Episode 2: Rooted & Recovered - A Power Greater Than My Past

In this encouraging and hope-filled episode of Rooted & Recovered, Dan and Justin unpack Step Two of the 12-Step Program: “We came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.” Building off of last week’s powerful message on surrender, this episode dives into the next vital piece of the recovery journey—belief.

Dan and Justin bring raw honesty, deep spiritual insight, and powerful scriptural encouragement to those walking through addiction, pain, depression, doubt, or brokenness. You’ll hear personal stories, biblical truth, and real hope as they explore the idea that you don’t need perfect faith—you just need enough to take the next step.

Key Takeaways:

• You’ve survived 100% of your worst days. Your story isn’t over yet.
• Hope is more than a feeling—it’s a decision to trust God’s track record.
• Recovery doesn’t start with a program—it starts with belief in a God who restores.
• The woman with the issue of blood didn’t find healing in a garment, but in the One who wore it.
• Faith doesn’t require perfection, just surrender.

Scriptures Highlighted: Hebrews 11:1, Romans 15:13, Psalm 62:5–6, 2 Corinthians 12:9, Luke 8:43–48

If you’ve stopped believing that things can get better—this episode is your reminder to hope again. Because there is a Power greater than your past, and His name is Jesus.

 Help us spread this message by liking, sharing, subscribing, and most importantly—praying. Drop your prayer requests on our Facebook page, and let’s walk this journey together. You are not alone. You are not too far gone. You are stronger than your struggle, and you are rooted in a grace that doesn’t give up.

Until next time, family… stay rooted, stay recovered, and let’s get to work. 

Transcript

0:00

This world doesn't hand out healing. It offers quick fixes, cheap pies and empty promises, but real recovery. It takes roots. Roots that dig deep into truth, into identity, into the unshakeable grace of God. We're not here to sugarcoat the struggle. We've lived it. Addiction, shame, relapse, regret, but we've also seen resurrection. We've seen what happened. Happens when broken people get anchored in something real rooted and recovered is more than a podcast. It's a battleground for the soul. A place where scars tell stories, where scripture speaks louder than shame, where freedom isn't just a word. It's a war we win daily. So if you're tired of surface level answers, if you want truth that convicts, hope that heals, and conversations that cut through the noise, you're in the right place. Welcome to Rooted and Recovered.

Justin: 1:07

welcome, family. I don't know about you, but it is a glorious day here in Southern Illinois. Such a great day to sit here with my brother Dan Pyles and just talk about the Lord and what he's done for us. If you joined us last week, you heard us talking about step one and what comes after step one. Is always step two, but in order to get to step two, you gotta go through step one. So maybe you're here today and this is your first time listening and you never heard step one, I'm encouraging you today. Go back to step one. Take an honest look at yourself and realize. You can't, but God can. Now, once again this week we wanna remind you that we need your support, but like Brother Dan said last week, we're not asking for money. What we're asking for, first and foremost is prayer. I can't stress this enough. Pray for us, because anytime you're doing something that God wants you to do, the enemy's gonna be coming, knocking at your door. And so as we go out. We want you to not only pray for us, but pray for each other. Because if you're taking these steps, if you're giving your life to Christ, let me tell you something. You have an X on your back and there's an enemy coming after you, but we have one who is greater than the enemy. We have one who is more powerful than the enemy. So the best way you can support not only us, but all those out there listening is prayer. We'd also like you to like and subscribe to our Facebook page. Go check it out. Go. Go share your victories. Go share your struggles. Go share your prayer requests. On Sundays, we'll be putting out a post where you can get on and share your prayer requests, and me and Dan. We'll get together and you'll, we'll come together in prayer for what you're asking for. We'll bring it to the Lord like we're supposed to guys. The truth is there's an enemy out there that is trying to attack, but there is a power greater than ourselves, and that's what we're talking about to step two. We came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. And Dan, this is my favorite lesson because, man, for a long time I lived in insanity.

Dan: 3:25

I. Oh, I'm looking forward to today's podcast, and man, it's such a privilege and honor to be in here with you again, brother and man, just what a powerful step two. I hope that you really enjoyed step one. And when we were talking about when I can't, God. can and when Justin was reading that step two, and tells us that we came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. I can't help but think what a perfect podcast episode, but then to say a power greater than my past. A power greater than my past, and I wanna open this whole thing up with something. What if family, just think about this with me for just a moment. What if your story isn't over yet? Now think about that for a moment. I know what, how you feel right now. I know you might be at the very beginning stages of your journey, whether that's your recovery journey, your spiritual journey, or whatever. What if. Your story isn't over yet. What if the very thing that broke you is the beginning

Justin: 4:55

of your breakthrough? I wanna encourage everybody listening today, Dan, as you were saying that, do you know you've already survived a hundred percent of your worst days? You are still here alive and breathing, so I want to encourage you today that your story isn't over because God's got a reason. And if there is breath in your lungs, there is hope. If there is breath in your lungs and you've got a reason to praise God, you've got a reason not only to praise, but to cry out and say, Lord, I need you because I know that there is a power greater than me. I love how it says, came to believe. We have to first step out of that, that river of denial we talked about last week and say, I'm powerless, and then come to believe. So I'm praying that those here this morning came to believe.

Dan: 5:45

Amen. And I'm believing that with you, Justin, in the name of Jesus. Family hope isn't a feeling. It's a choice to believe that healing is still possible. We live in a society and in a world where just everything is so dark, so gloom, so depressing, and just so just despair, you can't even turn on the news anymore. You can't even turn on the tv. You can't even hardly get on social media without seeing all the negativity and all that junk. What this world needs more than anything is hope, and I'm here to share that hope with you today. and his Name is Jesus. It's not a feeling family. It's a choice to believe that healing is still. Possible, and I'm not here to disqualify anything. I know, Justin, that there is a reality of broken belief. I know what it's like to have broken trust. I know what it's like to seek help from family man. From family members and watch them turn their back on me. I know what it's like to seek to sink my hope into friends, to not only let them use me and abuse me, but when they were done to toss me out and throw me away, I know what it's like to have that faith fatigue. To where you have believed for a family member that they were gonna come to salvation, that you believed that a family member yourself was gonna get clean, and you're still waiting on that miracle. You're still waiting for that to happen, and you're starting to get fatigued. You're starting to feel like God can help others, but not me. But I want to encourage you with a scripture in Hebrews chapter 11, verse one, and this is what it says. It says, now. Faith is the confidence in what we hope for and the assurance about what we do not see. Family. You don't need perfect faith. You just need enough to take that next. Step one step at a time. So many times, Justin, we try to get so far ahead of ourselves. We try to get so far ahead of God that we end up causing our ourself more damage than we are doing good for ourselves. I understand that you want to see that family member. I understand that you want to jump ahead, but I want you to understand you don't need perfect faith. You're not perfect. I'm not perfect. We're gonna make mistakes. We're gonna fall. We don't need perfect faith. But what I encourage you with today is you just need enough faith to take that next

Justin: 8:46

step. So Webster's Dictionary defines hope as an expected end for good and for a long time, Dan, I had hope. Okay. I had hope that my new job was gonna give me enough money to finally be happy. I had hope that relationship that I was in would give me some sense of belonging, some sense of joy. I had hope that those drugs, that the alcohol, that the things I was throwing myself into would helped me to escape reality. I thought I had true hope. Then God, right? But then God, because one of my favorite parts of scripture is it's so deep, it's so, it's living, it's breathing it, it never ends. Do you know hope? In the Old Testament, there's two meanings. The word tikvah it actually means an expect it in for good, but it also means a line. Accord, right? You were talking about how we think that we have to do it. We think that we have to be the ones to succeed. Psalm 62, 5 and 6 came to mind when you were talking. Dan, let all that I am wait patiently before God. For my hope is in him. Now think about this. That word hope that David used is not only talking about my expectation for good, it's talking about that line, that cord that I have of hope is a direct connection to God and that is Jesus Christ. He doesn't offer hope that fades away or falls like everything else. He is a living, breathing God that you can hold onto and trust to pull you through the muckin mire of life. And there is a power on the other side of that line greater than we could ever imagine. That's just leading us along. I know sometimes it gets sticky. I know sometimes it gets hard. Like you said, Dan, sometimes we wanna listen to the enemy that says Maybe God doesn't love me the same as everybody else. Can I tell you something? He died on a cross for you so that you could have hope, so that you could have an expectation for good and so that you could have a direct connection to him. The ultimate power source.

Dan: 11:08

So good. And I love that scripture because David said, my hope is in God, not in my family, not in my wife, not in the pastor, not in my children, not in myself, but God and guys, that's the whole thing for step two. That we come to believe that you, that me, we come to believe that a power greater than ourselves. Something better and greater than me.'cause like step one, man, I couldn't do it. I tried, I crashed, I burned. It wasn't until that moment that I admitted that I'm weak, that I admitted that I'm powerless, that I admitted that God. I need you. And we read about this where we can't, God can all the more. Now we're saying here, God, I believe God, I gotta have faith. And the hope that you something better than me can restore me. And that's what David said, he said, and God is my hope and family today. If you are gonna get to this next step, if you are gonna get to step two, to step three, all the way to step 12, and then to just living your life, you are going to have to put your hope in Jesus Christ. Stop putting your hope in people. Stop putting your hope in programs. Stop putting your hope in this or that. Start putting your hope.

Justin: 12:44

In Jesus, and I would encourage you, you read Hebrews 11, one, faith is a substance of things hoped for. Well, what does David say? My soul waits patiently. So maybe you're here today and you're wondering why everything ain't fallen into place, why that your life still seems like it's unmanageable at times. Maybe you're here and you feel, and you're listening to us and you're saying, but Justin, you don't get to struggle. You don't understand. I've been going through this forever. David waited patiently. Sometimes it takes. Us getting out of our own way, admitting we're powerless and just wait. And when they, when you're in the waiting, there's a blessing. A blessing.

Dan: 13:32

as you were reading that, it's like the Holy Spirit led me to Romans 15:13 and it says, may the God of hope. Amen. May the God of hope fill you with all the joy and peace. Oh my God, that's what we need. Think about this for a minute. How would you do with peace in your life right now? how much better would your life be right now? Family, with some peace. The word of God is telling us that peace is found in God. Today can be that turning point for you. Today can be that turning point for you where your life is never the same, that maybe you've been trying to put your hope and trust in people. Maybe you've been trying to put your hope and trust in friends and family and society, and as good as those people are, they're going to fail you. People will fail you. I will fail. You don't put your hope in me. As we just read, may the God of Hope David said, I put my hope in God. May the God of hope fill you with all the joy and peace as you trust in him. In him as you trust in him, God is not asking you for blind faith. He is asking you to trust his track record family. His win-loss record is a whole lot better than yours. I can promise you that his win-loss record is a whole lot better than mine. All he's not asking for perfection for you. You don't have to have everything figured out. You won't have it figured out. Trust me. I've been there, I've done that. I tried to have it all squared away before I came to God. He is not asking for that. He wants you in your busted broken mess. He wants you at your rock bottom. Because like I asked you today, just a few moments ago, when this podcast, what if the very thing that broke you. Is the beginning of your breakthrough, that rock bottom that you're going with and dealing with right now in your life. God is not asking you to have it all figured out. He's just asking that you trust his track record.

Justin: 15:58

You know what is the greatest commandment to love the Lord your God, with all your heart, all your strength, all your soul. Which means, like you said, God doesn't just want the good parts of you that you're showing everybody else. He doesn't want the smiling Christian that shows up on Sunday and says, everything's good in my life. No. What God wants is that broken mess that hides behind closed doors and cries in your pillow to him, and you can't even speak words. All you have is murmurings and groanings. Well, guess what? It. We have hope because there's a spirit inside of us. The Bible says, I believe it's Paul, he says, for when I cannot express words, the spirit inside me, groans and murmurs. That's hope, and it takes faith to believe that. But like Dan said, it's not a blind faith. We see the end. I don't know if you've ever read the end of the book, but it says he wins. Like Dan said, he's batting a thousand. We have victory, but we have to realize victory only comes through him, and that's where our hope lies. We can't stress that enough. Quit putting hope in self-help programs. Quit putting hope in your family and your job and your success and give it to him.

Dan: 17:17

And that's such a great way. And again, we're not here to knock those guys. We work programs. Yes, I'm in recovery because of a program. I'm where I'm at today because of a program. I have had the privilege and honor of watching hundreds of people be able to get through the other side, through programs. But family, if we bank all of our hope on a program. If I bank all of my hope on something manmade, I promise you family, it is going to lead us to crash and burn. Think about that. How many times did you try early in your recovery? I'm gonna try this pill. I'm gonna try that drink. I'm gonna try this sleep method. I'm gonna try this meditation. I'm gonna try this exercise. I'm gonna try, I'm gonna try. I am gonna try. I am gonna try. I'm gonna try trying different things and meanwhile, God is just sitting back saying, if you will give it to me, I will give you peace. I will give you love. I will give you joy. The Bible says that he will give you a. Peace that surpasses all our understanding to guard our heart and to guard our mind, and that is found in Jesus. Justin, when I look and I think about hope, and I think about hope in scripture, there is nothing more hopeful than the woman with the issue of blood. You gotta think about this girl right here. The Bible says that she has been dealing with this issue for years. For years. We want quick fixes. I want fix. Now we're in a society, and now if I don't wanna wait, I could just pop something in the microwave and have a meal in two minutes. We are a now society. We are in a fix it now society, and it said that this woman was subject to bleeding for 12 years because no one could heal her. This means that this woman tried program after program, after doctor, after help, and nothing was solving the problem. The Bible says that after she spent all she had, I. She was flat, busted, family, flat, broken family. She heard of Jesus just like you are hearing today. The Bible says that she came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak. Listen to this, and the Bible says immediately her bleeding stopped immediately. Family, when you put your hope in Jesus Christ. The benefits are immediately. Now, I'm not saying that the consequences go away. We'll talk about that at another time. We still got the consequences. We still gotta pay, but we are forgiven and we begin to have that peace. And it's a process, Justin. It takes time. But when I think of hope in scripture, man, nothing banks more hope. Then that woman who tried all those programs, who went to all those doctors, who spent everything she had, maybe that's you right now, man. Maybe you have spent everything. Maybe you have sunk in everything and you've tried everything and it's failing you. Try Jesus family. Try Jesus today.'cause like I said, only Jesus can satisfy your soul.

Justin: 21:02

I think we fail to realize that because of this issue, because of blood, she wasn't allowed to be around her family. She would've been living on the streets outside of the city because nobody could touch her. She would've been called unclean. She wouldn't have been allowed to worship. She wouldn't have been allowed to even go in public places and rub against somebody. Because it would've made them unclean, but yet we see her believing in a power greater than herself and doing all she can to reach out and touch. And what does Jesus say at the end of all of it? Dan, it's one of your faith has made you whole so many times. So many times we let the world tell us that we shouldn't be with our families because of what we're going through. We let the world tell us that we shouldn't be allowed in the cities. We shouldn't be allowed to be around others. We believe the lie that I'm not able to worship God because of who I am. Well, I'm here to tell you. I'm here to encourage you that is a lie straight from the pits of hell. And that my God says, come to me all ye who are weary and heavy laden. He's not saying, come to me perfect. He's just asking you to come to believe that there is a power greater than you that can restore you. Not just fix you, not just patch you up and send you on down the road, restore you to sanity. But it takes that step, like we talked about last week, that first step of going around in a circle, going around in a circle, you have to step outta that pattern and say, Lord, I can't, but you can. And I believe, I have hope and belief. My faith is in the one. It's not in the garment, it's in the, it's in the one wearing the garment. That's where my faith is. He can and will restore you to sanity.

Dan: 23:05

Amen. So powerful family. That's what this whole thing's about. Step two is we come to believe, belief. That's it. Belief even when it don't make sense. Belief that we come to believe that a power greater than ourselves can restore us to sanity. And as we get ready to wrap this podcast up, I gotta ask you today, where have you stopped believing? In what area of my life have I stopped believing? Is it that I'm ever gonna get clean? Is it a that I'm ever gonna be a good father or a good husband? Is it gonna be that I, I'm never gonna be what God has called me to be? Where have you stopped believing? And I challenge you this. Start replacing that with truth. We have gave you a plethora of scriptures for you to go back to. Go back to this podcast and write these scriptures down. We have read about a good God who has nothing but hope, who has nothing but faith, who is nothing but peace, who is nothing but joy. Start filling your mind with God. Start replacing all that negativity, all that junk, and start replacing it with truth. Step two, come to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. Justin, do you got anything that you wanna close with Brother?

Justin: 24:57

It's real. It's real. I don't want to take away from these steps, but what I am telling you is it's the relationship that comes from taking these steps that saves. It's the one that you're taking the step to, like that woman, none of the physicians of the world. These programs are great and they're good, and like you said, Dan, we've seen numerous people, the job we do, we've seen people find freedom from this. But I am telling you there is a freedom that cannot be found anywhere else but Christ. And that is a freedom from sin when we come to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. And we put our faith and our hope in him, we will see a God who will do more than we could ever imagine is what my Bible says more than we could ever expect, because that's our God. But it takes us getting out of the way and admitting that we need him and man that he's willing and able.

Dan: 26:09

So powerful, brother. We hope that you enjoyed this podcast today. We hope that you're enjoying this series as much as we are. But hey, before we go, we want you to hear this loud and clear. You are not too far gone, you are not too broken, and more importantly family. You are not alone. Recovery is not about perfection. We gotta get that out of our mind. It's about progress So you got a little bit of work on your part though. You gotta keep showing up. You gotta keep being honest with yourself. You gotta keep surrendering every day, step one, every day. Even when it's messy. Because you family are stronger than your struggle. You are loved beyond your shame and you are rooted in a grace, the grace of God family that don't give up. We believe in you here at Rooted in Recovered, even if you don't believe in yourself right now. But more importantly, family, God hasn't changed his mind about you. So until next time, fam, stay rooted, stay recovered. Let's go to work.

27:27

You are not just surviving. You are becoming, becoming rooted in truth, becoming recovered by grace, and becoming the person God always knew you could be. Thanks for joining us on Rooted in Recovered. If this episode stirred something in you, don't keep it to yourself. Share it, live it, let it take root. We'll see you next time right here where scars become testimonies and hope rises from the ashes.