Our lives are the result of all our choices. For each individual, life is the totality of all parts.
When you turn it all over—spiritually, emotionally, physically, socially and financially—you give yourself to God. You begin to trust God. You begin to believe God will take care of you.
You may think this is frightening: How can I trust God? But simply look at what you have trusted in the past. You have trusted your own ability to think, your own ability to make choices. You have taken the advice of a few chosen people who have not necessarily acted in your best interests.
Turning your will and life over is necessary. It is through this trust experience with God that you begin to believe God loves you. You begin once again to trust yourself. Eventually, you can even regain your trust in people.
I want to talk to you about a principle called the care of God. What do you think of when you hear the word “care?” It is often expressed in terms of someone who loves you, someone who demonstrates some kindness toward you, someone who is willing to get involved in your life, willing to get in there and be patient with you to work with you and not condemn you in the process, someone who can be nurturing.
All these pictures of a loving parent or a loving friend can represent care. Care is felt in the release of energy from one person to another, usually through kind behaviors, like providing a listening ear or some other sign of concern. (I talk more about the principle of The Care of God in my book, Intimacy Anorexia.)
How does this relate to God? What is the care of God? It is simply God’s willingness to be involved in a nurturing, supportive, accepting way in your life.
God is concerned for those who are trapped in addiction. God’s concern for others in this world demonstrates that care. You can sometimes see it more clearly in the lives of others than you can in your own life.
Using a Support Group to Demonstrate God’s Care
For some addicts, a support group is a manifestation of the care of God in their lives. It is possible, by looking at others with whom you connect in your support group, to experience radical changes your life. Something as simple as their support can be seen as the extension of God’s care and concern.
But who is God? Let me share my thoughts with you on this subject. Simply put, God is love. God is also in authority or in control. This is especially true for those who turn their lives and will over to Him and choose to switch the authority from themselves to God.
God has the ability to restore you. God is more powerful than you are alone or in a group. God is one who gets actively involved in your life, who has more power and more success than you in dealing with addiction. This God can and will help you as you work on the steps towards recovery.
For many, this understanding of God will develop into a faith that is common in the American culture and will enable the recovering addict to enjoy the benefits of finding a community that shares the same faith. Some will not. However, they will come to a greater relationship with God, if they are willing, because God is willing.
The people who have turned their wills and lives over to the care of a God they understand—who have turned their choices over to God—often have more understanding of how God works and how God thinks. The support group is a good resource, especially for those early in recovery who want an understanding of God.
It is very important to realize, as it pertains to understanding God, that no single person is going to understand the totality of God. To learn more, or if you are interested in being a part of a support group, contact my office.
Doug Weiss, Ph.D., is a nationally known author, speaker and licensed psychologist. He is the executive director of Heart to Heart Counseling Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and the author of several books including, Intimacy Anorexia: Healing the Hidden Addiction in Your Marriage. You may contact Dr. Weiss via his website, drdougweiss.com or on hisFacebook, by phone at 719-278-3708 or through email at [email protected].
