Chapter 5

Disconnect From the Skeptics

“Do not be yoked together with unbelievers… come out from among them and be separate,” says the Lord.  2 Corinthians 6:14; 17

Once our belief system became synchronized with the truth that Jesus could and would heal us, we declared with our Savior, “It is finished!” to our skepticism. We stopped questioning our own instability and began relying on His reliability. Liberated from the boundaries of our own powerlessness, we were finally able to explore a new realm of supernatural power. This power packed a punch and was much stronger than our addictions. It coursed through our character flaws and short-circuited our self-sabotaging configurations.

 As we shared this word of deliverance with others and began hearing reports that they too experienced a power surge which supercharged their recovery, our faith was fueled. Enthusiasm for a clean and sober lifestyle grew more vibrant and robust as we watched fellow addicts enjoy the same relief we had been given. We found ourselves energized by the faith of our spiritual siblings.

We discovered strength in their faith when our own faith faltered. When our minds played tricks on us, we connected with those who would remind us of I Corinthians 2:16 “we have the mind of Christ”. When we questioned our own strength, we encouraged one another with Philippians 4:13 “I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.”

 Sadly, we encountered some well meaning fellow addicts who remained skeptical. They discounted the mindset of healing and deliverance, choosing rather to focus on the power of a progressive disease. The cynics lamented their plight, and moaned about their dysfunctions. They were unwilling to grasp the concept of total recovery and argued vehemently, ‘Once an addict, always an addict!” They cautioned us not to tempt fate by using such words as healed or delivered, for it might cause us to lose our resolve and fall helplessly into the abyss of relapse. We were solemnly reminded to continue calling ourselves addicts and alcoholics lest we forget and slip.

…..

We found that these words of unbelief were inadvertently creating a cycle of cynicism which had the potential to rob us of the Word we had begun to believe. We struggled to find clarity and prayed for guidance. We turned to the sacred text gospel stories of Jesus healing the blind, the deaf, and the lame. We noticed these individuals no longer called themselves blind, deaf, or lame after their healing was received. They ran, danced, and praised God. Their healing which was very, very real was also very, very permanent.

However, we had to presume the blind man didn’t stare at the sun just to test the limits of his miraculous eyesight. We read that the crippled man, who heard the word of Jesus and was suddenly able to walk, jumped up. He obviously wouldn’t have chosen to remain on his sickbed, allowing his strengthened muscles to atrophy once again. Quite to the contrary, a person receiving miraculous healing would cherish, protect, and enjoy their newfound wholeness more purposefully than one who had never known a disability.

With this same mindset, we dared not cross the line into recreational drug use or social drinking, as this would be an unconscionable discredit to our healing and deliverance. Our permanent sobriety was a gift of great value. We treasure it as such.

We had to disconnect from the skeptics and ignore the voices of unbelief. We had to make a solid commitment of total belief in the words of Christ, “It is finished!” concerning our past struggle with addiction.