Step Four—being Obedient - 4 Steps to Break Free from Any Addiction

“Praise the LORD! How joyful are those who fear the LORD and delight in obeying his commands.” (Psalm 112:1, NLT)

“If you love me, obey my commandments.” (John 14:15, NLT)

“Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living.” (Romans 6:16, NLT)

“Loving God means keeping his commandments, and his commandments are not burdensome. For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith.” (1 John 5:3-4, NLT)

I’ll never forget how I felt when God told me to send the email.

I had met a successful businessman a few years prior and knew he supported many faith-based causes. During my abiding time that morning, God made it clear I was supposed to email this man and ask if he would consider donating $1 million to a nonprofit I was affiliated with at the time.

“God, there’s no way! That’s insane!” I said.

But he didn’t relent. So, I mustered up the courage, composed the email, and sent it.

Perhaps you expect me to tell you the man responded quickly and agreed to make the donation. He did respond—just not with a yes. He told me he would pray about it. And when I followed up later, he told me he did not feel God calling him to give the money.

And that was it.

I won’t lie—I felt a little embarrassed. But as I prayed about the whole sequence of events, I began to get a sense of peace. Why? Because God made clear that the reason he wanted me to send the email had nothing to do with the actual donation. Instead, he wanted me to practice obedience. Obedience is like a muscle—you have to strengthen it. The more you do it, the easier it gets. But the inverse is also true: the less you practice it, the harder it gets.

In my life I have pursued gospel-centered recovery (remember, that’s aiming for Jesus and getting sobriety thrown in). I can tell you that most of my acts of obedience have not led to the results I thought they would. They haven’t led to the job I thought I would get, the recognition I thought I deserved, or the relief I so desperately craved.

Instead, obedience to God has given me something so much greater: more of him.

I don’t say that to be trite. And in some ways it’s hard to explain. But the truth is that you only obey what you trust and you only trust what you love. Because of that, my obedience has given me a greater love for Jesus. And a greater love for Jesus has met the deepest longings of my heart. It has healed my deepest wounds, and it has satisfied my deepest desires—which my addictions could never do.

Think of it like a circle: obedience leads to trust, trust leads to love, and love leads to obedience. And as it repeats, we find freedom.

I want to be clear about something, though: Obedience doesn’t secure our justification. No, we obey not to earn something but out of love and respect for the One who created us. That’s because His commands aren’t meant to rob us of happiness, they’re meant to give us true joy and pleasures forevermore (Psalm 16:11).

Friend, I know this may be hard. You’re reading this devotional because you are stuck and you don’t know what to do. I’m telling you that if you truly want to break free, obedience is a key ingredient. Obedience brings you closer to God than you could ever imagine, and when you’re closer to God the battle becomes easier—not because of your strength, but because of His.

But let me be clear: obedience requires sacrifice. It may not be money, but it will require you to sacrifice pride, fear, or comfort. That’s the heart of Luke 9:23-27. We are to “deny [ourselves] and take up [our] cross daily” to follow Jesus (verse 23).

So here’s what I want you to do. Ask yourself this question: “What does obedience look like with alcohol?” or “What does obedience look like with food?” or “What does obedience look like with my phone?”

Once you have your answer, you need to start practicing it. I know it’s hard. Trust me, I know. We don’t like to submit to anything. Culture tells us to be free spirits, and that being tethered to anyone or anything is the worst thing possible. But that’s why the Kingdom of God is called an upside-down Kingdom. In that Kingdom, obedience is life. Obedience is joy. Obedience is freedom.

I’m living proof of that. And I’m telling you, it’s so much better than you could ever imagine.

Welcome to your new life of freedom.