How can God break the power of addiction in my life?

Deuteronomy 31:6“Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; he will neither fail you nor abandon you.”

Proverbs 3:5-6Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.

2 Timothy 1:7God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.

Addiction may not be healthy, but it is familiar, and it’s grounded in familiar people, places, and things that perpetuate its cycle. Breaking the cycle of addiction can be terrifying because it requires letting go of the familiar to face the unknown. The first step is to have faith that God can and will lead us through that unknown.

Proverbs 1:10My child, if sinners entice you, turn your back on them!

Proverbs 13:20Walk with the wise and become wise; associate with fools and get in trouble.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-10Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. . . . A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.

1 Corinthians 5:9When I wrote to you before, I told you not to associate with people who indulge in sexual sin.

1 Corinthians 12:26-27If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad. All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it.

1 Corinthians 15:33Don’t be fooled by those who say such things, for “bad company corrupts good character.”

Galatians 6:1-2Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ.

2 Timothy 2:22Run from anything that stimulates youthful lusts. Instead, pursue righteous living, faithfulness, love, and peace. Enjoy the companionship of those who call on the Lord with pure hearts.

Hebrews 10:24-25Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.

James 5:16Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.

Sometimes, avoiding temptation may require us to distance ourselves from certain social environments and step away from certain friendships—which can be a terrifying change to face. Satan will take advantage of our fear and try to make us feel isolated, tempting us to seek comfort in unhealthy ways. In order to resist temptation’s call, it is critical to seek out the right kind of friends. We need the consistent support of other people who love us, tell us the truth, and hold us accountable. Participating in an addiction recovery group is often valuable, even essential, in order to overcome an addiction; staying connected to a local church is crucial for our spiritual stamina. God often works through other people to help us, and if we isolate ourselves, we limit our access to that help.

Romans 5:8God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.

1 Timothy 1:15-16This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”—and I am the worst of them all. But God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his great patience with even the worst sinners. Then others will realize that they, too, can believe in him and receive eternal life.

Satan isn’t merely trying to isolate us from other people—he wants to isolate us from God. And one of the ways he does that is by convincing us that God couldn’t possibly value us after all our failures. The evil one will whisper to us that we don’t belong in church or we can’t approach God in prayer until we’ve gotten our act together. This misunderstands the truth of God’s good news for us. God loves us even while we are still trapped in sin. That’s why he sent Jesus!

Philippians 3:13-14No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it [perfection], but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.

1 John 1:9If we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.

Jesus didn’t come to merely warn us against sin—he came to free us from it. Being afraid to seek God until after we’ve gotten our act together is like being afraid to go to the doctor until after we’ve recovered from a sickness. Recovering from addiction is rarely a linear path. There will be victories and there will failures, just as we experience as we struggle with all our sins. But so long as we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, we will continue moving in the right direction and becoming more like him.

Romans 8:5-8Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit . . . That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God.

Galatians 2:20My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Galatians 5:22-23The Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

Titus 2:11-14The grace of God has been revealed, bringing salvation to all people. And we are instructed to turn from godless living and sinful pleasures. We should live in this evil world with wisdom, righteousness, and devotion to God, while we look forward with hope to that wonderful day when the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, will be revealed. He gave his life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us his very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds.

God can break the power of addiction when we give him control of our lives. He will come into our lives and change our hearts and our desires. When we accept Christ’s Lordship and surrender to the Holy Spirit, God will help us replace addictive longings with life-affirming desires.

Isaiah 43:1-3Now, O Jacob, listen to the Lord who created you. O Israel, the one who formed you says, “Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine. When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you. For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.”

Proverbs 3:5-6Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.

Romans 6:16Don’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.

James 4:7Humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Submission is a choice to obey something or someone. Every day, we choose to submit to sin or to God’s will for us. Submitting to God’s will means resisting sin, and submitting to sin means resisting God and his good plan for us. The choice is ours, but we cannot remain neutral in this battle. Making an enemy of Satan and his temptations will lead to struggle, but when we submit to God, we’ll have his power behind us. We can begin by admitting our needs to God in prayer, releasing all our temptations to him, and relying fully on the promise of his divine help.

Ephesians 5:18Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit.

It is essential that we admit our addictions and acknowledge how destructive they are. While it is healthy and important to seek the help of others, with God’s help we have the ultimate power at our disposal to overcome our addictions.

Luke 1:37“For the word of God will never fail.”

1 Corinthians 10:13The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.

Philippians 1:6I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.

To overcome our addictions, we must believe it is possible. We can have this confidence once we recognize the greatness of God’s power at work within us.

Romans 12:2Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

1 John 4:4You belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory . . . because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world.

1 John 5:4-5Every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith. And who can win this battle against the world? Only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God.

Freedom from addictions comes as we change our focus and the way we think. We do this by trusting God to transform us and give us the power to resist temptation. While it is healthy and important to seek the help of others, with God’s help we have the ultimate power (Christ in us) to overcome addiction. It’s hard to see Christ when our eyes are fixed on this world. It’s hard to be tempted by the destructive forces of this world when our eyes are fixed on Christ.