It IS Possible!

     There was a point in my husband’s recovery, where he had experienced a lot of healing and was, in general, doing VERY well. Most of the time he was enjoying a freedom he had not known for a very long time but, in spite of that, it seemed like once or twice a year he would have a brief slip and return to his old unwanted behaviors. It was very discouraging for him. 
     He came to believe that the addiction would always be sitting on his shoulder waiting for an opportunity. He thought that he would just have to be satisfied with doing better MOST of the time. He all but lost his dream of ever experiencing complete freedom. In fact, he pretty much resigned himself to the fact that, no matter how hard he worked, he would continue to fail periodically and have to relive the shame, frustration and consequences that always accompanied a slip.
     I had a hard time accepting that this was truth. In fact, Bruce and I would often debate about whether COMPLETE healing was even a possibility. I would remind him of the scripture where Jesus, himself, said “nothing is impossible with God.” If Bruce’s addiction was truly unconquerable, Jesus was a liar. It’s true, he was referring to something else at the time he spoke those words, but he didn’t limit his statement to that particular topic, he made the universal proclamation that NOTHING was impossible with God . . . and, in my mind, that included addiction. But Bruce wasn’t convinced.
     It wasn’t easy . . . but as Bruce continued to persevere and diligently ask God to reveal the unhealed wounds that fueled each slip he encountered, he found that those slips became less and less frequent. In spite of his doubts that it was even possible, today he DOES know what complete freedom feels like. The addiction no longer sits on his shoulder, waiting for an opportunity. He is no longer experiencing periodic slips. 
     Healing the source of Bruce’s addiction was NOT impossible for God. The same is true in your case. NOTHING is impossible; nothing is more powerful than God. Don’t give up! Keep running to him and he will guide YOU to that place of complete freedom, as well. 
     
“Jesus looked at the man and said, ‘With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.’”  — Matthew 19:26 (NIV)