Entangled by Addiction

Introduction

Have you ever found yourself caught in a treacherous situation that you created and crying out, “God, help me!”? That is a desperate cry coming from a desperate person. This feeling may have been the reason that a loved one, friend, or even you decided to pick up this book to seek answers to a question that has haunted you for years: Will I ever be free from this addiction?
First, let me start by saying, this is not your typical addict self-help book but rather a God-help-me book.
Addiction-recovery programs today have an extremely high failure rate. And it is becoming more and more evident just how much we truly don’t know about how to get free of the things that control us and make us their slaves despite all the things we supposedly know about addiction, all the college courses available on the subject, and all the drug treatment and counseling centers. With all this supposed knowledge about addictions and recovery, why is it that these programs are severely inadequate when it comes to helping us get free? Anyone who has attended an inpatient or outpatient program will tell you that the chances of finding freedom in a program are extremely small. Maybe it is finally time to admit a hard truth: maybe the so-called professionals really don’t have a clue about how we can get free of our addictions.
Many programs focus on what you have to do to remain clean and free of your addiction. The main difference between the methods used in the majority of recovery programs and the recovery method I will be teaching you is this: the method I will be teaching you focuses not on what you have to do but on what God will do for you. It’s not about you getting clean—it’s about God making you clean. I will simply be showing you how to find him, how to get in contact with him, and how to make an appointment with the Great Physician to do what only he can do.
You see, this slave master of addiction exacts a harsh toll upon us, shattering families and marriages, destroying our children’s lives, and ruining our closest relationships. Our thoughts get so consumed with doing our new master’s bidding that we even neglect some of our most basic needs, such as sleeping, eating, and simple hygiene. Our preoccupation with satisfying our new master will lead us ultimately to destruction, and this destruction takes many forms. Sometimes we contract diseases as a price we pay to do our master’s bidding. Sometimes we spend time incarcerated, locked behind bars like animals. (And yes, this analogy is quite accurate because in our addictions we often behave as wild beasts. We will surely devour any who are in our way.) But we can surely agree that the ultimate price we will eventually pay is our own lives.
There are many addictions, and the road I will map out for you will work for every single addiction men or women face today or in the years to come.
Now, you may be saying to yourself, That is a pretty bold claim. Do you mean to tell me you have found the secret to being free of every addiction known to mankind?
If I answer you with a yes, would you stop reading and go back to those methods you have tried before? Let me just simply remind you that you have tried those methods, those self-help books, and those meetings before. You have tried them and you have failed.
Before you throw this book down and storm out of the room to confront the person who gave it to you, let me ask you a question. (Please, just humor me.) If you had an automobile that was not working properly, what would you do? Some of you would take the vehicle to a mechanic, because mechanics have some knowledge about vehicles. And the mechanic might be able to fix most problems. But sometimes more profound problems occur, problems so difficult and so perplexing that even the mechanic has to go to the one who created the automobile in the first place, the maker. No one knows a vehicle like the one who created it. The one who designed it surely knows how it was made to function. Am I right?
This book is not about what a man (me) has to say about addictions and being free from them. It is about what God has to say about it. I don’t know about you, but for a problem as big as addiction, I would like to hear what the manufacturer of humanity, God, has to say about being free from its harsh grasp.
So this book is for the one addicted to alcohol, heroin, cocaine, prescription medications, or any other drug. It is also for the addict controlled by food, sex, pornography, gambling, hoarding, and even video games. It is for all addictions and for everyone who struggles to be free of them. This book is written for the one who is desperate to be free.
Since I am basing this road to freedom on what God has to say about being free, I will ultimately be rooting my points in scriptural proofs. For those who do not understand what God’s Word (Scripture) is, let me tell you: “The word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires” (Heb. 4:12 NLT).
The road I will lay out for you may seem difficult. I have decided to warn you beforehand so you will be aware that you might be cut to the heart as you read. This will be painful but very much needed. Why is this necessary? Well, let me ask you a question. If you had a tumor in your body, would you allow the doctor to cut the tumor out with a butter knife or a rusty, dull hatchet? No, you would not. You would want him to use a scalpel, because it is sharp, precise, and effective in cutting out a tumor. Likewise, there is only one tool sharp enough, precise enough, and effective enough to cut out the tumor of addiction, and that is God’s Word.
If you are reading these lines, it means you are still with me and you have decided to explore a little more deeply what I have been saying. Good! Before we begin, I want to give you one last encouragement. As I stated earlier, this road may be difficult. But victory is certain. So I leave you with these words: “I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength” (Phil. 4:13 NLT).
It is Christ who gives strength—not treatment, not meetings, not a sponsor, and not you. Strength to overcome is only found in one place—Christ.