This Week In Recovery Lesson
Between The Rock and a Hard Place
For most, the commitment to recovery is not so easily settled. The title to this week’s recovery lesson is a play on the expression, “between a rock and a hard place”, which suggests that there is no way out. The irony is that people caught in the throes of addiction are between a rock and a hard place. The rock for them might be crack cocaine, and the hard place is where a crack addict has to land at some point. For folks addicted to their selfishness, which the Bible calls sin, are caught between acting out in their selfish sin and the hard place they have to land on at some point. The sinner does not want the consequence of the sin, but cannot seem to abstain from selfish urges toward the pleasure that results in some negative consequence.
The problem we all struggle with is our selfish sin nature. Even though we are free from the eternal consequences of sin when in real relationship with Jesus Christ, and free from the power and control of sin while we’re surrendered in our relationship with God (Romans 6), we continue to have the freedom to choose according to our selfish sin nature (Romans 7). Or, we can choose to commit to the new creation, transformed by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:1-2), living according to the Spirit of God alive in us (Romans 8). This conflict is known as ambivalence. Ambivalence is the result of feeling pulled in opposite directions. We are motivated to do one thing while simultaneously equally motivated to do the opposite of that thing. Ambivalence is the force of resistance at work in our recovery. Recovery means that we need to let go of obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviors that fuel our addiction to our self.
What is very real is the sense of loss we experience when we’re effective in our letting go. As we choose to submit to recovery God’s way, living according to His plan of blessing for us, it can be especially difficult to resist what we have believed we’ve needed to experience contentment. As we consider recovery, to not acknowledge our ambivalent feelings about our recovery is to be in denial with a tendency toward resistance to the work of recovery. Jesus said that “everyone who sins is a slave to sin” (John 8:34). We are addicted to sin.
Our addiction—that place between a rock and a hard place—is the process of continuing patterns of behavior that carry with it adverse consequences against ourselves and against those we love. The benefit of recovery from our sin addiction may outweigh the benefits of our addiction by a million to one, yet so often our addiction wins out and defeats us. We may become discouraged, depressed, or even despair. The devil will feed us lies about shame, perpetuating feelings of failure and unworthiness. As a remedy for these self-defeating thoughts and feelings that seem to be ingrained into the fiber of our consciousness, it becomes imperative that we go deeper into our addiction to sin to somehow experience relief through misguided avenues to pleasure and reward. Thus, cycle repeats itself again and again and again. That is why our ambivalence in recovery is a resistant force against the work God wants to do in us, and will if we get out of the way and allow Him to do what only He can do.
24 “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock.25 Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. 26 But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. 27 When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.”
28 When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, 29 for he taught with real authority—quite unlike their teachers of religious law. Matthew 7:24-29 (NLT)
Jesus Christ is The Rock! Religion will not save you from yourself. Catchy psychobabble will not empower you. If this teaching will not help you if you have not come to believe in the power and authority that comes in relationship with Christ. Addictive selfish sin is a slippery slimy slope into the pit of misery. Any pleasure or relief experienced indulging in old ways of pursuing remedy and redemption is temporary and fleeting. You need to be on the stable footing that is possible when standing on the rock as the foundation of your life.
- Describe the best you can the balancing act that you feel you are trying to walk between The Rock and the hard places in your life.
- How have you sought a remedy for feelings of stress?
- How have you sought a remedy for feelings of resentment?
- How have you sought a remedy for feelings of shame?
- How have you sought a remedy for feelings of failure?
- How have you sought a remedy for feelings of abandonment and rejection?
- How do you resolve the issue of loneliness?
- How do you manage the matter of boredom?
- How do you resolve matters of apathy and indifference?
- How would you describe your ambivalence concerning your responses to the previous questions?
Please proceed by clicking TWRAC 034 for this week’s application challenge.
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