

Steps to Break Free From Sinful Patterns:

1. Recognize the spiritual warfare element present in your struggle.

   Addiction, and sin for that matter, takes a hold of you in every aspect – including spiritually. So, it is important that you start your journey to healing by recognizing the spiritual aspect of the war you are fighting.

   You might need to start your healing by working on your relationship with God.

2. Open up about your struggles.

   It always, always, always helps to talk to someone. Once you have addressed where you are spiritually, try talking to someone about your struggles. And, furthermore, if you feel as though you need spiritual guidance – talk to someone about that, too.

   

   Being open with others will only help you be more open with yourself.

   And, fellow believers can offer some valuable advice as well as encouragement along the way.

3. Repent.

   Once you realize you are living a life of sin, you should always repent. This will give you a clean slate to start your new life and will hopefully help relieve you of some of the grief and/or sorrow you might be feeling.

   So, just have a conversation with God and talk to Him about how you are feeling, where you are now, and what road you are headed down. He is always listening and He always cares.

4. Rejoice in the small victories.

   Even if the victory seems too small to matter, rejoice in it. All of those little victories are what make up the big victory of healing!

When it comes to addiction – whether it is drugs, alcohol, pornography, or something else – it can be hard to overcome it alone. Addiction takes a hold on your entire body – physically, mentally, spiritually, and emotionally. Therefore, it can be hard to break such an intertwined relationship when it has become so involved in who you are.

But, with God, all things are possible. While it might not be an easy journey, you can feel confident knowing that you will have Him as a cheerleader on your side for the duration of your journey.

And, one of the best ways to help stay on track and keep that momentum going is to use His Word as encouragement. It also helps to get encouragement from other influential Christians or just Christians you know.

Take into consideration this quote from Joyce Meyer:

“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.”

And, just like you are to use His Word to water those seeds and make them grow, you can also use his word to do many other things like to help heal you in the midst of addiction.

Do you ever just grab the Bible but you don’t know where to begin? Maybe you just open it up to a random spot, hoping to be led somewhere meaningful or hoping to see a verse that just really speaks to you.

Well, when it comes to addiction, there are several verses that can speak to you, provide you strength, and provide you comfort even in your darkest of days…

But, rather than just opening up the Bible to a random spot and hoping that is what you find, take a look at this list below when you just need to hear something:

James 4:7 “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 

James 1:12-15 “Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hast conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.

2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

Have you ever made a bad decision in your life? I think just about everyone can attest to making a bad decision at some point…

Maybe it was lying to your parents about where you actually were last night.

Maybe it was sneaking out after your parents went to sleep to go hang out with those friends they don’t approve of.

Maybe it was peaking at the Christmas presents under the tree.

Maybe it was driving while you knew you had already drunk too much.

Bad choices seem to just surround us in life and giving in to the temptations and making bad choices is just an inevitable part of being human.

But, these bad choices don’t define us…

There are so many situations where people think they simply made a choice they can’t come back from. But, they are actually missing out on the great opportunities that await them to make a difference using that situation and to use their story to hopefully keep others from going down that same path.

Since it is a very relevant topic in our society today, let’s talk about the aspect of addiction.

There are several people who are addicted to drugs and/or alcohol who think that they can’t turn that situation into something good.

But, if that is you, you can.

Start by getting clean. Work with your pastor and a recovery program to get back on the right track mentally, physically, spiritually, and emotionally. Turning your life around after being in the dark wraths of addiction is one of the most notable things you can do. Remove yourself from that life of sin and start fresh.

Next, use your recovery as your story. Tell people where you have come from and demonstrate to them that change is possible. You can emerge from the depths of addiction and become a new person.

Then, spend time channeling this newfound energy into helping other people. You probably even have a volunteer group at your church, but there are definitely volunteer organizations around just about every town.

Get involved and help those who need it. And, use your past as your witness. Through this, you can minister to a lot of people and hopefully help them avoid falling into the same dark, depths of addiction.

Then, you can relish in the joy of helping others and continue your road to recovery. Use your bad decisions and negative situations to make a difference. Even through the bad times, let God be glorified.

I will never forget as a child when I would go to church and listen to people share their story of salvation…

A lot of times it was someone who had a dramatic background and some ground shaking experience that led them to Christ. It would always go a little something like one of these:

They were raised in an ungodly home and one of their friends led them to Christ after they spent so long wondering why they were here and what their purpose was.

Or, they had wandered away from religion but a tragic car accident brought them back.

There was just always some catch, so to speak, they were great testimonies and I absolutely love hearing these, but my problem was that I didn’t have a testimony like this…

Mine was simple – I grew up in church and when the time was right, I made the decision to begin my own walk with the Lord.

So, this always left me feeling like I wasn’t good enough. Like my light wasn’t bright enough. I mean, sure, I could tell people I was saved but my story of salvation was not so compelling that I felt anyone would be impacted by it.

And, I think this is what many people think when they see someone struggling and when it comes to advice in general, not just salvation.

Oftentimes, we feel as though what we are going to say isn’t compelling enough. When we see that person struggling with addiction, we feel as though offering our hand or our shoulder isn’t going to be enough. So, we just avoid doing anything at all.

But, your light should always be shining. You should always be making an effort to reach out to those in need. Even if you don’t have a dramatic story, you can still help someone.

So, as the drug and alcohol epidemic seems to be upon us, we encourage you to reach out to those around you that you see who need it. Offer that helping hand to those that you see that need it.

Of course, be careful not to be an enabler but you never know how much of a difference you can make in the life of someone who needs it just by simply offering some encouragement. Or, even just not judging them as you walk by. A simple act of kindness can go a long way in the lives of others.

When it comes to sin, our human nature is to sin. We all sin at some point – whether it be cheating on our spouse, cursing, using the Lord’s name in vain…

The list goes on and on of different sins that we can commit.

But, when it does come to our sin, we often don’t like to admit that we’ve sinned – even though we know we have. Who wants to admit that they are in the wrong, right? It is difficult to openly admit you were wrong, and furthermore, it can be even more difficult to actually admit to what it is that you did wrong.

But, when the tables are turned and we see other people sinning, we can easily be very quick to judge…

Suddenly, we begin to cast the blame on one another and call our peers out for their wrongdoings.

For example, when we see someone suffering from addiction, we are quick to call them out and let them know that they are harming their body which is wrong and they are likely putting that addiction before God, which is also wrong.

But, let’s just take a step back for a minute…

Is this actually helping anything? What productive thing are you actually doing by judging someone and making them feel guilty for their sins? You are only acting as if you are high and mighty enough to judge them…

But, we all know that isn’t true…

So, instead of using someone’s addiction as a time to teach them about right and wrong and to call them out on their sins – use it to do what we are called to do:

Love one another.

As their brother or sister in Christ, you are called to help and to love them. God did not call you to judge them.

So, when you see someone suffering from the wrath of addiction, while yes it is a sin, don’t use that time to just let them know they are sinning.

It is pretty likely they already know that.

Instead, use it as an opportunity to do God’s work by loving them, praying for them, being their shoulder to cry on when they need it.

Use this opportunity to witness to them.

Just take a moment to consider this…

What if you were in their shoes?

It is more beneficial to be there for someone rather than to be there judging them.