Jesus and Recovering

[sdmsanjose]

Jesus and Recovering

I have heard a lot of people in recovery say things like:

Has anyone tried Jesus? He can and will truly dry you out. He can help.
Jesus was totally the biggest part of my recovery?
don't think I tried Jesus, more like he tried me
He has and will deliver us from what ever brings us down and separates us from Him
Jesus has helped people (Man) recover for nearly 2000 years

For me those posts stopped short of explaining the details. Without details it seems to me that those statements do not help much. I would think that if Jesus helped someone with such a dramatic situation as addiction the details would be keenly remembered.

I would like to ask all people that are recovering with Jesus being involved to please explain SPECIFICALLY how Jesus helped you.

 

[BobW188]

It's hard to give the details because it's not as though Jesus is telling us "Now do this" or "Watch and see what I do." And it's not as though we just sit there while He does all the work. All I can tell you is that many of us faced (and still face) addictions and situations where are own efforts fail or backfire; but when we finally "Let go; let God" we started getting results. You might get a better idea what I'm trying to say if you talk to some AAs or NAs, though neither of those require you to be a Christian. Or, check out some of the postings up on "Alcohol Abuse."

 

[TheMainException]

I have a friend who did meth for a while. He did it for a while when he was in his 20's. He also smoked cigarettes (which some people find impossible to quit). Suddenly, overnight, without any explanation, rehab, or counseling, he was able to quit. God transformed his life. He asked, people prayed, and it happened.

Me...with my depression...I asked, and he delivered. But for me it took 7 years of painful emotional torment.

Sometimes, when God does stuff, it's like WAM! out of heaven. Other times, it's bringing a friend into a person's life who guides them to help. Sometimes God gives the person the strength to keep going and not give up. Sometimes God allows us to work it out, pushing us a bit, pulling us a bit, but making sure we do nearly all of the work so that we can grow strong (it's like working out our spiritual muscles I believe).

 

[LoG]

Jesus and Recovering

For me those posts stopped short of explaining the details. Without details it seems to me that those statements do not help much. I would think that if Jesus helped someone with such a dramatic situation as addiction the details would be keenly remembered.

Read the gospels, especially the part where Jesus says to become like Him and where He says that His brothers and sisters are those who DO the will of God, not just believe.
Then go to a 12 Step fellowship and work to Steps to see and be willing to have removed the character defects that block you from becoming like Him. Through that process you will discover the details of how Jesus saves and does for us what we could not do for ourselves.

The details are in the actions, not in the intellectualizations.

 

[BlessEwe]

I feel like Roseann Roseanna Danna...lol with my post, way off what you were asking. lol so I deleted it.
God Bless

 

[Chaplain David]

subscribe

 

[sdmsanjose]

LoG Quote
“Read the gospels, especially the part where Jesus says to become like Him and where He says that His brothers and sisters are those who DO the will of God, not just believe.
Then go to a 12 Step fellowship and work to Steps to see and be willing to have removed the character defects that block you from becoming like Him. Through that process you will discover the details of how Jesus saves and does for us what we could not do for ourselves.

The details are in the actions, not in the intellectualizations.”

LoG
I don’t know what you mean by using the word “Intellectualize”. Are you insinuating that there is no intellectual component involved in the process of having Jesus help in recovery?

When I hear some one say
“Has anyone tried Jesus? He can and will truly dry you out. He can help.”
then stop there, I DON’T SEE HOW THAT CAN BE MUCH HELP DO YOU?

I have found so far that when you ask some people for the details of such statements they don’t have much detail or get a little defensive. LoG, I found your post to be very intellectual in that you advised reading the Bible, you paraphrased a scripture, and directed me to the 12-step program. That makes a LOT of intellectual sense to me. I think that doing the actions would be another step and would as you say add more details but explaining the beginning is also helpful.

LoG, your emphasis on DOING, ACTIONS has really got my attention. I believe that DOING and ACTIONS are huge. I have even heard that people that do the 12-steps don’t even have to believe in Jesus, they say a “Higher Power” and they get into long term recovery and never acknowledge Jesus as God. Is that true? I have never been through the 12-step program but they tell me that it has helped more people get into recovery than all the other rehab methods combined.

I may be different but when someone says just look to Jesus and you are on your way, it just seems so incomplete. It is like telling a sick man that all you have to do is look into the medical books and you are on your way. I do believe that Jesus can help but I would think that a person that had such a dramatic experience as recovery with Jesus would give a little more deatil.

 

[BobW188]

You make a very good point. Every now and then we're blessed with a miracle; but Jesus usually calls us to act. We will receive if we ask, we shall find if we seek, it shall be opened unto us if we knock and, in turn, when He "stand at the door and knock" it's implicit that we have to get up and let him in!
It's true that AA, NA and other 12-Step programs do not specifically require a belief in Jesus. Just as the rain falls alike on the just and the unjust, God's gift of sobriety is a common grace. In fact, though, many if not most of us, at least in the U. S., do
believe. If you prefer a specifically Christian program, you might try Celebrate Recovery.
All this said, I go back to the thrust of my earlier post. We know Jesus turned water to wine, but we don't know the details. We know he raised the Widow of Nain's son, Jairus's daughter and Lazarus from the dead, but we don't know the details. He cured the Syrophoenician woman's daughter and the centurion's servant without even seeing them. We don't know the details. How He does what He does we'll never know. That he does it, we know very well.
You don't say if your question is just from curiosity or general interest; or whether you yourself have a problem. I'm not asking. If you do, Jesus will help. You will have to act, to reach out, to avail yourself of the 12 Step groups, therapists, etc that God has provided you. As the months and years of sobriety pass, though, you'll start to notice: hard as it was for you, He did most of the work!

 

[TheMainException]

LoG
I don’t know what you mean by using the word “Intellectualize”. Are you insinuating that there is no intellectual component involved in the process of having Jesus help in recovery?

When I hear some one say
“Has anyone tried Jesus? He can and will truly dry you out. He can help.”
then stop there, I DON’T SEE HOW THAT CAN BE MUCH HELP DO YOU?

I have found so far that when you ask some people for the details of such statements they don’t have much detail or get a little defensive. LoG, I found your post to be very intellectual in that you advised reading the Bible, you paraphrased a scripture, and directed me to the 12-step program. That makes a LOT of intellectual sense to me. I think that doing the actions would be another step and would as you say add more details but explaining the beginning is also helpful.

LoG, your emphasis on DOING, ACTIONS has really got my attention. I believe that DOING and ACTIONS are huge. I have even heard that people that do the 12-steps don’t even have to believe in Jesus, they say a “Higher Power” and they get into long term recovery and never acknowledge Jesus as God. Is that true? I have never been through the 12-step program but they tell me that it has helped more people get into recovery than all the other rehab methods combined.

I may be different but when someone says just look to Jesus and you are on your way, it just seems so incomplete. It is like telling a sick man that all you have to do is look into the medical books and you are on your way. I do believe that Jesus can help but I would think that a person that had such a dramatic experience as recovery with Jesus would give a little more deatil.

I really believe it's a steady dose of all of the above. Saying only actions, or only belief or only thinking over it and reading things and doing intellectual activities is going to do the trick isn't quite right. All of the above is necessary. Humans are made up of Body, Spirit, Soul. Recovering requires that all three are involved. This means, acting, thinking, and believing. The body must get in line, the spirit must get in line, and the soul must get in line...working together, with God through Christ towards a common goal. Not including one or two makes the work very difficult.

Christians get defensive about a lot of stuff...but don't let that be a hinderance to you, just keep asking until you get some answers.

 

[Chaplain David]

I've been clean and sober for 35 years and anyone who wants to ask me about how I got sober in A.A., counseling, or any other matter is very welcome. I will prune off any responses and start a thread of it's own after my day settles down.

God bless,

 

[BobW188]

If you'll double-post here and in Alcohol Abuse, it'll be much appreciated.

 

[Chaplain David]

Ok

 

[sdmsanjose]

Sdmsanjose responds 3-7-09

I am going to quote some of your answers and then comment

TheMainExecption 3-4-09
Sometimes, when God does stuff, it's like WAM! out of heaven. Other times, it's bringing a friend into a person's life who guides them to help. Sometimes God gives the person the strength to keep going and not give up

BOBW188 3-6-09
Jesus will help. You will have to act, to reach out, to avail yourself of the 12 Step groups, therapists, etc that God has provided you.

TheMainExecption 3-6-09
I really believe it's a steady dose of all of the above. Saying only actions, or only belief or only thinking over it and reading things and doing intellectual activities is going to do the trick isn't quite right. All of the above is necessary. Humans are made up of Body, Spirit, Soul. Recovering requires that all three are involved. This means, acting, thinking, and believing

Sdmsanjose comments

“Sometimes, when God does stuff, it's like WAM! out of heaven”
I do believe that it sometimes happens like “Sometimes, when God does stuff, it's like WAM! out of heaven” I have a friend since high school (Danny) that was drunk almost everyday for 15 years and then BAM he stopped; he has been sober for over 20 years. He credits 100% to God. My father-in-law drank beer and whiskey for over 50 years and it cost him plenty. He quit when he got arrested for an alcohol related accident and was put in jail for the first time at age 75 and had to pay $7000 for attorney’s fees. He has been sober for 2+ years and drinks non-alcoholic beer.

I have seen the BAM thing happen with a person who gives 100% credit to God and a person who has never said one word about a spiritual involvement with his sobriety or any other thing in his life. When his son died at the age of 32 he specifically demanded that a Christian relative not sing any Christian songs at the funeral.

BOBW188 and TheMainException,
you both gave some detail. Bringing a friend into your life that helps guide you is detail, saying “You will have to act, to reach out, to avail yourself of the 12 Step groups, therapists, etc that God has provided you” is detail IMO.

TheMainException,
you did a good job of giving a summary of the general outline of what it takes to get into recovery: “This means, acting, thinking, and believing”

This is just my opinion. Although you did provide some detail I am still puzzled. I have been involved with a non-Christian recovery board for over 4 years and have heard some very detailed descriptions of the 12-step programs that have helped the addicts get into long term recovery. I think that the 12-step programs are so right on and they are very detailed as they have several books that are very specific about what and why something helps. Some of those that talk about the 12-step programs are Christians and some are not. As a matter of fact one of the most articulate addicts is not a Christian. She has been in recovery for over 5 years and was an addict of mostly Meth for over 26 years.

I believe that Jesus Christ is who He says He is and am puzzled as to why my experience with Christians that have been helped by Christ seem to not be able to go into great detail as much as the 12-step programs and their followers including the non-Christian 12 steppers.

Actually I have read some of the twelve step books and I think that the 12-step programs are directly related to Christ’s teachings. I have been told that the “Higher Power” term was originally Jesus Christ but was changed in order to be more attractive to different addicts.

I am puzzled as to why it appears that in my 4 + years of experience with addiction and recovery the non-Christians seem to be more detailed and articulate than most Christians. I realize that this may be because most of my experience has been on a non-Christian board but there were a lot of Christians on that board. When I posted this thread on this Christian Forum I was expecting a lot more responses and a lot more detail.

I hope I did not offend anyone too much but this has been bothering me for some time and I am just being honest about my thoughts. I may be wrong and stand to be corrected but statements like “Has anyone tried Jesus? He can and will truly dry you out. He can help” bothers me when there is no follow up detail.

When you are desperate for recovery that kind of statement without detail just don’t do much.