Recovery Step 1: In the Trenches

It is a forgotten time, written off as too distant to matter any longer except to a few historians. Yet at the time it was considered something to never be forgotten; they called it the war to end all wars. Of course that title proved grossly incorrect as World War II broke out just twenty years later. I recently watched 1917, a movie about a British soldier’s desperate attempt to get a critical message through German territory to other British units. When I think of World War I, several things come immediately to mind, one of them being the sinking of the Lusitania by a German U-boat, another is trench warfare. I suppose there are relatively few Americans that know much about WW1’s history or the horrors of trench warfare. Even the phrase, “in the trenches” used in reference to struggling through the hardship of some personal crisis is not a phrase often heard any longer. I am not going to give you a historical overview of WW1, but let me assure you that battle in the trenches of WW1 proved terrifying in many ways. You can look it up if you want more info, let me just say deep mud and water, overflowing toilets, dead bodies, disease, and nightly swarms of rats.

By comparison, maybe being stuck in your house isn’t as bad as you thought it was getting to be. We are now heading into a second, or is this the third week of quarantine due to covid19. It is a serious health issue and we do need to take it seriously. I don’t know what the rest of 2020 will bring but I can say that if the Lord tarries long enough, this outbreak will be forgotten like the trenches of WW1 and, oh yes, the Spanish-flu (H1N1) outbreak of 1918. It had already started by the end of WW1. That flu epidemic affected an estimated 500 million people and an estimated 50 million people died from it, 675,000 in the US. How many of us remembered that? It is written in the history books, you know, the ones no one reads because history is supposedly irrelevant.

Maybe being quarantined in your comfortable home with running water, heat, electricity, and yes, flushing toilets isn’t so bad. By the way, toilet paper was sold commercially for the first time in 1857, created by a man named Joseph Gayetty. I know that seems like a long time ago, but wide-spread use of such a product didn’t happen until much later and that means that mankind survived without TP for thousands of years (don’t get me started on the millions and billions of years thing).

I don’t know how things are at your house. I suppose that it gets pretty lonely if you are by yourself and that it is possible that things get a little testy if you are not alone. Both of those situations are frustrating and take a toll on you. Those situations, compounded with the stress of health concerns for yourself and people you care about, and not being able to do things you need to do because so many businesses are closed or government offices are completely overloaded, are a breeding ground of trouble. The trenches in WW1 bred all kinds of disease, stress and strife. In such times, people naturally seek some form of escape or at least a coping mechanism. For many, that leads to some kind of addiction. An opioid epidemic began during and after the American Civil War. Morphine and cocaine addiction was rampant during and after WW1. WW2 brought amphetamines and Nazi Germany even distributed Pervitin pills (early crystal meth) to the soldiers of the Third Reich. In Vietnam it was dextroamphetamine, twice as potent as the Benzedrine of WW2. Besides this, speed, marijuana, opium and heroine were also commonly used. Then of course there is always, alcohol, prostitution and sex crimes that must be mentioned as common addictions during and after all wars.

Right now you may be thinking, Wow, Pastor Mark, this is a really depressing blog you’ve got going for us. Talking about addiction and how it reaches out to us, particularly in times of stress, conflict and isolation can certainly be depressing, especially if it hits home. Sorry I had to do this, but what I really want to do now is encourage you with other options.

Look, you can’t sit around being depressed from isolation or interpersonal conflict with those you live with and care about. That will drive you to seek escape or some artificial way of coping that is addictive. That includes not only food, alcohol, drugs and sex, but also gossiping on the phone or social media. Those are all options, sinful ones, but they are options that many people are going to right now. You cannot dwell on difficult circumstances and think you won’t seek some way of artificial escape. There are better options for dealing with your current circumstances.

Recall a post on our firstbaptistchurchnb.blogspot,com site not long ago titled “Blind Bartimaeus.” In that post I encouraged you to find ways throughout each day to focus on the Father, Son and Holy Spirit through praise and thanksgiving. You can do that through music, talking to a brother or sister in Christ, and certainly through reading the Word. It is a must.

So, what you need to do is stop dwelling on the negative, fearful, stressful things by focusing instead upon the glory of God, upon who He is, and upon the abundant grace poured out upon you by Him. If you are discouraged, or worried or fearful, you need to open your Bible to Ephesians 1, Romans 8, Hebrews 1 and 11, Colossians 1, Philippians, Psalm 32, Job 38-40 and a great many other passages. Put on some of your favorite praise music and let it vibrate the walls of your house. Call a brother or sister in Christ and tell them how much they mean to you and then pray with them and for them, over the phone.

If you feel like the walls are closing in on you, like darkness is creeping closer, then let the Light shine! As a believer in Jesus Christ you are a child of Light. For “God is Light and in Him is no darkness at all…walk in the Light as He is in the Light” (1 John 1:6-7). “You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous Light” ( 1 Peter 2:9).

Stand up and praise the Lord, for He is eternally good and caring and powerful and sovereign and loving, and that includes today and tomorrow! Doing so is not merely finding some way of escape, it is the way to find strength and healing for your soul.

Grace and Peace,

Pastor Mark

SOS

Adrift.
Imagine yourself on a life raft out on the vast ocean. The water is fairly calm, just gentle rolling waves of about eight inches. The sun is shielded by a thin cloud cover for which you are thankful. For even though your bright orange inflatable raft is enclosed, the unshielded sun beating down makes it very hot. You have a supply of fresh water and even some food so no real crisis there yet. The immediate problems are fear, isolation, depression and the need to be rescued, to send out an SOS.

Now, you are not really in a life raft on the ocean. You’re at home and you’ve got water, food, maybe even some of that precious toilet paper. There’s internet access, a fully charged cell phone and a car parked outside. You’re life raft right now is your home. The threats you face are fear, isolation, depression and the need for other people. Unfortunately your SOS right now may be greater temptation, isolated in that Same Old Situation.

See, God made us in His image, and part of that means having relationships. For us it’s family members, friends, neighbors, co-workers, etc. Phone calls are nice, video chat is a little better, but these are not the same as time face-to-face. We weren’t designed to do life alone; we were designed to do life together.

Some of you know that I served on the US Navy submarine, USS Stonewall Jackson. The crew’s compliment was around 150 men. They were good shipmates and our lives depended upon one another. I developed some good friendships during that time, but being isolated from family and friends back home was a challenge. There was no communication, no seeing them or even hearing their voices. It was harder on the guys who were married and harder yet for their wives and children I suppose. We were designed to be together.

In Luke 15:8-32 Jesus told the parable of the prodigal son. Take a moment right now to stop and read that passage.

So, a man had two sons. The older one stays home and takes care of his responsibilities while the younger one asks for his inheritance, only to go spend it on parties and pleasures until it was gone. Once the money ran out, he found himself in great want and ended up feeding pigs, realizing that the swine were eating better than he was. He decides to return home and beg for mercy, and a job as a hired hand. Now, Jesus doesn’t give the younger son’s motivation for leaving in the first place. Maybe the young man felt like he was being controlled, that he had no freedom to choose. Maybe he wanted to go and live the fast life. Maybe he was tired of the responsibilities and wanted to cut loose. Obviously, Jesus purposely didn’t specify the reason; there could be any number of reasons why the younger son wanted to leave. You can fill in your own reason.

We all know there is more than one way to isolate. We can be totally alone in our isolation or we can be isolated into a great crowd. The younger son isolated himself from his family, and particularly his father, by running off to another place. That other place was filled with people who cared nothing about him; they just benefited from his money. So he isolated from caring people and connected himself to people who did not care about him.

Once he lost everything and all his new friends isolated themselves from him, he found himself adrift in a pigs’ pen, his raft surrounded by swine. Like the survivor on the ocean, this man had no way to rescue himself. Every effort he made to do so landed him in the muck and mire of the pen. Every step he took in any direction was mud and filth.

Now, he could have stayed there, could have died there. Realizing his current condition and his fate drove him to reality. The façade of the outward appearance where everything was great in his world crashed down around him. The fact of his depravity of heart, self-willed pleasure seeking, and brokenness was all that remained.

The famous novel starts out, “It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.” The novel, of course, is The Tale of Two Cities. I remember reading that novel when I was in high school. Well, let’s be honest; I read the first five pages or so and then bought the Cliff Notes. The result of my façade was a D in English that semester. That phrase from the first paragraph of the book contributed to my discouragement to continue reading; it made no sense. What kind of foolishness is this simultaneous best of times and worst of times thing?

As the years of my life progressed, that phrase hung with me and I began to understand how such dichotomy was possible. For instance, I understand how we present an outer façade of life being good, when inside we are a mess. It’s like trying to live two separate lives, the real one that we keep hidden and the fake one that we try to show everyone else. We sell that it is the best of times to our friends, family, and co-workers, but know it is actually the worst of times and we’re hanging on by a tread, headed for disaster.

I picture the young son of Luke 15 doing that very thing as the money started running low. He was in denial, having the pleasures of sin for a season and just wanting it to continue. So, he made everyone think that all was well. Meanwhile, he knew it was about to come crashing down and he’d be alone without any of his new-found vices. Well, standing in the muck of the pig pen, there was no pretending; not for anyone else and not for himself either. He was broken and alone.

Perhaps your living room is more of a pig pen than anyone knows. You’ve been living the good life, doing things your way and then out of nowhere comes the coronavirus outbreak. Suddenly you are forced to isolate in many ways. Again, if you were brutally honest, this mandated isolation is a relief because it is much easier to continue the false front, making anyone who isn’t within your four walls believe that all is well, or at least okay. No one sees you standing in the mud pit. One the other hand, it is far worse because the isolation is an excuse to binge, or reason to give in, and that can only bring disaster. If the young son in Jesus’ parable had stayed in the pit, he would have died there and we wouldn’t be talking about this story nearly two thousand years later. He didn’t stay there, he trudged his way out of the deep muck and started the long walk home, but he had to come to grips with the reality of his situation first. Then, he had to realize that his only hope was to go to his father.

Jesus’ parable illustrates essential truth. We must come to face the reality that on our own we are lost and without hope. Whether we are adrift on the ocean in a life raft, or adrift in a pig pen covered in filth, or sitting in our living room waiting for corona to pass. The only answer is going to our Father through the redemption available by the Blood of His Son, Jesus Christ. But that is just the start, and maybe you’ve already been washed by the Blood; yet you’re still sitting in your living room, isolated with a supply of alcohol, or porn on the screen, or talking gossip over the phone, or whatever.

Coming to the Father through Jesus is the start of your relationship with Him. What needs to happen is that you must cling to the Father and to Jesus through the Holy Spirit. Luke 15:20-24 tell of the reunion between father and the son that came home, but notice the end of Jesus’ parable in Luke 15:31-32. The father is explaining to the angered older son why there is rejoicing and a feast in the house, “Son (older) you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found.” The father explained that he already enjoyed a relationship with his older son, and now the younger son, who was lost, is home again and the relationship restored.

It is all about relationships.

In that life raft that is your living room right now, remember some basic truth…

First, you can’t do this alone. I don’t know exactly what your “this” might be. Maybe it’s avoiding a relapse with alcohol or other substance. Maybe it’s staying away from those porn sites while you’re working in the privacy of your home. Maybe it’s not falling into the trap of gossip on social media or texting. Maybe it’s not running around trying to fix everyone else’s problem as your co-dependency ramps up. Whatever it is, you can’t do the right thing on your own. The temptations right now are at a high level. Isolation does that. It’s a fact.

Second, you need to stay in contact with other people. You need to maintain relationships with brothers and sisters in Christ by any means you can. If you have been attending our Celebrate Recovery we will be calling you during the regular meeting time. If you have not been attending, call or text me at 724.846.3830 and I’ll get you on a call list. Pray for one another, it unites your heart to theirs through the Spirit even as it unites your heart to God.

Third, and most importantly you have to stay connected to the Lord through prayer and time in the Word. He is the only One who is with you always, in every moment and every time of trial or temptation. Lean upon Him.

Don’t let your SOS be the Same Old Situation. Let it be your relationship with God and your brothers and sisters in Christ that you cling to through prayer and contact. By the way, I want to assure my tenth grade English teacher that I did eventually read The Tale of Two Cities. It only took another thirty or so years. Any chance I can get a few bonus points to bump that old grade up to a C?

Grace and Peace,

Pastor Mark

On-line meetings due to coronavirus

With the rapidly changing situation in the world, the US and here in Beaver County, PA due to the coronavirus, it is hard to keep up these days. The decision to suspend meeting times for our Celebrate Recovery and our church proves equally difficult. On one hand we must consider the instructions from our government leaders and medical experts who tell us that we must isolate as much as possible. On the other hand, we know that isolation, combined with stressful situations is a breeding ground for addiction and relapse. As a result of this dilemma, we are pursuing a new course of action. First, lessons will be posted on both this CR blog and our church blog throughout the weeks that this continues. A link to the other blog is located on the right side of this screen. Second, we will be making phone calls to those interested during our normal meeting times and as needed. If you would like to be included in receiving a call or text, please send a text indicating such to our Recovery and Restoration Church phone number which is 724.846.3830. You can also email us at firstbaptistchurchnb@gmail.com. You can also post any questions or comment you may have about these blogs.

So, here we are, unable to meet. The Celebrate Recovery meetings we hold each Tuesday evening continue to be highlights in my week. Since January, much of our discussion time centered on codependency, even as we moved through Steps 1-4. Over the past couple weeks we have continued on with Step 4’s spiritual inventory in our personal time while moving onto Step 5-6 as a group. Step 6 is where we pick up in next week’s on-line session. For tonight, however, a few words about getting through the virus crisis and shut-down.

I like to begin each session with a passage of Scripture and this week I’ll encourage you to again focus on Ephesians 5:15-21, “See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another in the fear of God.” (NKJV)

The days upon us right now are uncertain at best, fearful and threatening also come to mind. Danger seems to be lurking and closing in, danger from the virus itself, but also from the isolation. We all know addictions love to isolate us so we must walk carefully, redeeming the time and not being foolish. We must maintain contact with each other so when I or someone else from CR or church calls you, answer. You need to reach out as well. More than that, though, you need to cling more than ever the One who is with you all the time, no matter how isolated you are. God is always with you and always gives a way of escape when temptation comes (READ 1 Corinthians 10:13 and context). Seriously, get your Bible and read that now.

We know we can’t experience recovery on our own, we need each other, but most of all we need our Father God, His Son Jesus Christ, and His Holy Spirit. Spend time in His Word, more than you usually do. Just read, read, read; it will refocus your mind. And don’t just skim through, take time to study it, let it soak in, take notes…taking notes in a notebook is a great way to read because it slows you down and you can record thoughts and questions as you go. Besides Ephesians 5, I would encourage you to read 1 John (in the NT just a couple pages before Revelation) and 1 Peter.

Once again, feel free to contact me via the phone and/or email listed above. Tomorrow’s post on the church blog will be about fear.

May the Lord watch over you, protect you, and keep you close to Him.

Grace and Peace,

Pastor Mark