Developing faith in addiction recovery
For Christians in addiction recovery, there is one very important point that I want to make about faith. I had a great deal of comfort when I learned this, so I feel compelled to share it with you. Your faith is centered in your heart, not your mind. Your mind is the gate through which all kinds of thoughts enter. If “you know that you know that you know,” then those negative thoughts that try to oppose what your faith center tells you will not win. So when you are in a trial, and those thoughts try to sway your faith, just rebuke them and hold onto what you know.
This is what Jesus is telling us in the following scripture: “For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith” (Mark 11:23, KJV, emphasis added).
You can develop your faith through the Word of God. Scripture tells us, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17, KJV, emphasis added). However, the original Greek text did not say “God,” but read “Christos,” which means Christ. This is evident in the biblical story about the man from Lystra who was born disabled but was completely healed after hearing Paul preach the Word of Christ. When you saturate yourself with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, you will receive great faith and wholeness then follows.
You have to renew your mind with Christ-centered teachings. Let go of your doubt, which will quickly stunt your spiritual growth. Let the Word cleanse all that doubt out of you. All the old programs need to be deleted that have been inputted over the years and The Word has to saturate your soul and spirit. I do this by listening to CDs in the car, watching television sermons, reading the Bible, and reading biblical commentaries. Listening to my favorite gospel music is also another way to saturate myself with His Word, because most of the songs’ lyrics come from scripture. Christianity overcoming addiction is very powerful.
One of the scriptures states, “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that comes to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him” (Hebrews 11:6, KJV). I have thought about this and was given the following revelation: since the scriptures tell us that Jesus and His Word are the same and faith comes by hearing the Word of Christ, then the Word and faith are also the same. Therefore, to truly be intimate with Jesus, you have to know His word, which He placed within you when you accepted Him as your Lord and Savior. Once you do that, your faith grows, and so does His presence within you. As this occurs, He becomes more alive in you, and you can easily enter into His Holy presence. The more time you spend in His presence, the more you can receive from Him: His grace, His tender mercy, His unfailing and overwhelming love. Being in His presence is truly like standing in a river of living water, and when you drink from it, you will never thirst for a single thing and your faith becomes ever-increasing.
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