Joy, God and Belonging
Andre Radmall, in his book, Insight into Addiction, writes the following: If addiction is caused by desire gone awry or desire bent towards the created rather than the Creator, then the solution is to enter into a passionate, emotional relationship with God in the Spirit and through Jesus. I certainly think the Trinity is characterised by joyful love . . . Psalm 37:4 states, ‘Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.’ (Radmall 2009, 80-81)
As seen in the Scriptures, God desires relationship with humanity and wants humanity to delight in Him. Radmall is convinced in this quote that a joy filled relationship with God, the Creator, could be a solution to addictive behaviours. John Piper (1986, 114) wrote, “Love is the overflow of joy in God that meets the needs of others.” Fernando (2008, 22, 27) reminds us that there is great joy in humanity. However, the greatest joy is found in God, as Psalm 16:11 shows us. Fernando also reminds us that special times of joy in community or relationship are just expressions of a joy that is already there, given to the believer by God. In his book on Idols, Hardyman writes, “In the real world . . . we can live lives of gladness and joy when we are satisfied by the love of God.” He suggests that idols of the heart will not be overcome until we are satisfied by God (Hardyman 2008, 171). Holcomb and Holcomb 2011, 77 write about the joy of the grace of adoption by God the Father, the ultimate joy of being God’s children. Honeysett, in his book on Finding Joy states: “Joy is always related to Jesus. There is no Christian joy that doesn’t come from knowing him, worshipping him and finding hope in him. There may be happiness in other things but not lasting joy . . . (Honeysett, 2005, 78).
An Excerpt from: The Impact of a Biblical Study of Joy in the Lives of those Struggling with Addictive Behaviors Sally Childress 2018.
People, who struggle with addictive, negative sinful habits often have stories or trauma, shame, isolation and deep human separation. I have not yet met a person, still using or acting out their life-controlling issues, who exudes joy and contentment. Such a person may know, or not know, they are searching for such a joy, and their habits become a poor unsatisfying fleeting substitute for this joy; leaving a person feeling so very empty and separated; Just maybe a role of the church is to show a joy, a community, a sense of family and belonging that the modern day prodigal and outsider, needs to experience and know.
Support groups can be a wonderful addition to a church body, where stories can be told, friends can be made, and the beginnings of a loving community can be experienced alongside connection with and to a loving God. The Word of God provides the foundation and guidelines for such a community. You might say that this is what happens in a home group/life group. In my experience, most of these groups are a Bible study group with application and listening when there is time. There is, of course, a place for this. I love delving into the Word. However, people struggling with major issues may not be able to take too much in at a time; if they do not find a place to share, discover the hope and freedom they so desperately need, and practical day to day application, we, as a church family, are not fully carrying out the role we need to play. Just maybe if we did, we may be surprised at the resulting joy; not only for the addicted…
Sally Childress
Co-Founder Free! Recovery