Chemical Dependency

The familiar places where chemical dependency has flourished often intersect with where we crave acceptance and affirmation. We may have been battered in areas that drove us to medicate personal pain with drugs, alcohol, and addictive substances. Scripture clearly shows that the adversary often appears as an angel of light in difficult circumstances. Simply put, we don’t see the downside of chemical dependency when we begin using it. Often, when we don’t recognize ourselves or our behaviors, we discover that substance use demands a payment beyond what we can afford (Romans 6:23). The pain of unresolved trauma invited us to take the edge off, to forget, or to relax with substances that seemed benign. We underestimated the power of a drug in its ability to seize our brain’s processes, believing that the false promise of “just one time” or “just one more” would make us feel better. Instead, the substance’s allure resulted in chemical dependency, multiplying the impact of traumatic experiences on our psyche and our emotions. While our lives have been forever changed, we can evolve and emerge into who God imagined us to be. In Christ, we find forgiveness of sin and freedom to live abundantly, crushing the power of addiction under our feet. Although the same enemy who has tempted us into substance abuse also accuses us, leaving us in shame concerning our chemical dependency. This looks like a battle against self in the private space of our minds. We may have played into narratives scripted by the condemning voice of shame and the debilitating pain of traumatic incidents. We don’t have to cower and remain enslaved to chemical dependency or the familiar scripts of our past. Dying daily to our flesh and renewing our minds in God’s Word is a process. The miracle that unfolds in [...]