When first starting my program of recovery through the Life Recovery Bible, I had thoughts that weren’t very positive. Thoughts like, will I have to do this for the rest of my life? What I’ve learned over just a short period of time is that my thoughts have changed into I am content that I get to do this for the rest of my life!
Every single day I get to wake up early and start my day with a coffee (or two) along with either my ESV Study Bible or The Life Recovery Bible. Either way I’ve learned that if I give myself this time everyday that I have a much better chance of staying clean & sober for the rest of any given day. The advantage of Working With Jesus Christ Daily has changed my life!
Evening Meditation
It took me a long time to learn this, in fact one of my biggest mistakes which cost me many failures was that I wasn’t ending my days with the word of God. I would start my day properly, but when it was time to retire at night, I would watch regular shows on television or even spend time scrolling through social media posts and short videos. Once my morning meditations taught me that it’s even more important to end my days with prayer and meditation, I was able to understand that not only was I getting myself ready to have a successful day tomorrow, but I got to get a good night’s rest with God in my thoughts, as well as in my heart!
Overcoming Life’s Turbulence
Life’s challenges may feel too big for us. But with the guidance of our Lord Jesus Christ, Christians can overcome these hurdles. Their faith provides strength during hard times. It helps them trust in God’s promises rather than worrying about their own limits.
Believing in Christ helps people recover from hard times. Reading His Word each day shows them that He has overcome the world just like the Bible mentions in John 16:33. When they trust Him completely, they can face challenges, knowing His grace supports them along the way. This mindset helps turn problems into opportunities for greater faith. God has a plan for us that we do not yet understand but we must trust Him with all our hearts.
Jesus helps Christians deal with criticism and doubts with courage and hope. When life is tough, believers feel peace and joy through the Holy Spirit. They emerge stronger, understanding that their identity and purpose in Christ help them get through life’s challenges, giving glory to God.
Honestly Seeking God
When I think of yesterday and all those horrible relapses, I remember so many days that I wasn’t doing what I now have learned is the correct way of living. I was reading the Bible just to stay clean, and not because I loved Christ or the correct way of living, but I was reading it as a trade-off. I’ll read the Bible and learn about the 12 steps through the Life Recovery Bible just to stay clean and sober, but it wasn’t until I became honest with myself and honestly interested in reading, learning, & living the word of God, that I started to notice that my recovery was getting stronger!
Reading Prayerfully
Reading my 2 bibles prayerfully every single day, meaning I actually prayed to God in the best way I knew how to communicate with him which for me is literature, that while I was reading my Bibles that I was in direct communication with him and that really helped me understand what I was reading / ingesting much better. It gave me the power to absorb the information better and to live it until the evening time came and I can meditate some more.
Liberation from Sin and Guilt
Sin and guilt keep people feeling heavy, but Jesus Christ’s love gives full freedom to those who believe. His sacrifice offers grace, which can wipe away wrongs. This grace allows them to live freely with Him. Jesus forgives us on a daily basis. As long as we repent and are really sorry for our wrongs, He understands and forgives.
The Holy Spirit brings new energy to the hearts of those who follow Christ. This helps them not to dwell on their mistakes or feel guilty. Redemption offers peace. It inspires people to seek what is right by trusting in God’s love instead of looking to the world for answers.
This freedom changes believers in a deep way. They were once caught by sin. Now, they enjoy a strong relationship with Jesus Christ. He is the Savior who has conquered death and offers endless forgiveness. With great hope, Christians can live with confidence for His kingdom. They trust in His mercy every day. Freedom in Christ lets believers joyfully follow their purpose while sharing His love in their lives.
How much Prayer & Meditation is healthy?
After reading the latter chapter, you might be asking yourself. How much prayer & meditation do I need? Well, that depends on you and how rooted are your problems. I, personally, need more, but this article is about how more can be fun, and can make it so you never have to relapse again! Also, I’d ask myself if 1 hour in the morning and 1 hour in the evening with God is worth remaining clean and sober for the rest of your life, worth it! I know for myself, it’s worth it because at the end of my “using” days, like many people reading this, life was very dark and scary!
In Luke 2:37 after the death of her husband, the prophet Anna spent almost all of her time praying & fasting. She almost never left the temple. She show us how much the power of faith can replace loneliness and obviously addiction. And right away in Luke 2:46 the Bible explains how Mary & Joseph found Jesus at the age of 12 years old praying to our Father in Heaven for 3 days straight. This is the approach that must be taken, especially in the beginning of your recovery.
Recovery from addictions is a life-long process which means that we are lucky that we get to spend so much time with God as our lives improve.
Why is the Bible the most important book of all?
The Life Recovery Bible has so much information on how to stay clean and sober and also explains the 12 steps so well that I don’t even read the Big Book. I prefer learning the steps through Jesus Christ. For myself this makes much more sense because I don’t believe anyone can stay clean and sober for the rest of their lives without God. I’ve tried it the Big Book way & it didn’t work for me. What’s proving to work and keep me clean and sober is the 12 step Bible (The Life Recovery Bible) Every single page in that Bible has a snippet of information at the bottom of the page explaining how Jesus can keep us healthy, happy, and free from substances or bad habits. It’s also a living word (The Bible). After a while, you’ll feel alive though the words given in the Bible compared to any other book.
The ESV Study Bible is exactly the same in its structure except at the bottom of every page, it gives you more details about what you just read and helps you comprehend what you’ve just read so much more, and even the most boring parts of scripture, like for example, 1Chronicles:1 to 1Chronicales:9 which is all genealogy, The snippets at the bottom of these Bibles help you understand more about yourself & your addictive behaviours, and why it’s not a waste of time to read the Bible word by word. You’ll always retain a message with the help of these 2 Bibles.
Spending time with Jesus Christ
The more we spend time with God, the more we become like him! This used to be scary for me because that meant I had to drop all of my bad habits, even the small ones that I didn’t think mattered. For example paying all my bills on time and having perfect credit seemed impossible to me but I’d ask myself, if I’m not going to make the effort of living more like Christ, then why would the Holy Trinity help me!? Of course they’re going to forgive me if I repent and pray daily in the amount that I do, but it just felt like I’d have a better chance at a clean & sober life if I tried to live my life as Christ did his. Even Christ Jesus prayed to our heavenly father every day.
Morning, evening, and a lot in-between as well. I can’t emphasize enough how much it matters that we try to give our will over to God on a daily basis. I try to ask myself before almost every action if Christ would do what I’m about to do and I get a very clear answer right away and by doing this repeatedly you get used to living correctly and your immediate rewards as well as your rewards in heaven are feasible.
Daily Interaction with Jesus
Peace is more than just not having conflict. It is a calm feeling in our hearts. Believers feel this peace by spending time with Jesus. The most peace I get during the day is while I’m reading my Bible prayerfully each morning. His presence offers comfort and quietness during hard times. When we connect with Christ every day, we can turn our worries into trust in His promises.
As believers talk to Jesus, the Holy Spirit makes them feel renewed. This helps them trust and face challenges. The Lord’s peace is with them, even when life is busy. It makes each day feel more important. Each day becomes a win!
One last straw
It came to a point in my life where if I didn’t learn this way of living with as much prayer and meditation as possible, then a relapse came quickly & I would lose everything, almost every-time.
Before I lost my soul. I made a decision to realize fully the advantage of working with Christ on a daily basis. Sometimes I strangely enough, thank my addiction because without my addiction I wouldn’t have such understanding of knowledge of God as I do now.
Gaining Inner Serenity
Feeling peace inside helps us all grow spiritually. Jesus Christ is the best source available to achieve this calm and serenity. The Holy Spirit helps believers quiet the noise of the world. This quiet time allows them to build a stronger connection with God. Through prayer, worship, and reflection on the Words in the Bible, Christians can focus on heavenly truths. These are more important than the distractions around us here on Earth.
Conversing with Jesus clears away doubts and brings clarity and hope. A regular spiritual routine is very important and helps believers connect with God’s will. This connection leads to personal growth and success.
This peace is linked to spiritual growth. As Christians follow Christ, their hearts transform. Their hearts transform at a speed depending on their efforts. They develop fruits of the Spirit, such as love, joy, patience, and kindness. This ongoing presence brings confidence in their spiritual journey. It reminds believers that His peace is deeper than any understanding. This peace helps them to face life with bravery.
Getting to Know Others
If you’re lucky enough to have enough clean time and you’re working with others; even sponsoring others through your 12-step program, then you’re in for a great reward. There’s nothing that makes God happier than when you’re helping others stay clean and that’s why I find it so important to attend 12-step meetings.
Your chances of keeping your sobriety long-term double when you start introducing Jesus Christ and sobriety to others. I attended meetings on a daily basis for 90 days, then I slowed it down a bit and mixed it up with Bible studies, but as long as you take the daily approach more seriously, I think like myself, you’ll find your freedom as I did!
Conclusion
If I can leave you with this important message is that I was never able to get peace & happiness without making my prayers and meditations #1 in my life. People with addictive personalities must live 24 hours at a time and follow the instructions in this article. It took me this way of living to be safe from relapsing and ending this never-ending terror. I also attend 12 step meetings because it’s the only way for me to help others understand that without Christ, there’s no freedom! To live a life free from addictive behaviours, we need The Christ!. The more people you can work with in the name of Jesus Christ, the better your life will be along with your fellows.
