Heroin use has become a wide-spread epidemic that continues to draw attention to the urgent need of prevention and recovery solutions. What I learned about it is sourced from what I have read in newspaper articles and the internet about facts and personal stories of how it affects families, why people use it, why they don’t stop using it, and how some were able to have successful recovery; so my knowledge about it is lacking from first-hand experience.
I am by no means an expert in this area. My thoughts come from the perspective of someone who has never used the drug or anything like it, so keep that in mind when you sense my naiveté throughout my journal. The only addiction experience I have had was with cigarette smoking, which I no longer do.
As a Christian, I couldn’t help but wonder about the spiritual side and moral perspective of this addiction. I started a journal to put down my thoughts on this issue. It is basically my attempt to understand this from God’s perspective, why He allows a drug that, for most people, brings them to the point of no return, and how He can use this destructive drug for His purposes. Although I may use a “come, let us reason together” approach, I realize it may not be effective for someone who is currently using, but maybe it will enlighten someone who has been able to take the successful first steps out of the deceptive cycle of self-destruction they found themselves in after using heroin or other opioid drugs.
For those who have become addicted as a result of a doctor’s prescription, I am speechless. Here are some helpful articles written from someone who has overcome opioid addiction in this way: https://sojo.net/biography/timothy-king
For those who are seeking to be free from addiction but are not interested in attending a “recovery” group, here is an article with great advice; in fact, I feel that it should be the foundational teaching for all Christians whether they are struggling with addiction or not: Recovering from the Recovery Movement by Ron Rhodes, www.ronrhodes.org/articles/recovering-from-the-recover.html
The following journal is more-so an entreaty to those who choose to use heroin for recreational purposes. It is helpful to know the basic Gospel message for better understanding (the nature of our fallen condition).
“Each and every one of us, whatever our upbringing, race, or occupation, bears a pain that rips to the core. The agony runs deep, beyond the reach of formulaic therapies. It drives our pursuit of possessions, money, jobs, people, and substances, all as substitutes for our lost communion with the Lord. Born in sin, we all groan for redemption (Romans 8:22–23). Our souls thirst for the living God (Psalm 42:1–2).”
Kathryn Butler, http://www.desiringgod.org/articles/the-quiet-plague-of-painkillers
The Search
4-23-17 There are many people who are going through a daily struggle with addiction. What can break you free from such a stronghold? I know for certain that only God can provide permanent freedom. I don’t know where you stand in your belief or relationship with God, but if you haven’t asked Him to set you free I would wonder what is keeping you from doing so. As far as belief in His existence is concerned, look around you, at the amazing creation and every living thing. It seems to me that it is harder to deny God than it is to believe in Him.
So if He exists, why would you turn away His help? How can He help you to not want to take drugs anymore? If He delivered you, what’s there to stop you from going right back to using, from wanting to escape reality?
In search for answers during a troubling time in my life I asked the Lord many questions and sought to know the truth about who He really is and what He’s all about. I know deep inside that He had to be a loving God, otherwise, who would want to worship Him? Through my journaling, God eventually exposed all the lies and false teachings I held about Him and convinced me that He not only loved me unconditionally but was all powerful and sovereign over all circumstances in my life and over all the earth. He just wants to give, give, give. In fact, He gave His only Son as a sacrifice to atone for and restore my broken relationship with Him. And that is my incentive to live, that is what gives me incentive to not want to escape but to persevere during our temporary time God as granted us to give Him glory on this broken, fallen world. So I thought I would share with you some of those journal entries, hoping that they will shed some light on your darkness and help to set you on the path of freedom that can only be found in God.
Imagine a World Without Drugs
1-14-17 Imagine a world where there would be no reason, no desire for wanting to take drugs. That would be paradise, wouldn’t it?
What are you going to do when you get to heaven and find there are no drugs there? You would be o.k. with that because the joy of heaven surpasses immeasurably any “high” a drug can give you. How can you know that?
“Except a man be born again he cannot see the Kingdom of God.” -John 3:3
Captive
3-17 You intentionally take a drug, then the drug takes you. You allow it to take complete control over your moral conscience, making it dull.
I know that heroin is a drug unlike any other in that once you try it, you can’t just easily walk away from it. It has captured you, it controls you, seemingly against your own will.
But it’s too late, you have already chosen and now realize that the consequences are inevitable. It’s a bitter sweet. Think about Adam and Eve, they wanted more than the paradise God had offered them, only to immediately realize they were deceived. There was no turning back for them, only God could rescue them, and He can rescue you too.
Paradise
4-12-17 There are two kinds of paradise. For some people, the satisfying effects from using heroin is a false representation in the physical, visual realm of what heroin addicts really long for in the invisible realm of God. Because they don’t know about the reality of God’s kingdom, they go for the imitation. They settle for taking a deceptive drug to experience the next best thing to paradise in the physical realm instead of what God provides in the spiritual realm.
One strips you of humanity and life, the other edifies and provides life given purpose.
Choose Life
2-27-16 So you don’t want to be a part of this life anymore? Consider this, to know God is a life changing experience – literally – by committing our life to Christ and receiving the Holy Spirit to dwell within us is to receive the source of eternal life in which we experience the process of spiritual renewal and restoration to godly holiness.
“It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” – Galatians 2:20
God does have a purpose for you in this life, and if you seek to know Him for who He really is you will find that He is the one true desire of your heart and the fulfillment of all of your needs.
If you think God doesn’t care about you and that He can’t make you whole again then I would say that your god is too small. He didn’t put you here on this earth so you could be controlled by a drug that you may think is more powerful than He is.
But then at the same time your brain is altered by a powerful drug so you may be unable to think rationally. So the key is to have the desire to be free, get detox, and get true Godly counseling, the real kind that will change your life and set you free, so that you desire to be in His presence more than in the artificial paradise you find yourself in when you’re high; and then continue your life surrounded with other believers who will encourage you to depend on Him, not them (people).
In spite of knowing how addictive heroin is and how it will ruin your life and even kill you, the euphoric high it gives that lets you temporarily escape from all physical and mental pain is worth it to users. It’s as if they become like walking zombies, focused on one thing, their next fix.
In spite of knowing it would bring death- separation from God – Adam and Eve chose to disobey Him for something that seemed to be more desirable. Denying your humanity and accountability and responsibilities is not desirable. It will not make you happy or bring fulfillment because deep inside you know you are going against the moral standards of God, and your conscience will never be at peace with that. Because if God is really really real, then that means we were made in His image and meant to be one with Him, in loving communion with Him. This is where true happiness (not worldly) is found and nothing can compare with it. This relationship was broken in the Garden of Eden through Adams sin, but restored through the atoning sacrifice of Gods only Son Jesus Christ. If you can believe that then you are on your way to the road to freedom.
Think about what you are doing: Considering that pain is unavoidable, (since the sin of Adam resulted in Satan becoming ruler over this world temporarily and he attempts to blind us from God’s existence) you willingly go through the agony of withdrawal and detox (pain), over and over again never to find permanent relief – why then shun Christianity which involves inevitable persecution (pain) that leads to eternal glory?
“For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, 18 while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” -2 Corinthians 4:17-18
“Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. 13 But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.” -2 Timothy 3:12-13
“If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.” – 1 Corinthians 15:19
If you give in to heroin, it’s like you are saying God is not great enough to sustain you for the purpose He has for you on earth. If you die now, you will be face to face with Him. What will be your excuse?
“I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live;” – Deuteronomy 30:19
Recovery
1-12-17 You’re used to an instant fix that transports you to another state of mind. The new reformed “you” is not going to just fall into your lap – you have to work at renewing your mind, replacing the lies with the truth; and that requires spending time praying to God and spending time in His word. What does God have anything to do with your addiction? What difference does it matter to know about Him?
Instead of “checking out” of life through drugs, why not “die to yourself” daily by inviting the Holy Spirit to live His life in you? The former is a dying so that you may die, the latter is a dying so that you may live.
“For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” –Romans 8:13
“And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” –Galatians 5:24
“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.” -Galatians 5:16
Being stigmatized as a drug addict – Jesus never patronized anyone. They became His brother or sister, not a former drug addict or former prostitute. Drug addicts are no different than anyone else in His eyes. They just wear their sin on their sleeve and are weaker, being that they want to escape reality and therefore accountability and responsibility, the easy way out. As far as He is concerned, the weaker (acknowledging your powerlessness), the better, because then you are ready and more willing to submit to letting Him being Lord of your life instead of depending on your own wisdom and understanding. This is how you practically experience walking by the power of the Holy Spirit.
“But He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest on me.” -2 Corinthians 12:9
Something Better
1-17-17 There are many people committed to mental institutions or some kind of self-help group (A.A., Celebrate Recovery, Al-A-Non, etc.) and they are all crying out the same thing – “I’m ailing, broken, in pain and I want out.” They’ve had enough of life as they know it, yet they have an inkling of hope to hang on, a subconscious inner conviction that there is something better out there, what Christians know to be the eternal kingdom of God ruled by the Author of love.
The Road to Restoration
1-2017 When you take drugs you are playing with fire. Deceived into thinking it is going to help you with pain or cure your boredom; it is a mind altering substance, therefore, against Gods will. You can choose the wide path or the narrow gate.
“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” – Matthew 7:13-14
Addicts say once you try heroin, you never want to stop or leave the sense of euphoria you experience with it in spite of the down side of withdrawal. Why is that so? Is it greater than the
power of God or more desirable than being in His presence? Have you even considered that a relationship with God is something to be desired and an experience to long for more than anything else? What do Christians love about God? (See Psalm 103). What do you love about God? What don’t you like about God?
Have you ever considered that God wants to have a personal relationship with you and that it has become possible when He provided restoration through the atoning sacrifice of His Son? Have you ever imagined or fathomed that you could have a personal relationship with the only living God, the creator of all things?
“For He is the living God and enduring forever, and His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed, and His dominion will be forever.” –Daniel 6:26
The Master of Discipline
1-11-17 Even as a Christian recovering from heroin, you have to master discipline – any desire of the flesh needs to be mastered – the hardest ones include lust and drugs that cause an imitation escape from the real world. If you haven’t learned to master temptation, you are bound to give in. You will be defeated by the lie instead of being victorious in the truth.
If you have no desire to be disciplined, is it because it gives you a sense of control over, and therefore, rebellion towards your earthly father and the way he disciplined or failed to discipline you?
You Are Responsible
12-16 Could it be that what you yearn for in the natural realm is symbolic of what you really yearn for in the spiritual realm that only God can provide?
Heroin use – Because some people who use it see no other alternative in life, they choose to escape into a counterfeit paradise. They want out of this life for some reason, it does not satisfy them, there is no purpose or they find it too painful.
If they knew the truth about God and His kingdom and the reality of the spiritual realm, would they choose the narrow gate instead of a quick fix?
“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” -Matthew 7:13-14
We need to break free from our misconception of God – legalistic, conditional, distant, unjust, etc…and see Him as compassionate, loving, and just, – fulfilling righteousness which is ultimately displayed in the sacrifice and atonement of His son Jesus. We need to admit that we are sinners and have repeated Adam and Eve’s sin, which desires independence from God, deciding for ourselves what is good and evil.
“…You have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.” – Romans 8:12-14
You can live in your fallen nature according to the wisdom of this world or you can live by the power of the Holy Spirit as an obedient child of God.
YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE -Do you understand God’s ultimatum? He has provided a great escape, and it is much different than the world’s way of escape. You can choose the way of eternal life (God’s paradise) which bears the fruit of contentment, maturity, character building, sense of value and purpose … or the way of deception, a temporary high through drug use (counterfeit paradise) which leads to death and bears the fruit of irresponsibility, unaccountability, lack of self- control, and selfishness.
You are responsible:
“If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.” –Genesis 4:7
God has provided the right way to live:
“Now to Him who by the power at work within us is able to do far more abundantly than all we ask or think…” – Ephesians 3:20
The Forbidden Fruit Revisited
2-2-17 Heroin abusers were lured out of this world of hell on earth for a deceitful quick fix. They experience a temporary euphoria, an imitation euphoria that does not even compare to being in the presence of Jesus and being filled with the power of the Holy Spirit.
Adam chose the forbidden fruit and God provided a way out.
You may have never been taught properly about this way out, so you fell for the imitation version through drugs. After understanding about the true Christian walk in the power of the Holy Spirit, if you had the choice – would you choose the way of the narrow road (following Christ) or would you take the easy way out through the temporary imitation euphorical version of paradise through drug abuse?
If you choose Jesus, will He grant you a supernatural deliverance, given that you now know, you now have true incentive to deal with pain and the power to face the reality of hell on earth? You may trip and fall at first, but ultimately you should be able to gain strength and rise above weariness with the wings like eagles. Are you really willing to live in the full freedom that God provides or do you like being dependent on people? (Man and his human wisdom).
Why would God deliver you if you have no desire to live the only way to be truly and permanently free, by being filled with the power of His Holy Spirit? Otherwise, you will be prone to turn back to an imitation paradise through drug abuse since you have no power in the flesh to overcome anything permanently.
True Freedom
2-17-17 “…so God sees us on the cross sanctified; for when Jesus died, God judged and destroyed our sins.” – Christ Crucified by Adolph Saphir, pg. 36
You may be thinking “How can that be? I find myself thinking impure thoughts and doing things that are not holy, my sins are not destroyed, I still need forgiveness every day.” There is sin and there are sins. We are delivered from our sinful nature by the atonement of Jesus, He took the punishment for them all. Even so, we are not perfect, only Christ in us is perfect. To walk in His perfection by the power of the Holy Spirit is a life-long process, forsaking our sinful nature and submitting to His nature in us.
While on this fallen earth we will still be taunted and tempted by Satan until he is finally destroyed; and in our weakness we will stumble and fall into his ways although our heart and dedication is to desire to be holy. Sanctification is a process, it takes time as we grow stronger in our relationship with God.
But just as the original sin is forgiven once and for all, providing us with eternal life, our many sins are forgiven seventy times seven a day until we are made perfect when the Lord returns. This is what true freedom is, knowing that there is no condemnation if you have accepted Jesus to be your Lord and Savior. If you can truly accept this amazing unconditional love from God, which is no light matter, then you will be able to humbly experience this ultimate freedom.
From a moral point of view, if you find yourself repeatedly being drawn into addiction or some habitual sin (aside from the chemical dependence), then you probably don’t understand the full meaning of God’s unconditional love displayed on the cross, the Just (Jesus) died for the unjust (all descendants of Adam), we are free from all punishment – there is no fear in love. Is there anything more desirable than receiving the free gift of God’s unconditional love?
Maybe it’s fear keeping you distant from God because you don’t understand the purpose of the law. The law (and whatever your standards of being good, right and true are) was given to show that we are sinful if we break it. So we are continually walking around feeling condemned, with a guilty conscience, feeling unworthy and rejected by God, because we are always falling short of His standard, and therefore in need of a Savior.
But Christ fulfilled the law, replacing it with love. We obey it now not out of fear or because we have to, we obey it because we want to, and when we fail to keep it we are not condemned because now we realize we are not perfect, we are sinners and free to admit it now that we know we are forgiven by God and won’t be punished. We just have to stand tall and be thankful that He does not look at our flesh and its weakness and failures but at the presence of Christ in us whom we now depend on to overcome our sins, and we no longer desire to lean on our own understanding but fully submit to Him as Lord. This is what it means to be righteous before God, His presence in us is our righteousness.
You are set free from the bondage of the law that served its purpose in proving to you that you are a sinner before God in need of a Savior. There is nothing to fear now, love is our incentive to obey the Lord by the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. So, morally speaking, what is your excuse for addiction? Aside from the chemical dependence, do you really want to quit abusing drugs?
Formless and Void
2-7-19 Genesis 1:2 “Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.”
Formless (tohu GK 9332) This is also the meaning of tohu in Deut. 32:10. There “formless”(tohu) is parallel to the terms for “desert”(midbar) – an uninhabitable wasteland. This passage depicts Israel’s time of waiting for 40 years in the wilderness – before their entry into the land. The prophets draw from the same source to depict God’s judgment of exile. When Israel disobeyed God, the land becomes again “uninhabitable” (tohu), and the people are sent into exile.
Jeremiah said, “I looked at the earth, and it was formless and empty; and at the heavens and their light was gone…The fruitful land was a desert.” (Jer. 4:23-26)
-The Expositor’s Bible Commentary
This seems comparable to a person addicted to heroin. Their body has become a wasteland, feeding it with drugs (pharmakeia-sorcery, witchcraft), things not of God, cursing their bodies rather than feeding it life – man does not live by bread alone but by the word of God – there is more to life than the physical, there is a spiritual reality, the word of God, the spiritual bread that gives us understanding to His spiritual existence and ways which are true life, that leads to eternity.
5331 pharmakeia; gen. pharmakeias, fem. Noun from pharmakon (n.f.), a drug, which in the Greek writers is used both for a curative or medicinal drug, and also as a poisonous one. Pharmakeia means the occult, sorcery, witchcraft, illicit pharmaceuticals, trance, magical incantation with drugs (Gal. 5:20; Rev. 9:21; 18:23; Sept.: Ex 7:22; Is. 47:9, 12).
-The Complete Word Study Series – Spiros Zodhiates Th.D.
Pain is Inevitable
1-17 The desire to be in a state of paradise, euphoria, being pain-free through our own devices doesn’t compare to eternity with Christ. We are to practice self-control now from escapism habits – sex, drugs, etc., and be responsible – trust in God and understand the Gospel, and the temporary suffering and pain that comes with it.
Make Your Move
1-3-17 I don’t know how or why you became addicted, but I do know that heroin is a drug that is stronger than you to be able to just walk away from. The cost is hell on earth – lowering your moral standards by doing things you never would be doing before you took the drug, such as lying, stealing, spending every penny you own and selling everything you have, even your soul, stripping yourself of dignity and self-worth; by becoming blinded of your responsibilities and accountability to others and yourself in the desire to escape from reality; and by giving in to a false hope through the deception of being in a sensual place of an imitation, artificial temporary paradise.
But God is so much stronger than the power of heroin. The truth is greater than the lie. He said “You shall know the truth and the truth will make you free” (John 8:32). The paradise He
offers is eternal, and it starts here on earth, starting when you accept Him into your life as Lord, something you wouldn’t do unless you are convinced of the truth that can make you free – that God is a loving God and He loves you unconditionally. But He is not going to make you choose real life. “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him.” (John 6:44), “Or do you despise the riches of His kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?” (Romans 2:4). He makes the first move; you have to make the second move.
Don’t Be Deceived
6-2-19 Heroin – People are born into a fallen nature that is saturated with self-motivation and indulgences, making it hard for them to see that life is meant to be any different than what it appears to be. Look at the effects of heroin on a person. It mentally transports them to a sensational place so different from their natural state of mind, and the more they use it the more it rewires their brain to become dependent on it. But the experience turns out to be bitter sweet. It seems phenomenal at first but soon enough they realize this pleasure can only be had at the cost of their life, a slow death. They start to lose self-control, and become totally dependent on a drug that will make them lose their job, their family, their self-worth, their dignity, and eventually their life.
The fall of man has the same effect on us, being tempted to indulge in self-dependence, we experience the spiritual death of being separated from God and we have become blinded from knowing we were meant to be of God’s image and what that’s all about. We are so blinded it took God to come and save us through the sacrifice of His only Son, Jesus, who showed us all about the true nature that we were meant to have which is to be selfless, humble and dependent on God our Creator.
No Turning Back
1-30-19 Once you go through heroin recovery, if you use again there is a higher risk of dying, so there is no turning back.
When you become a born-again Christian, if you decide to forsake the Lord and go back to the ways of the flesh, you will spiritually die, so there is no turning back.
If you really Know Jesus for who He really is, you would not want to turn back.
Here is a song about hope by The Dust of Men:
What the Morning Shows by The Dust of Men
As I look at the predicament of addiction and I see a parallelism of the story of salvation.
God did not put us on the earth so that we would be fearful of a power (Satan), (drug), greater than us.
A Letter From God for those overcoming or struggling with addiction