One House Rules: Reconciling Faith Community and Chemical Dependency

Encountering unknowns is common for those emerging from chemical dependency. Honestly, it is to be expected for all believers committed to crucifying or dying to the rule of our human nature. Our flesh may be weak, but we have the power and authority to continue to feed our willing spirits and nourish our souls into unparalleled transformation.

In doing so, we strengthen ourselves through the direct connection with the Holy Spirit. We fortify one another, building each other up and spurring the entire Body forward to demonstrate good works.

We will certainly encounter challenges as our bodies’ physical chemistry undergoes the miracle of becoming clean and sober. Furthermore, we will also experience cataclysmic changes, surrendering every part of ourselves to the Lord’s power from each moment to the next.

In the process of dismantling the strongholds associated with substance abuse disorder, we learn to depend upon the Spirit of Christ for all that we need. Instead of relying on the drugs and substances that have fueled our chemical dependency, we gather strength from God. We also obtain the stamina to endure from the community that helps us to celebrate every small, yet significant step.

Our journey may mirror that of a parable or themed story with a moral takeaway that Jesus described concerning the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32). The younger of two sons announced to his father that he wanted his portion of the inheritance. In defiance, he left home to pursue a fast life, indulged himself with partying and pleasures, and surrounded himself with people who only lasted as long as his money.

When the money ran out, he was destitute. As a last resort, he found work for paltry wages, feeding pigs and longing for the scraps they devoured. He came to his lowest point, which set off another set of events that changed his life and often reflects what happens with those of us who begin a recovery journey.

Realizing that the servants in his father’s house lived better, the young man imagined that he could humble himself, risk returning home, and request a servant’s position in the household. Much like our journey, the change we envision holds the hope of better than the stranglehold of chemical dependency.

Set in the time and culture when Jesus shared this story, the son’s initial request was equivalent to saying that he wished his father were dead. Like him, we have attempted to fill our cracks and broken places with substances, yet found ourselves more aware of our insufficiency apart from abiding in His Presence.

In the narrative that unfolds, Our Father has welcomed us home despite our turning away from Him. In love, He has given us gifts, celebrating us and validating our worth, independent of our chemical dependency or substance abuse disorder. As the Father who created us with the need to be seen, known, and loved, He can satisfy areas where we have formed addictive tendencies and habits out of pain and longing for what has always been available.

When we encounter the abject conditions of being far from home in the heart of the Father, we discover that God has something better for us. He has more than the withdrawal symptoms, loneliness, and loathing that accompany our attempts without heavenly help paired with practical resources and support.

However, like the prodigal son’s older brother, there may be those who are in the family of faith but their judgments and cold response toward us concerning our chemical dependency journey can be hurtful and isolating. This dismissive behavior doesn’t reflect the Father’s Heart toward us but rather reveals that they don’t yet embrace the Truth we are now discovering.

As one family, the Father has lavished His all-encompassing love and mercy on us, whether we have remained in the house with Him or now return to fellowship. We can’t govern other people’s reactions to us or our history of addiction. Instead, we can seek the Lord to connect us to people and in places where He will receive maximum glory through us.

Under these conditions, the idea of being known can be frightening. Here, our imperfections appear magnified under what we perceive as the harsh gaze of others’ judgments and opinions. On the surface, those like the older brother in this parable seem to be more skilled at this Christian walk than us. However, God isn’t impressed with external performance. He is interested in our hearts, which is where we need to present our entire lives to Him.

Jesus offered this parable and many others, contrasting the religious elite of His era who underestimated their need for forgiveness with those who were painfully aware of their need for the Savior’s mercy.

The words of Jesus convey that those who have been forgiven much also love much (Luke 7:47). Our worshipful response to the Father and our loving attitude toward others reflects our awareness and appreciation for His soul-saving power. He is looking for those who will worship Him with their whole being, and not only in spirit but also in truth (Luke 10:27; John 4:23-24).

We all require an abundance of mercy for the abundance of our particular sin (Romans 5:20). That simply testifies that an abundance of grace meets us in our prodigal state and lifts us to where the Father wants us to be.

This parable reveals that in all of life we will encounter people like the older brother in the story. This is often in the spaces where we have an investment with the Father. It is not about us versus them, a group of those who haven’t experienced the weight of chemical dependency against another group of those who have.

Though the narrative follows the younger son’s journey spiritually, physically, mentally, and emotionally, its principle illustrates the Father and His mercy. God is the One who models the reconciliation that He wants us, as sisters and brothers, to walk out spiritually and practically. Both brothers and all kinds of believers are to abide with Our Father, connected to one Head (Christ, the unmentioned Brother), and united by the Holy Spirit.

Caroline Beidler, author, social worker, and one who has experienced addiction recovery, comforts others in pursuit of sobriety with the thought, “It’s okay to be known; In fact, it’s better.” (Beidler) We need each other to be One Church, fiercely loyal to the Father and upholding the principles of the Faith.

We also need those whose experiences with chemical dependency inject a fresh perspective and passion through encountering the power of transformation in the Father’s Heart. Recognizing the value and worth of both kinds of believers and our unique experiences makes us a stronger Body, a fortified family that sharpens, strengthens, and supports one another (Romans 12:5).

We are not only to reach the lost outside the house, extending the Father’s Love to others who, like we once were, may still be rolling in pigpens of various sorts. Our lives also serve and testify to those disconnected from the Father’s Heart for mercy and compassion, though they may be abiding alongside us in the household of faith.

Regardless of how long we have been in fellowship with the Lord or the conditions of our life before conversion, each of our testimonies points to the saving, healing, and delivering power of the Messiah. We fit together in one house to reflect God’s glory as only a unified family can.

Next steps to overcome chemical dependency

Often, shame results from experiences with addiction and the trauma that led to using. That is an incomplete narrative. Your story only culminates as you come home, ready to embrace the Father and the unknowns of reconciling faith and community with those in the Body, despite those who may not always understand or accept our salvation story. Entrust them to the Father’s hands. Come home anyway, as the Father watches and waits for you with open arms.

Connect with a counselor through this site and commit to meeting to receive support to keep walking your way forward in the Heart and house of God, the Father.