📰 In Today’s Edition
A Challenge for You
A Program Versus a Person in Recovery
The Person of Jesus in Recovery
and more.
📝 A LETTER FROM DUSTIN
There’s a period in my recovery journey that I don’t talk about often. It was the 6 months after I got home from treatment.
From the outside, I was doing all the right things. I was going to recovery meetings, regularly seeing my therapist, and working through recovery materials. I was running the "program." But on the inside, I was dying. I was still slipping, constantly battling temptation, and drowning in the feeling that I was a complete and utter failure.
As I had to weekly admit to my continued slips during one of my weekly group meetings, the shame mounted. The program had worked for others, so why wasn't it working for me? The steps felt like a ladder I kept falling off of.
I was dangerously close to giving up.
Then, after one of those meetings, a friend from the group reached out. He didn’t give me a new worksheet or another book to read. He didn’t lecture me about "trying harder."
He just looked at me and said something that changed everything:
"Don't give up, even though you feel like it. Borrow my belief. You can do this even if you don't think you can. I know you can. I believe in you. Borrow my belief in you."
In that moment, I understood the difference between a program and a person.
A program can give you a map, but it can’t walk with you when you’re lost. A program can give you steps, but it can’t pick you up when you fall.
My friend didn't offer me a new solution; he offered me his belief. He saw a man who was capable when all I could see was a failure. That belief—borrowed from someone who had walked through the fire himself—was more powerful than any step-by-step guide.
Programs are essential. They provide structure and wisdom. But a program will never look you in the eye and say, "I believe in you." Only a person can do that.
A Challenge for You
This week, I want you to ask yourself one of two questions, depending on where you are:
If you're struggling: Who in your life has a belief in you that you can borrow right now? Be courageous enough to reach out to that person and tell them you need it.
If you're feeling strong: Who in your life is running on empty and needs to borrow your belief? Your simple, honest encouragement could be the turning point they've been praying for.
Recovery isn't just about following a plan. It's about carrying hope for each other.
For Freedom,
Dustin
The Difference Between a Program and a Person
A Program | A Person |
|---|---|
Gives you a map | Walks the road with you |
Provides information | Provides hope and belief |
Offers a checklist | Offers connection |
Shows you what is wrong | Says, “I’ve been there too.” |
Is a structure to follow | Is a safe place to fall |
Is a tool you use | Is a brother you lean on |
Tells you what to do | Reminds you who you are |
Offers a solution | Offers support |
✝ THE PERSON OF JESUS IN RECOVERY
For many of us in recovery, our journey starts with a program. We are handed a set of steps, a list of rules, and a map that promises to lead us from bondage to freedom. These programs are good gifts; they provide structure, wisdom, and a proven path. But a map is not a companion. A set of rules is not a relationship.
If we only have a program, we will eventually find it is not enough. We will hit a wall where our own willpower fails and the checklist cannot heal the deepest wounds in our hearts. Why? Because a program can't love you. A program can't offer you grace. That is the work of a person. And for us, that person is Jesus.
When we look at our recovery through the lens of a relationship with Him, everything changes.
1. A program gives you a map; Jesus walks the road with you.
A map is useful, but it can't offer encouragement when the road gets steep. It can't sit with you when you're exhausted and want to quit. Jesus promised his followers, "I am with you always, to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:20). On the road to Emmaus, he didn't just give his disciples a scroll and point them in the right direction; He came alongside them, listened to their doubts, and walked with them in their confusion. In your recovery, Jesus is always available and present in every step and stumble.
2. A program measures your progress; Jesus offers you grace.
Programs often run on metrics: How many days have you been sober? How many steps have you completed? This can be helpful, but it can also become a new form of legalism where our worth is tied to our performance. When the Pharisees brought the woman caught in adultery to Jesus, they saw her as a failure to be condemned by the law (the "program" of the day). Jesus saw a person in need of grace. He didn't ignore her sin, but he met her with compassion, saying, "Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more" (John 8:11). Jesus is not holding a clipboard to check your progress; He's holding open arms to offer you grace and strength.
3. A program tells you what you did wrong; Jesus says, "I've been there too."
The book of Hebrews tells us we have a high priest who can "sympathize with our weaknesses...one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin" (Hebrews 4:15). When temptation is strong, a program can only give you a rule to follow. Jesus offers you His strength and presence in the process. He faced temptation in the wilderness. He knows the desires of the flesh and the spiritual battle raging in your soul. He doesn't just see your struggle; He wants to provide you a way out (1 Corinthians 10:13).
4. A program is a structure to follow; Jesus is a safe place to fall.
Following a structure is vital, but what happens when you fail? A rigid program can feel unforgiving. Think of Peter. He was a key part of Jesus's "program," yet he failed in the most spectacular way, denying Jesus three times. When he met Jesus on the beach after the resurrection, he wasn't met with a performance review. He was met with a fire, a meal, and a gentle question: "Do you love me?" (John 21:17). Jesus restored him, not because Peter had earned it, but because Jesus's love has always been a safe place for even the biggest failure to land.
5. A program tells you what to do; Jesus reminds you of who you are.
Ultimately, a program is about doing. Our relationship with Jesus is about being. A program can help modify your behavior, but only Jesus can give you a new identity. He doesn't just see you as an addict trying to get clean; He sees you as a son He loves. The Apostle Paul writes, "if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come" (2 Corinthians 5:17). Your recovery is not just about stopping a bad habit; it's about stepping into the identity that Jesus won for you—an identity as a beloved, forgiven, and empowered child of God.
By all means, use the tools your program provides. But never mistake the tool for the Savior. Trust Jesus. Walk with Him. Receive His grace. Find your true identity in Him.
❔ Have you invited Jesus into your recovery?
In 2024 in the US, 10,227 cases of human trafficking were reported. What percent of those cases involved sex trafficking?
— Scroll to the bottom for the answer
🎶 A Song Worth Listening To
“I am a Child of God”: This song is a great reminder of our NEW identity in Christ. When we are in Christ, we are no longer slaves but instead we are His sons and daughters! This is my favorite line in the song, when we can declare the truth, “I am a child of God.” Take moment to listen to this song and declare your identity in Christ!
So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.
Galatians 31:26-27 (NIV)
TRIVIA QUESTION ANSWER (from above)
In 2024 in the US, 10,227 cases of human trafficking were reported. What percent of those cases involved sex trafficking?
ANSWER: 78.1% of reported human trafficking cases involved sex trafficking. That is 8,007 reported cases of sex trafficking in the US in 2024. You can learn more at the National Human Trafficking Hotline’s website.
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Till next time,
Dustin
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