Writing The True Christian Life, John Calvin said, “Warned by such evidences of their spiritual illness, believers profit by their humiliations. Robbed of their foolish confidence in the flesh, they take refuge in the grace of God. And when they have done so, they experience the nearness of the divine protection which is to them a strong fortress.”
I love Calvin’s imagery. Let’s apply it to recovery.
Addicts “profit by their humiliations” and “take refuge in the grace of God.” You have been humiliated by your addiction. But take heart. Better yet, take refuge – in the grace of the God who loves you still.
Nahum 1:7 reads, “The Lord is good, a strong refuge when trouble comes. He is close to those who trust him.”
Recovery Step: Meditate on these words, from an old Scottish hymn written in 1650.
“God is our refuge and our strength,
Our ever present aid.
And, therefore, though the earth remove,
We will not be afraid.
The Lord of Hosts is on our side,
Our safety to secure.
The Lord of Jacob is for us,
A refuge strong and sure.”
