5-13: Addiction: Abiding Around Addiction
Abiding in the Word of God can bring us through in a situation where we have interaction with an addict. We can see this through the reading of John 12-18.
Even through all of this we may find anxiety and angst each day when it comes to dealing with this person. And for the co-parent it can be worse because children are involved.
How then can we abide through this? What are some areas we can see this.
Pray to the Lord throughout the day. Don’t just hold it to morning devotions.
Pour the passages of scripture that are pertinent to abiding to God’s Word and God’s Love. (Psalm 119, John 14,15, )
Remember then that the scripture you find can even be memorized so you always have it available. This can lead to wisdom and knowledge coming to you in times of difficulty.
Many times we see platitudes used, but we as christians haven’t done a great job of teaching how. “Just depend on the Holy Spirit,” one leader might say. But when it comes down to the how, it isn’t described. This is where we can open the word of God and see this described by Jesus.
The more we pour the Word of God into our heart, the more we set ourselves to have the Father/Son/Spirit to recall to our memory. This isn’t just our mind recalling this information. This is in our spirit illuminated by God Himself. This builds a true relationship with God.
Now as we encounter someone with an addictive problem, we don’t come to it with our own strength, but with the strength of God in our life. With the joy of God in our life. It transforms us to become more like Jesus. Now we can be assured, calm, and know everything will be ok because we are walking side by side with God and the Holy Spirit.
Our emotions can sometimes also drive us to unhealthy habits in dealing with those addicted individuals. This can drive us to enable. This can also lead to letting down boundaries. A good example of this is forgiveness. Forgiveness is about forgiving the other person’s debt, not about how I feel. This has nothing to do with enabling. It doesn’t mean we act like they’ve never done anything. It isn’t forgive and forget. Forgetting leads to more harm and hurt. We need to draw boundaries around the behaviors. They no longer get to lay the roadmap of our lives.
