Addictions – Everything We Need to Know
Everything we need to know about addictions and the power of them too. We could spend hours about addictions and the power of them the strongholds. And really, you know, we were just discussing off record about how addictions, the world tells us one thing, and God tells us another. So today we’re going to talk about addictions. We’re going to talk about how we can get through life without them.
Adam Comer is here in the blog too this is so awesome. Listen, your heart. I mean, your destiny, your purpose is that you help people with addictions Adam.
Adam replies, “Amen. Yeah, that’s right. I didn’t ever think that that was what I would do when I grew up. But absolutely, that is the path and the calling that God’s placed on my life for sure.”
There’s something about experiencing healing or experiencing the hand of God like Adam has versus reading about it.
What are your thoughts about addictions?
Adam responds, “Oh, goodness, well, I mean, to kind of tease what we might be talking about next blog. But I really believe that addiction is the forgotten pandemic, or epidemic if you want just to say this country, but it’s a pandemic. And it’s not a lot of attention, I would say the newest data that we have, and it’s amazing that it came out this quickly. But from May of 2020 to May of 2021 100,000 people died of drug overdose. That is astronomical. That’s more casualties than the entire Vietnam War era, which was 17 years. I could go on and on about that. But that’s just drug overdose, that doesn’t include the deaths that come from alcohol, that doesn’t include the devastation that comes from pornography, that doesn’t include. I mean, that doesn’t include any of the chaos, just drug overdose. And to be honest, probably 80% of that is opioid opiate-related. And so it is a problem. And as you hinted to in your intro, the solution that we’re given the solution that’s been the standard for the last 50-60 years, has been almost behavior modification almost outside-in approach, but it also would entangles into your identity, it’s so tied to your identity, you have to say, Hello, my name is Adam, and I’m an addict before I’m allowed to speak or engage in a meeting, it’s taught that in the 12 steps, that you’re always going to be this, and that is a hopeless situation.”
If I’m always going to be something if I’m doomed to just remission of this thing- Man, there’s no hope there.
But that’s not what the Word of God says. The Word of God says that who the son sets free is free. Indeed, it says if you’ve been crucified with Christ, it’s no longer I who live but it’s Christ who lives in me. And he says, you’re a saint if you’re in him, that you are a bloodstained child of the kingdom, how dare I say anything different than what he says? How should I call, and I’ll just say this, and it is a big deal, and I don’t want to get you on a soapbox. Identity is a piece that is such a big deal. Because even basic psychology 101 If I call a little girl ugly her whole life, she’s going to grow up and think she’s ugly. And so if I call myself something, my sin or my past, or if I tie my whole identity to that, I mean, you could just imagine the devastation that comes.
When God says that if you’re in Him, you’re a saint. And I’m here. I mean, obviously, the Spirit of God is omnipresent. He’s everywhere. And I can just imagine because I went to 1000s of meetings. After being born again, I could just imagine myself calling myself that, man. No, I paid for that. That’s been buried with my death, burial, and resurrection. It’s what baptism is all about. And it’s like we’re missing the mark. And so I think I answered your question, but I kind of want passionate about this, as you can tell, speaking from a different point of view about identity.”
When I was going through this with my three children, and boy, did we go through a lot, whether it was alcohol, drugs, whatever, my kids kept saying to me, I’m just doing what everybody else is doing. I’m talking about identity. You know, these kids, they don’t want to be isolated. They don’t want to be made fun of or bullied. So many times they surrender to these behaviors that become addictions because they’re just doing what everybody else is doing. Do you agree with that?
Adam replied, “Yeah, I think. I mean, you’re talking about like, in like trying to drugs or trying? Yeah, yes. Yeah, there’s definitely peer pressure. I heard a story, a national story the other day, I want to say last week, maybe two weeks ago, and I can’t remember what state I want to say Florida. But it was just a high school kid playing sports. The report is he’s never done drugs before. But he went with a group of guys. And he went, and they were handing out what looked like prescription medication, probably pain prescription medication. And he took it and took one drug one time, his whole life. It was a fake pill. It was a fentanyl pill that was made to look like a Percocet or something like that. And it killed him.
And so I think peer pressure, I definitely think any category, not just addiction, but any kind of lure that the world has that shiny lure that when you bite into it, it really hooks you and grabs you. I think peer pressure and the flesh, wanting to fit in wanting to go with the flow. I definitely think that plays an issue in addiction for sure.”
Yes and you know, addictions can be diseases. For instance, you can have generational curses, what we say, or you can have a parent or grandparents that have an alcoholic gene that you possibly unbeknownst to you might have inherited. Again, what I’m getting to is addictions are everywhere, Adam, and we cannot stay in that identity as you said, as we go through recovery. And we are set free. We have got to renew our minds and our new identity. We want to talk about that later, for sure. Back to the fentanyl I have been reading lots about this, Adam, what is happening all over the country in the United States. We’re getting it from China, we’re getting it from Mexico, what is happening, it is not just Percocet’s it’s Xanax, like, all of these things look like you are taking a prescription medication and these kids don’t know it’s not. And many kids, athletes all around the country, Homecoming queens, kids that literally they’re not addicts, they literally have never had a lifestyle of habits of drugs and alcohol. They do it one time and they’re dropping dead Adam, they’re dropping dead.
Adam shares, “It’s so dangerous. I mean, you’ve probably seen it or your audience has seen that this picture where it takes this much heroin to kill someone, it takes this much something but then there’s just a few specks of dust of the fentanyl to kill a grown man.”
Yes. And so if you’re a young woman, you know, 15-16 years old it says a grain of sand. Do you know what the size of a grain of sand is? That can be deadly. That is a war. I believe that is a war against our children to have a child not even has a second chance.
Adam said, “I want to say that there was a seizure of fentanyl not too long ago that it was enough to kill every American in the country.”
Incredible. So today we’re talking about addictions. Sometimes we confuse addictions with really just choosing self-destructive behaviors. Can you tell us, Adam, what do you use as a definition for addiction?
Adam answers, “Yeah, and I’m glad you said that. I think that you mentioned disease. And I think by definition, I’m just careful with wording that because what I believe the world does when we label a disease one, it’s for-profit, to how do we treat disease in this country, with medication. And so now we have the same people who made the opioids that really sparked this massive pandemic, where it went from, I don’t want to get you into much trouble videos, the pharmaceutical companies making opioids and then all of a sudden everyone’s becoming addicted to them. And then now we’re supposed to trust the same company that makes the drug to get off the drug. And I’m seeing more and more guys coming onto our program that are trying to get off the drug that was given to them to get off of a drug. And so I’m just careful with saying it’s a disease by definition, it can be. I think, biblically, though, even the way that you describe it, there are so many other different addictions.
I think biblically, it would be idolatry. And the aspect of not adultery, idolatry, but in the aspect of I’m exchanging the glory of God and His promises in my life to deal with things for bootleg cheap substitutes. And I think that goes for anything whether it be you’re addicted to work, you’re addicted to pleasing your children, you’re addicted to whatever it could be alcohol, drugs, porn, you name it if you’re exchanging what God says for a bootleg cheap substitute that you know ends badly you only have a history that ends badly that’s idolatry.”
Thank you for saying that to Adam, because we don’t talk about this enough. It’s a very unpopular view. You’ll get emails about this and so a lot Oh, yes, yes. Anything we put before God? Anything that we’d like you said substitute, feeling loved, feeling you know, peace, feeling comfort, man, you know, you can reach for that drug you can reach for the alcohol but that’s idolatry. That’s really idolatry because it’s substituting the realness of what God can be in your life and I love that with addictions, how do you deal with it? Adam? You know, we’re going to talk more about how you’re a pastor, you’ve got your own personal story. When you say to possible people that you mentor or minister to, how do you deal with them about the topic of addictions?
Adam replied, “I’ll probably repeat myself when we go into some other things. But I mean, I think in general, for me and on a baseline and not to be funny, or not to just dismiss it, but to really bring it back down to the absolute truth and absolute truth is addiction is not a surprise to God. So He must discuss this in His Word. And so someone that’s listening, and honestly, anyone that’s listening, but especially someone who’s listening who’s really battled an addiction, whether that almost to a chemical, and I’ll include pornography in that, because there is a chemical addiction attached to that that goes off in your brain, someone who’s battled a chemical addiction, the word desire is elevated, because of a desire to fulfill that feeling or whatever it could be, we would do- I did awful things, things that I never thought I would stealing, you know, and could hear the stories of kids being left in car seats because the mom went in to fulfill this desire.
So I see in Second Peter chapter one that the Bible addresses that desire. And in fact, contrary to what the world tells us, right, that you’re always going to be an addict, that you’re always this, you’re just one thought away. The Bible says that we can escape Second Peter, the corruption that’s in the world because of sinful desires. Now, that’s a microphone drop verse for someone who’s battling addiction because that desire is strong.
But the Bible said the absolute standard of truth said that we could escape this desire, and then it goes on. And it tells us how, and that’s actually the chapter that we created our curriculum from, and it’s sanctification, it’s growing in your faith. But if God says, you can escape it, that’s way different than I was taught. Yeah, Adam, you’re always going to be this once an addict, always an addict. And yet, the word of God says, you can escape the corruption that’s in the world that comes through our sinful desires.
Wow. I mean, that’s mind-blowing. I wish I could have seen this. I wish I didn’t have to suffer in the pain and all these things and cause the chaos in my family’s life for so long. I wish I would have known this sooner.”
Wow. And you’re right in the warfare, parenting mindset right there because it’s the power of God. It’s the power of His word. It’s the hope that He is still healing and delivering people today. Right, Adam? Because He is I see it all the time, don’t you?
Adam says, “Oh, yeah. If people would actually believe the things that they say and claim to believe, man, life would be a lot different. We’re not promised prosperity and health and all those things. But there is a peace. There is a one who walks with us there is I mean, look at the heroes of our faith, they beat the mess out of them. And they left rejoicing. Well, why that is the same spirit that was at work and alive in at work in them is at work in us. And I’m telling you, if people would believe the things that things they say they believe in, dive in. And I’m not shaming people, I’m almost calling people we have a saying that we feel like God is really put on us, but not S2L or Adam, but kind of the community. And it’s from the rooms of recovery comes the revival of a nation. And this nation needs revival.
And then if I look at the heroes of our faith, it is kind of people that the Bible was clear to show their mess. Yeah. And what better of a people group that have just been in the pits of hell that have seen the devastation that has been Outcast that has been just looked at as damaged goods, that’s prime cooking for the Lord. So we have some strategy that was part of the documentary that we’re going to talk about and moving forward with that, and kind of encouraging and unbolting the church that addiction is not a surprise to God.”
Amen. And you know, one of the things I’ve learned Adam, in my studies recently is that hope is cultivated, you know, hope is something, you know, people say, oh, have hope that God can heal you hope is cultivated, and what the testimonies it says in Revelations, it’s by the blood of the Lamb, and the word of our testimony, that defeats the enemy. And you and I are in defeating the enemy. We want to win this war. We know it can be one, we’ve seen it one, and we want to help everyone in the sound of our voices today. We want to cultivate hope in your heart today that God is moving and breathing and healing. And you can renew your mind through the power within you. Like Adam says, all of these heroes of faith, they were messes, and God made a message. And that’s what we serve, isn’t it Adam, a God that comes in and truly transformed lives so much so that we want to shout it from the mountaintops? Amen.
Adam declares, “Yes, and I mean, you’re going to hear this If you read the next blog, you’re going to hear my story. But I’ll go ahead and tell you, I don’t proclaim all of these truths that you’ve heard in this segment because I’ve read all the addiction books. Now actually, I have that common to go back to school and study and counseling and things like that. So I have done that. But the reason I speak with boldness is from the authority of God’s word. But my own testimony, as you said, like it’s too late for someone to tell me this doesn’t work. You’re in stages of my life, that you’re too late to come and try to convince me it doesn’t work because I’ve walked through it. I’ve tasted it, I know what freedom is, my DNA has literally changed and so weird to say, because not really my DNA, but the desires of my heart are now like, matched with what God wants not seeking something that’s an idol.”
Amen. And let’s we are going to get to your testimony because it is powerful. That is our next blog; Adam is going to come in. And again, it’s by his testimony. And when he talks about his testimony, and we match it and couple it with the blood of Christ, God will do it again. And again, I believe the root word of the Hebrew word of testimony is to do it again. Every time we share our testimony, God will do it again for you. Listen, I know this too Adam, God resurrected my marriage- 17 years in a dead marriage. We were on opposite ends of the house, having a book to prove it. But also I’ve tasted and seen that the Lord is good. I’ve seen my daughter healed from illness that the doctor sent her home to die modern medicine said she’s going home to die and we prayed and God brought her healing- my children all three had addictions and depression and all kinds of things the world have layered upon them. God delivered them and set them free.
Addictions can be overcome by the power of God! I pray this post brought you hope today.
Adam Comer hosts the podcast Life After Addiction.
As an ordained pastor, Adam has played a major role in developing and establishing one of the highest addiction recovery program success rates in the country, and is a highly respected leader around the community and in Middle Tennessee. He also has professional experience in healthcare and mental healthcare fields.