Rehab is usually a very intense focus to get you out of your addiction and into a stable environment. Stable as far as getting you off your drug of choice, and getting you to the point where you don’t want to relapse.
Then what?
If you’ve identified God as your “higher power,” then you’re on the right track. But what does God want you to do with your life? Has He given up on you? No!
You may be thinking of all the bad things God wants you to quit. And, yes, He does want you to quit doing things that keep you in the relapse cycle that you’re tired of. But God has much, much more for you.
You see, you’ve got to replace your desire for your addiction with something stronger. And God has a specific purpose for your life. Most recovery programs may tell you the “general” purposes of God for your life. But do you know what your specific, unique purpose is from God?
Let me make a bold statement – Until you have a strong enough motivation to pull you into your future, you’ll end up relapsing again and again.
It’s not enough to focus on “not” doing your addiction. You’ve got to completely replace your thinking with looking to your future. You’ve got to take your dreams off the shelf, dust them off, and start working on them.
What does it mean to “work on them?” It means identifying what your vision for your future is. Be very specific. Instead of “I want to be happy,” list the specifics of what your want your life to look like. Write all this down on paper so you can obtain clarity on your dreams.
Begin by identifying what you are passionate about in life. Not necessarily what you’ve been good at doing. But what is it that stirs your emotions up? Something that gets you so excited about performing that particular thing that time flies by when you’re doing it.
What is it that makes you bounce out of bed in the morning to go do it? Or keeps you up late at night? What is it that gives you tremendous emotional energy when you do it?
Now the question is, does God want you to take your passion and form it into a life-long vision to reach out to love and serve others? How can you do that? What would it look like?
God hasn’t given up on you. He’s just getting started. He’s ready, willing and able to help you get your life together and carry out His plan for your life.
In fact, sometimes people use drugs or alcohol to cover up feelings of rejection, loneliness, feeling unloved, hopeless, or covering the emotional pain of their past. God can help you overcome whatever struggles you are dealing with.
Only God can provide you the unconditional love that you seek. He will never leave you. He is always with you. And when you learn about His unconditional love and learn how to receive it, then you can discover how to love others in the same way. Relationships can be restored. With God, nothing is impossible.
If you’re not sure on how to transition your thinking from focusing on “not” doing your addiction, to focusing on your future, I invite you to download my free mp3 on “8 Immediate Action Steps You Can Take!” You can find it at my website . Kathy Williamson, The Addictions Coach
