September is National Recovery Month.
In September of 1989, former President George H.W. Bush declared that September was set aside to celebrate those who had been delivered from alcohol and substance abuse as National Recovery Month. It also makes us aware of those who have not yet been set free, and how we as family and friends are here to assist them in coming to that freedom. This September 5th now President Joseph Biden made that same declaration.
Yet recovery is not renovation. What I mean is recovery is being set free, deliverance, or freedom from one’s addictions no matter what they are. Alcohol is not a coping mechanism, but we all know of functioning alcoholics. Substance abuse in any form only leads one into deeper and deeper traps until their entire life has spiraled out of control. I’ve been to that spot with alcohol. Never was I able to become functioning as it was more of a means of escape. My substance abuse was the coping mechanism. Praise the Lord I am now 15 years delivered, not just sober!
When one chooses to be set free from their addiction through Jesus Christ, he will fulfill all you ask or think of him. Jesus doesn’t just renovate. It’s a complete makeover. That is only the facade. No, Jesus tears down all the old and starts from the beginning. The grass roots. Gone are the walls and roof. Remove all the foundation. Maybe let the lot sit for a moment to heal. That’s when God Almighty steps in and with Jesus and the Holy Spirit they transform an individual from bondage to freedom.
Renovation is a temporary fix used instead of a permanent solution. It is performed to keep up with the Kardashians. Though the meaning is to restore to life, vigor: revive; its definition is to create a better design for one’s current taste or aesthetic. If an individual allows God to complete his work, it will be a forever transformation. None of the halfway, half-hearted, incomplete messes that some general contractors leave and will never return. No, my God is the God of the impossible (Matthew 19:26)! He will complete what he started (Philippians 1:6)! Because we know our God cannot lie (Hebrews 6:18)! And he is a faithful God (Deuteronomy 7:9)!
To help those living with family and friends who are under the grip of addiction, the list below are five ways we can help courtesy of FSSA.
- See the Person. Choosing to see the person and not their addiction is the first step to ending the stigma around substance use disorder.
- Start the Converstation. When we speak up about things, we give less power to shame and stigma.
- Change How We Talk about Addiction. Language matters.
- Help Find Treatment. Does someone in your life have a substance use disorder?
- Support Those Living in Recovery. There are lots of ways you can help support those living in recovery.
See NextLevel Recovery: 5 Ways You Can Help (in.gov) for more resources.
Grace and peace, James
*Scripture from the ESV translation, Crossway Publishers, 2001
*Indiana FSSA Division of Mental Health and Addiction