Strength in Numbers

When I first started recovery, I felt empowered like never before. A strength not found in my earlier attempts to break free from my addiction. I found unity in the men who were in this group; I found what the Bible calls a threefold cord. It was God, me, and accountability.

During the initial time of entering recovery, there are different levels at which we feel this threefold cord. Some of us felt stronger than ever before. Others, however, have felt more exposed than ever before. Each one of us has had a different experience when we come to a program of recovery. Truth be told, it can be very overwhelming at first, regardless of the experience we had.

There is one aspect however, that is crucial to recovery: Unity.

               "Unity is our God given ability to have the same mindset as our brother."

               In recovery the mindset is to defeat the addiction, to adapt our lives, to live with a greater purpose in God, free of guilt and shame. Though many of us knew this before, many of us just didn’t have the strength to take the necessary steps. We were not unified with even ourselves.

“We admitted we were powerless over our addictions and compulsive behaviors, that our lives had become unmanageable.”

When we admit powerlessness, we do not admit defeat; we only admit that we need help. We admit that we need to be unified with ourselves, with God, and with other individuals who can grab us by the arms and pull us out of the mud.

If anything, when we admit we are powerless, we admit that we are fighting. We show bravery in the fact that we are fighting an enemy that is both dangerous and cunning. But most of all, when we admit our own powerlessness, we admit that we are stronger together. That we trust in God and his people, our people.

From here, accountability can grow, and the past we once lived turns into a barren field. One ripe with fertilizer to make new crops and new fruits in our lives. We don’t simply forget that we were powerless, but we use the gift of Unity to remind ourselves that we aren’t anymore.

“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brethren to dwell together in unity!”

Psalm 133:1 KJV

If you are in recovery

and do not feel like this is you, reach out to another. Reach for the strength God freely gives to us inside each other.

I am Gaven F.

A grateful believer in Jesus Christ.