God is capable of anything, even things that we think are impossible. Those who battle substance abuse and addiction may very well believe that it is impossible for God to inspire their sobriety, but they would be wrong. It is common of those who do not know God to doubt his power. God is God because he does supernatural things. They play out through natural circumstances of course, but those who have tried to quit addiction and substance abuse on their own know how pathetic our human efforts really are. And those who have invited God into the situation know how miraculously he works to defeat the things we could not manage on our own.

People abuse substances to fill a hole in their hearts that only God can fill. Perhaps the substance provides dopamine to someone who does not know how to generate feelings of comfort and happiness on their own. Perhaps it opens up their minds to metaphysical possibilities. Whatever it may be, people use substances to essentially transcend into a plane of existence that they could not achieve on their own. Every truly spiritual theologian will tell you that this is the purpose God serves in their life. They will also tell you that everything else we try to use in place of God has very watered down and dysfunctional affects in comparison to God.

When you discover God, He completes you on a level you did not think possible. You interact with His spirit and receive His word, which leaves you feeling fully alive and in sheer amazement. Many people, in dreams and in near death experiences, have even been in God’s presence or walked with Jesus and their lives are never the same again upon return to consciousness. This incredible new way of living and loving completely negates the need to abuse substances. Abusing substances removes you from your immediate consciousness, but if you are actively conscious of God, you crave only Him, not the substances you abuse. This is not to say that you are incapable of losing sight of God. There will be times you are less able to sense him, and there will be times you are lured back into your old ways. Remember to seek His face and you will find your way back to His perfect love and provision.

It is a fact that many of the most successful addiction treatment programs are based in spirituality; spiritual guidance, spiritual counseling and spiritual philosophies. There are a number of different religious addiction treatment centers, particularly Christian, that bring their own spiritual insight into addiction treatment. The reason for this is it is a commonly agreed upon theory that a root cause for addiction is broken spirituality.

To fully understand this reasoning, we must first understand what spirituality is. It is not the same thing as religion, despite popular misconceptions. Spirituality is an awareness of and a care for one’s soul. A person’s soul is complex and requires a balance of self-care and altruism to feel whole. The old adage “You must love yourself before you can love someone else” is very applicable to the human soul. A person must be healthy and careful enough to meet their own intrinsic needs before they can meet the needs of someone else and form healthy relationships.

The problem with addiction is that it destroys the state of one’s soul. An addicted person is not a spiritually healthy person. Addiction indicates an inability to cope with life and a preference toward escapism due to emotional, psychological, environmental and biological problems. A spiritually healthy person, on the other hand, practices positive, sound thinking and is able to confront challenges and obstacles with a clear mind, or leave situations that are toxic.

Spiritual addiction treatment is beneficial to recovering addicts because spiritual thought naturally addresses the problems that are thought to spawn addiction. Spirituality encourages us to find strength and acceptance of our unique identities through an infallible higher power who does not judge or lose patience with us, as people do. Christian addiction treatment in particular derives its strength for recovery from God’s perfect love that does not fail, but endlessly encourages us to our full potential.

Addiction is difficult for anyone to overcome, but when it affects the lives of Christians it can come with an additional set of challenges. Sometimes Christians can feel ashamed of their flaws and think that they cannot let anyone see the side of themselves that is ungodly. This thinking needs to be turned on its head, as it is the opposite of everything the bible calls us to be. The Pharisees were ones who cared only about their godly images but neglected matters of the heart. We are called to be child-like, honest and vulnerable, bearing our sins and letting God heal them. Our faith is meant to be a tool for conquering addiction, not something that makes us hide our addiction. The love of God and Christ his son can end addiction and restore peace to our hearts.

When we apply faith practically to ending addiction, there are several methods we can employ. There are a number of things a person can do for themself in order to end their addiction. First and foremost, prayer to God and meditation on his word are the most important things a person can do to better their lives. There are a number of Christian addiction self-help books and workbooks available to those who read and apply what they read to their lives. It is important to reach out to your support system for help, so tell friends, family and your church community what you are going through so they can pray for and support you. Filling your life with Godly activities, such as ways of using the talents God gave you and caring for your body (what the bible calls His temple) through nutrition and exercise.

When addiction has become so deeply engrained in a person’s life that they do not know how to separate from it, professional assistance is recommended. This can come in one of several forms. Professional Christian counselors who specialize in addiction are available on an as-needed basis to help lead a person out of their addictive thinking. Often times, their services are available through an outpatient rehab program, which uses several kinds of therapies and exercises to help addicted people recover. There are also support groups and sponsors available to addicts in many communities to offer encouragement and camaraderie to addicts.

And for the most severe cases, Christian inpatient rehabilitation is the best option for beating addiction. When a person’s addiction is so out of control that it has become dangerous, the best thing they can do for themselves is to place themselves in an inpatient rehabilitation facility for a minimum of 30-days to separate themselves from the source of their addiction, detox thoroughly from the harmful effects the addiction has had and receive intensive group and individual counseling to eradicate the underlying causes of their addiction.