Live Again

All addictions destroy life. Over time, when we act out our addictions whether it’s drugs, alcohol, food, sex, shopping, media etc. life is being drained from the addict. Eventually, all that remains is a walking dead person.

Easter is the celebration of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. He conquered sin on the cross and then crushed death by His resurrection.  Christians who are in bondage because of their addictions, believe that Jesus Christ is their only hope of salvation. So, how come many are not experiencing freedom and victory from their addiction?

The story of the resurrection of Lazarus might give us some insight into why many Christians are not experiencing freedom from addiction, and how they can.

The full story of Lazarus can be found in John 11. Lazarus was a good friend of Jesus. His sisters, Martha and Mary, were also.  When Lazarus gets sick, his sisters ask Jesus to come heal him. Jesus doesn’t come immediately, and Lazarus dies. This is not what the sisters expected from Jesus. The first thing we need to understand about recovery: God’s path to freedom and new life won’t be what we expect

Most addicts who enter recovery expect the process to be quick, easy, and not uncomfortable. When we have those expectations, they are just the deception and lies of addiction. (“If you smoke this, drink this, or look at that, it won’t hurt you) God has a far better way for us, but many never attain it because they can’t get over the initial challenge of recovery, not being what they expected or hoped for.

When Jesus arrives on the scene, Lazarus has been buried. Martha and Mary express their grief and disappointment to Jesus. He responds to both with truth and grace. To Martha he gives one thing and To Mary something different. This is the next thing we need to understand about God’s path to recovery: Jesus responds to our pain personally.

No two addicts are identical in their stories or suffering. Each one has unique pain. Some addicts are hardened cynics. To these God may bring a hard truth to break their pride. Other addicts are crushed victims. To these God offers tears of understanding to lead them home. God knows that we need and when we need it on our journey of recovery.

Now the moment comes when Jesus is brought to the tomb where Lazarus was buried. Remove the stone, Jesus said.

You cannot walk out of the grave of addiction until the “stone” locking you in is removed. And you need honesty, open minded and willing to move it.

Dead people can’t move stones, they need a recovery community. Yet so often addicts are preached at to “get up” or “stop it” or “just make better choices.” If Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead without moving the stone, Lazarus would have been “alive” but living in a tomb. The stone had to be rolled away first for him to come out of the grave. The “stone(s)” in the addict’s life must be rolled away before they can come out of their addiction.

These are some common “stones” that keep addicts in their addictions:

• Isolation or lack of community
• False identity and self-pity
• Shame and fear/anxiety
• Poor self-care
• Childhood trauma or abuse

And many more. Each of these stones require the help of others to remove. The addict drowning in shame cannot remove that stone by sheer willpower or “positive thinking.” Other people need to speak truth with hope and grace to remove that stone.

But even after the stone is removed, Lazarus is still a dead man. And he stinks.

“Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.‘”

Addiction stinks. The people who come around the addict to help remove the stone need to know this: What lies on the other side of the grave stones is a stinky dead person. And depending on how long the addict has been dying in their addiction, the smell can be very bad. But here is why it’s good to smell the stink.

Many addicts, especially those addicted to sex, food, lust, gambling, shopping instead of drugs and alcohol, are great at hiding their addiction. Their grave stone is securely in place and therefore the “stink” of addiction isn’t easily recognized by others. This means friends and family may not know that their loved one is dying, or already dead.

Once the grave stone is moved and the horrible smell of death hits you in the face, it is a powerful moment. Don’t hurry past it. Yes, it hurts when the stinky truth about a loved one knocks you over. But you can learn from it. Breathe it in so you can become familiar with the stench, so that when you pick up that scent in others, you know what to do to help them break free from their grave of addiction.

Finally, the moment has come for Jesus to do the miraculous; to raise Lazarus from the dead.

Then they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.” When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth.

When Jesus, the author of Life, speaks, death must flee. Death could not hold Lazarus when Jesus called him out of the grave. And addiction cannot hold the addict when Jesus calls them out. But an addict might ask, “Why, then, don’t I feel free?” Easy, you’re still wrapped up in your death clothes.

There are a lot of “walking dead” in recovery groups. They are “alive” in the sense that God has given them new life, but they are still bound by their former, familiar grave clothes. This, again, is why we need a strong, loving community around us to help us take off our death coverings.

Jesus said to them, “free him, and let him go.”

Jesus alone can call a dead man (or woman) back to life. Jesus alone can break the deadly power of addiction. But Jesus expects that others around the addict to “unbind him and let him go.” Addicts need the power of a supportive community to help them detach from the familiar, stinky clothes of their past.

Are you struggling in your recovery? Do you still feel “dead” on your journey? What is God trying to show you from the resurrection of Lazarus that needs to be applied in your life?

Remember these words of Jesus, “...everyone who believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

It is my prayer that  the resurrection power of Jesus Christ along with the loving supportive community give you the victory over addiction

©Wanda Currie

Vision of Recovery believes and practices a non-denominational Christian perspective to Addiction Recovery/Mental Health Care. Vision of Recovery integrates biblically based information with coaching and counseling interventions to treat the whole person: Spiritually, Emotionally and Physically.