“I commit my life to recovery God’s way.”
So far the focus has been on Belief as being at the core of how TRT works. The discussion has been on the progression of confidence in the therapist, to hope in the irrational notion of belief in what is unseen, to the experience of the empowering work of God, to faith that not only is God able but that God will as he is sought.
The sustaining effectiveness of TRT is in the lifestyle of commitment to living recovery God’s way because of what the recovering person believes about God everyday for everything. As perceptions of God translate into tangible knowledge of God (confidence that God can and God will), the values and priorities of recovering people change. They can know by experience that God was involved in their lives before, is involved in their lives now, and will continue to be involved in their lives. The more hope and faith is realized by personal experience, the more this relationship with God is grounded in knowledge and fact.
The Bible in Romans chapter 12, verses 1 and 2 states, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
The Apostle Paul wrote this to the church in Rome about the lifestyle of committed recovery submitted to the care of God. This is the Scripture that the AA third step came from, all the way down to “as I understood Him”.
The Scripture begins with “In view of God’s mercy”, meaning “As I came to believe” or, “As I understood Him”. The AA third step says, “Made a conscious decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.” The Scripture tells recovering people to sacrificially resist addictive urges by offering their bodies to God. It is with our bodies that we actively function in the world. While we cannot control the conditional mortality of the human body, we generally have the physical ability to act with our bodies—what we look at and attend to with our eyes; reach out and touch, grab and hold onto with our arms and hands; where we go and stay with our legs and feet; what comes in and goes out of our mouths; what we say with our voice and listen to with our ears.
What We Do: Outside-In Recovery
What recovering people are taught from TRT strategies is to practice external recovery from the outside in. TRT clients learn to talk to the person of Jesus Christ with their voices. The Bible teaches recovering people to go to God with everything, stating, “Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon. Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:5-7, NLT)
Scripture is addressing specifically and practically how to practice outside in recovery through bodily actions and behavior. We’re instructed to vocally talk to God, thanking him for his provision and help, then telling him what we need and want while actively demonstrating consideration to others. Then, we’re promised the experience of God’s peace in our relationship with Christ. The progression from recovery behavior and prayer to experiencing God’s peace is from the outside in.
Often times, clients new to recovery do not have recognition or insight in how to behave in, or respond to particular circumstances. They may not feel at all confident in situations and relationships, especially when there is conflict and/or uncertainty. TRT again directs clients to use their voice to address God and ask for knowledge and insight. “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.” (James 1:5) God is faithful to respond to prayer and will provide wisdom to recovering people who trust him enough to ask for wisdom.
What God does: Inside-Out Recovery
William L. White, in his well-known book, “Slaying the Dragon: The History of Addiction Treatment and Recovery in America”, devotes an entire chapter to what he refers to as religious conversion as a treatment method. Mr. White wrote about individuals and organizations, such as the Salvation Army (‘recovery’ is a synonym for the word ‘salvation’), who have considered religious conversion as a viable, if not essential, treatment method for long-term recovery for well over one hundred years. Mr. White, while writing favorably about religious conversion as a successfully effective treatment tool, also cites critics of religious conversion. Critics tend to suggest that “religious conversion” is a mere temporary fix to achieve initial sobriety by means of fanaticism but does not necessarily address permanence in the overall objective of recovery.
Transformative Recovery is not a new religion requiring conversion. It is a sensible means for developing lifestyle changes that advance the cause of freedom in a person’s life. It is the way by which recovering people change what they do but, by letting go of what they cannot control anyway, give way for God to work transformative change in their lives from the inside out. Inside out would mean the active participation of God systematically changing how the brain responds to sensory stimuli. It means that God is proactively influencing the way the mind thinks so that behavior is more emotionally “mindful” and less emotionally reactive. Transformative Recovery is not so much religious conversion as it is an active relationship with God as one comes to believe.
“Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Romans 12:1-2, NIV)
What we do as recovering people is work a discipline of recovery-oriented behavior from the outside in by positioning ourselves to be transformed by the power of God—what God does from the inside out. The word ‘transformed’ according to its Greek translation (the New Testament was originally written in the Greek language) is ‘metamorphoo’, meaning to metamorphous, or to change from one form to another; like a caterpillar changing into a butterfly.
When gripped by patterns of addictive behavior, we reap its consequences, which in turn, stifle our growth. It’s as though we are stuck in unhealthy adverse circumstances, moving very slowly and seemingly not getting anywhere. When we commit our intentions and activity to recovery God’s way, he promises to completely change us, setting us free from the captivity of addictive behavior. The metaphor for this transformation is the metamorphosis from caterpillar to butterfly. God gives committed recovering people wings.
Recovering people can painfully make the choice, today, to not go to the bar or liquor store, or to not have that drink, but what about tomorrow? Is their sufficient power of the will to sustain recovery? What Scripture mandates is that when, as recovering people, we commit to change from the outside in, then God is commits to change us from the inside out. “Trust in the Lord and do good. Then you will live safely in the land and prosper. Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires. Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him, and he will help you.” (Psalm 37:3-5) As we behave better by our actions in recovery, God spiritually replaces our desires and intentions with his godly desires and intentions. He renews our minds. God rewires our brains to work as he created our brains to work.
The New Living Translation of the Bible (Romans 12:2) says to “let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think”. As God transforms our brain, renewing our mind, we think differently, like he thinks, and we then want what he wants. And what he wants for us is his best so that we can be at our best. It is not God’s objective to transform recovering people into numb, mind-controlled robots. It is God’s plan that all people experience the fulfillment of a stable quality life contented and free.
When-Then Investment in Recovery
When there is an action then there is a reaction. When there is a cause then there is an effect. This is the reality of addiction and recovery. Addictive behavior begets one set of consequences while recovery-driven behavior begets another. When we submit to influences and urges that trigger addictive behavior, it may seem like fun or bring relief for a time, but then will in the end result in destructive consequences. When we submit to the transformative power of God in recovery, the end result is that we then possess the resources at God’s disposal that know no bounds.
