From powerless to powerful in recovery

Step 1 of the 12 steps instructs us to admit we are powerless over the disease of addiction. This step is mandatory in order to recover. One must admit and thus submit to the power greater than us. God does not force his will on anyone. He must be invited in. We must willingly submit to his will. Only by this submission can we recieve the power from a all powerfull God. A God who can make a way out of no way. The power we recieve from God is without limit and can over come any obstacle. From submission of powerlessness we can emerge with the infinent power that comes from an almighty God. Listen as Trent explanis how he went from powerlessness to powerful with the help of a power greater than himself.

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Transcript

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Welcome to the Recovery is a Process of Decisions Podcast. This is Trent Thomas, your recovery peer support specialist. This week's episode is entitled From Powerlessness to Powerful in Recovery. Step one of the twelve steps is to admit we were powerless over the disease of addiction. This admission was totally necessary to submit to the power of someone other than ourselves. Our singular admission of powerlessness placed us in a humble, submissive state in order to receive the power from our all-powerful God. For God to act, he has to be invited in. One must be submissive to his will. His direction is by choice. One must decide to follow God. Pain and the consequences of not following God has often led one to fall down and then submit to follow his will. Pain will cause change. For each person, the level of pain one submits to is unique and differs from person to person. However, the pain is the same. Pain is necessary for change to occur. Hitting your head against a hard wall will enact a measure of directional change in order for the pain of hitting the hard wall to stop. Such is life. With the occurrence of the mismanagement of life and the pain caused by one bad decision after another, many finally reach the conclusion that we are powerless over the disease of addiction. It is labeled as a disease because it causes rudimental changes to the brain pathways that cause our thinking pathways to abandon logical patterns and follow patterns of illogical, self-defeating, suicidal tendencies. This behavior is much like any other disease that hijacks the mind and body and enslaves the host to fulfill its existence at the destruction of the host's body. This disease wants you dead, but it will settle for your continued misery until dead. The powerlessness we submit to is the cost of admission to receiving the power given by God as He is the remedy to our malady. Addiction at its source is a spiritual depravity disorder. Spiritual starvation enhances addictive patterns. When there is no light, there is no direction. Having no spiritual tie line leads to wandering in darkness and thus falling victim to every pothole, trick, and trap presented. When walking in darkness, falling off a cliff is inevitable. God is light and truth. Removing God from one's life leads to darkness and misdirection. Addiction is self-deception. You first lie to yourself and then to everyone else. You first tell yourself you need this drink and drug to fix your problems. Then you lie to everyone else in order to get the money to pay for the drink and the drug. One lie after another, waiting deeper and deeper into darkness and the falling into the traps that follow. Once in the grips of the disease of self-deception, the only treatment for the lie is truth. God is truth. Everything God does is truthful. God cannot lie. God is the light that is truth. While in addiction, we are unplugged from our spiritual socket and thus no connection to God. Recovery requires getting plugged in, re-establishing that spiritual juice, reconnecting to the light that is God. Once plugged in, we can then see. We can avoid the tricks and traps found while in darkness. The truth erodes the lie. The lie and the truth cannot exist in the same space. No lie can exist forever, and truth vanquishes the lie. From powerlessness, we then get plugged in and receive power from an all-powerful God. From the powerlessness of submission, we then invite God in and reconnect with a power greater than ourselves. A power that can and will save us from ourselves. This is Trent Thomas, and I would like to thank you for listening to another episode of Recovery is a process of decisions podcast. You can now subscribe to this podcast and receive special inner deep episodes for subscribers only, as well as a private personal email account to communicate directly with me for comments and show suggestions. I also would like to invite everyone to check out my new ebook publication entitled Recovery: The Seven Steps to Sustain Recovery, available at Amazon.com, written for those looking for a formula to apply in order to sustain recovery. As always, your inspiring comments can be left at transnetrecover.com forward slash podcast. Please feel free to follow me on Facebook and Instagram. Thank you and have a blessed day.