Allowing God to Help in Your Addiction Recovery

Man praying for God to help in your recovery

Contributed by Staff of Timberline Knolls

Addictions hijack our lives. We often don’t realize the bondage we are in as a substance, a process, or a behavior ever so slowly and subtly overtakes our thoughts, emotions, actions, relationships, and time. An addiction of any kind robs us of freedom, fullness, and simply the joy of being ourselves and living in the moment. Allowing God to help in your recovery can lead you to victory

This hijacking by an addiction can last months, years, decades. The process of giving up control and surrendering to God is simultaneously both one of the hardest things to do and one of the most life-changing and freeing acts we can do. This can be true for anyone, though perhaps especially true for someone who struggles with an addiction.

Effectiveness of the Twelve-Step Process

The twelve steps are a trusted model for addiction recovery. They appreciate the need to surrender to something beyond ourselves, allowing God to help in your recovery, and allowing Him and His power to radically change our lives. The result is that we can live without the power of an addiction.

Man Praying Over Teenager - Addiction HopeBut it’s not until we reach the point of admitting that we are powerless, and that our lives are unmanageable, that we can find true healing and recovery.

Until we fully recognize our powerless state, we are not in a position to believe we need help; put another way, that our choices aren’t ultimately achieving for us what our souls long for.

However, if we simply stop at the truth "we are powerless over our addictions," each one of us would be left in despair and hopelessness. That is exactly why we need a hope based on something more powerful than our addiction and ourselves.

That's why the next step is crucial: believing that God - whose power is greater than ourselves - can restore us and change our lives. This action and belief can be a frightening step because belief necessitates action.

Being Honest in Addiction Recovery

Often in our lives, if we are honest, we are in the middle of "sort of" believing that God can change us and restore our lives to sanity, freedom, and fullness of life. But the other part of us struggles to believe that He can do anything at all.

This honest wrestling of "I believe; help me overcome my unbelief" (Mark 9:24) is a crucial part of the process. This journey often entails inviting God along with trustworthy individuals into the struggle as we make speakable our fears and reservations.

These steps of belief and of allowing God to help in your recovery manifest in decisions to surrender to Him and turn our desires, our will, and our lives over to Him. Frequently, these actions come as small steps towards faith as we acknowledge what we had been doing wasn't working for us anyway. These steps of letting go and trusting God can be scary because we can't see the future.

You Never Walk Alone

man and woman holding handsThe path of walking hand in hand with God through recovery is unique for each individual and we ultimately aren’t in control of what the future holds.

As humans we like control and we know that various addictions can form as an attempt to regain control; therefore, this is a difficult reality and a striking irony as we recognize that the very thing we are striving for (control) is the very thing we have to give up in order to find it.

This reminds me of a similarly paradoxical statement in the New Testament (Luke 17:33), “Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will keep it.” This process of choosing to believe and choosing to turn our will and our life over to a power greater than ourselves is a daily journey, a lifelong journey.

At any given moment, our human nature and the pull of addictive patterns can seek to take back control and make choices that won’t ultimately achieve what our souls are aching for.

The good news is that in those daily moments of struggle, we can experience the grace and love of God and know Him as a just and loving parent who longs for His child to make wise and healthy decisions.

Furthermore, the shame that often crushes lives and can drive an addict back into destructive habits is confronted with the open arms of a good Father’s love and grace. Through the process of belief and surrender to God, the chains of bondage can be loosened and freedom from an addiction can be tasted.


Thank you to Timberline Knolls for providing this article.

Timberline Knolls is a leading residential treatment center for women and adolescent girls, ages 12 and older, with eating disorders, substance abuse, trauma, mood and co-occurring disorders. Located in suburban Chicago, residents receive excellent clinical care from a highly trained professional staff on a picturesque 43-acre wooded campus. An adult partial hospitalization program (PHP) is also available in nearby Orland Park, Ill., for women to step down or direct admit. For more information on Timberline Knolls Residential Treatment Center, call 630-755-5173. We are also on Facebook – Timberline Knolls, LinkedIn – Timberline Knolls and Twitter – @TimberlineToday.


The opinions and views of our guest contributors are shared to provide a broad perspective of addictions. These are not necessarily the views of Addiction Hope, but an effort to offer a discussion of various issues by different concerned individuals.

We at Addiction Hope understand that addictions result from multiple physical, emotional, environmental, and genetic factors. If you or a loved one are suffering from an addiction, please know that there is hope for you, and seek immediate professional help.

Published on July 26, 2016
Reviewed and Updated by Jacquelyn Ekern, MS, LPC on January 11, 2021
Published on AddictionHope.com

About Baxter Ekern

Baxter Ekern is the Vice President of Ekern Enterprises, Inc. He contributed and helped write a major portion of Addiction Hope and is responsible for the operations of the website.