Dan Hitz is the director of Reconciliation Ministries of Michigan, Inc. He is a Licensed Professional Counselor specializing in helping men and women overcome sexual brokenness, sexual abuse, and trauma. You can find more recovery articles and testimonies on the Reconciliation Ministries website at https://recmin.org/newsletter-archives.

This article presents a brief look at some Bible verses that are helpful in whatever recovery situation you may find yourself in. Of course, there are many more recovery verses that aren’t included in this newsletter. Let us know which verses are the most helpful to you in your own recovery, especially if they aren’t included in this newsletter. We might include them in a future newsletter. You can send them to us via email at info@recmin.org.

18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; 19 to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” – Luke 4:18-19 NKJV

This is one my favorite recovery Scriptures. In the original language, the phrase “brokenhearted” means shards of glass like a broken mirror. Jesus knows that the trauma of life causes our hearts to break into pieces. The same part of our heart that is crying out for the Lord to deliver us from addiction and make us more like Him is not the same part of our heart sitting at our computer looking at porn. Jesus wants access to all the parts of our heart. He wants to heal the wounds that we’re trying to numb with sin. He wants to put the broken pieces back together.

9 Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, 10 or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people – none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God. 11 Some of you were once like that. But you were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. – 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 NLT

When I first got saved, I needed to know that the Lord could deliver me from homosexuality. I wanted to see evidence that someone in the Bible engaged in homosexual acts and was delivered. This verse offers 2000-year-old evidence that the Holy Spirit can forgive the sin of homosexuality, cleanse the person’s heart, and make them holy. The sins listed in these verses cover every one of us in one way or another, especially if we apply the principle that if we’ve looked at someone lustfully we’ve committed adultery in our hearts [Matthew 5:27-28]. There is hope for everyone.

“Come now, and let us reason together,” says the Lord, “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool. – Isaiah 1:18 NKJV

This is another one of my favorite verses. The sovereign Creator of the universe invites us to reason together with Him. Reasoning together implies disagreement. I don’t need to reason with someone whom I’m already in agreement with. The Lord wants us to share our hearts with Him as He shares His heart with us. As we do this, we begin to understand things more clearly. We become more like Him as He transforms our hearts and helps us to love what He loves and hate what He hates.

10 Who among you fears the Lord and obeys his servant? If you are walking in darkness, without a ray of light, trust in the Lord and rely on your God. 11 But watch out, you who live in your own light and warm yourselves by your own fires. This is the reward you will receive from me: you will soon fall down in great torment. – Isaiah 50:10-11 NLT

We all walk in the darkness of intense trials at different points in our lives. The Lord showed me this verse as I was walking through an extremely painful time of grief after the death of one of my sons. In the middle of that intense darkness, I was tempted to numb the pain through sin. The Holy Spirit spoke this verse to me as a gentle but firm warning. He acknowledged the painful darkness, and warned me not to try to light my own fire – not to try to escape the painful darkness by numbing the pain through sin. He invited me to come to Him for comfort. By His grace I was able to resist the temptation and let Him carry me through that terrible darkness.

I will give you the treasures of darkness and hidden riches of secret places, that you may know that I, the Lord, Who call you by your name, am the God of Israel. – Isaiah 45:3 NKJV

At the same time that the Lord warned me not to light my own fire in the darkness of grief, He gave me this verse. As we go to Him in our times of darkness, He holds us in His arms and shares intimate details of His heart with us. We can only learn these deep truths as we open our hearts to Him and trust Him to carry us in the darkness. I doubt any of us would willingly sign up for times of intense trials, but as we trust Him in those trials, the deep truths the Lord speaks to our hearts bring life that we can’t get in any other way.

8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. 10 For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. 11 And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation. – Romans 5:8-11 NKJV

This verse shows us how powerful God’s love for us actually is. He is far from the angry father that is just waiting to clobber us if we make a mistake. Not only did the Father sacrifice His own Son to save us from Hell, He restored our relationship with Him. We can come to Him for help in our time of need. This verse implies that the same God who sacrificed His own Son while we were His enemies, will offer us even more grace for forgiveness and transformation after we’ve been redeemed.

1 My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous. 2 He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins – and not only our sins but the sins of all the world. – 1 John 2:1-2 NLT

Just as God the Father is for us in our struggles with sin, so is Jesus the Son. We have no hope in our own strength. We will likely fail many times in our recovery from addictive sin. All is not lost. Jesus paid the penalty for our sins, and brings our needs before the Father in Heaven.

8 If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. 9 But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. – 1 John 1:8-9 NLT

We all sin. God’s forgiveness requires us to be honest and confess our sins. The good news is that Jesus is merciful. Not only will He forgive our sins, He will continue to work in our hearts to cleanse us from our evil desires that lead us into sin. This process is called sanctification. It isn’t quick, but as we are faithful to be open and honest with the Lord, He will be faithful to transform our hearts and make us more like Him.

15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet he did not sin. 16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. – Hebrews 4:15-16 NIV

I wrote earlier that as a new Christian, I needed to know that there were people in the Bible that struggled with the same things I struggled with and got victory. I also wondered how Jesus, who lived a sinless life, could understand my struggles. These verses brought a sigh of relief. When I read that Jesus was tempted in every way we are, I realized that He understood my struggles. Jesus knew what it was like to be tempted to do the very same sinful things that held me captive. Even better, He never gave into those temptations. He knew how to be victorious. So often, shame causes us to hide during times of temptation. Jesus doesn’t shame us! He invites us to His throne in the middle of our temptations and equips us to live in victory.

12 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me trustworthy, appointing me to his service. 13 Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. 14 The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 15 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners – of whom I am the worst. 16 But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life. – 1 Timothy 1:12-16 NIV

Paul, who calls himself “the worst of sinners”, was forgiven to demonstrate God’s mercy and grace. It may be easy to dismiss his conversion because Paul wrote that he “acted in ignorance and unbelief”. He truly believed that he was doing the right thing when he was persecuting Christians. When we engaged in our addictions, most of us knew full well that we were sinning and did what we did anyway. Maybe we even engaged in our addictions after we became Christians. In these situations, we can find comfort in the life of King David [2 Samuel 11]. Unlike Paul, David didn’t act in “ignorance and unbelief”. He knew he committed adultery with Bathsheba. When she became pregnant He willingly tried to cover up his sin by sending her husband, Uriah, home from battle to sleep with her. When that didn’t work, David had him killed. Although it’s true that David suffered many consequences for his sin, the Lord confronted him in a redemptive manner that brought him to repentance [2 Samuel 12]. In Acts 13:22, David is called a man after God’s own heart. If God was willing to forgive David for his terrible sins, He is willing to forgive us.

7 Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Please give me a drink.”

13 Jesus replied, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. 14 But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.”

28 The woman left her water jar beside the well and ran back to the village, telling everyone, 29 “Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did! Could he possibly be the Messiah?” 30 So the people came streaming from the village to see him. – John 4:7, 13-14, 28-30 NLT

One of my favorite examples of the Lord’s forgiveness and transformation is the woman at the well in John 4:1-42. This Samaritan woman had a bad reputation. She already went through five husbands and now she’s living with some other guy that she’s not even married to. According to historical tradition, she was shunned by the town and had to come to the well in the heat of the day when it would be deserted. Jesus wasn’t afraid to talk to her. Even his disciples were shocked to see Him talking to a Samaritan woman. Jesus didn’t condemn her. He confronted her sin in a way that drew her closer to the Father. She accepted His offer of Living Water and ran to evangelize her entire town. They knew what she used to be like, but somehow, her encounter with Jesus made her different. This woman’s transformed life brought many people to Jesus. We can bring others to Jesus as we share our testimony of how Jesus changed our lives.

10 Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?” 11 “No, Lord,” she said. And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.” – John 8:10-11 NLT

1 So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. 2 And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. – Romans 8:1-2 NLT

The devil loves to throw condemnation at us. Revelation 12:10 says that he accuses us before God day and night. Sometimes we feel the impact of those accusations and get hit with condemnation. It’s hard to walk confidently in our faith and tell others about Jesus when we feel like a loser. Jesus doesn’t condemn us. He sets us free to live for Him. Even though we stumble, we can confess our sin to Him and be cleansed. Just as He told the disciples to forgive seven times seventy times [Matthew 18:21-22], Jesus will forgive us.

6 [B]eing confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. – Philippians 1:6 NIV

Our struggles might go on much longer than we want them to, but someday we will have total victory if we keep walking with the Lord. His promise to complete the work that He started in our hearts goes far beyond our struggles with whatever addictive sin brought us into recovery. It includes learning to walk as a dearly beloved son or daughter of the Father as He transforms every area of our hearts. The enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy; but Jesus came to bring us abundant life [John 10:10]. Nothing in our transformation process is wasted. As we grow in our faith, the Lord invites us to comfort others with the comfort that we’ve received from Him [2 Corinthians 1:4]. Recovery is worth the hard work!

Dan Hitz is the Executive Director of Reconciliation Ministries of Michigan, a member ministry of the Restored Hope Network dedicated to bringing freedom to men, women, and adolescents struggling with sexual and relationship issues. For more information contact Reconciliation Ministries at 586.739.5114, or visit us on the web at www.recmin.org.

For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well.

Psalm 139:13-14

Those verses were intended to give us comfort as we realize the great attention to detail that Lord used to lovingly put us together in our mother’s womb. For those of us who grew up in a dysfunctional family, those verses may bring up different emotions altogether. We may wonder why the Lord “chose to put us in that specific womb”. Far from feeling good about ourselves as the Lord’s creation, our negative upbringing can make us feel like damaged goods.

Erik Erikson is a developmental psychologist famous for identifying the stages of psychosocial development. His theory basically describes God’s intent for the role that parents and other significant people play in our emotional and social development. Unfortunately in this fallen world, not all of us have grown up with a healthy mother and father. Not all of us have gone through childhood and adolescence with a healthy connection to our peers. If that is the case in your life, the Lord can heal the emotional wounds inflicted through the things you have experienced. He can also heal the wounds you’ve endured because the nurturing and care that you were supposed to receive didn’t happen. Psalm 27:10 reads, “When my father and mother forsake me, then the Lord will take care of me.” God can heal the hurts in your heart and fill the emotional voids.

A brief exploration of God’s intended role for our parents and peers will help you understand where you need the Holy Spirit to touch your heart. Our relationship with our mother is the most important relationship that we have when we are born. Mothers are intended by God to give us a sense of being – a sense that it’s okay to be alive and that we have value. Mom’s nurture us. When we are hungry they feed us. When we mess our diapers, they change us. We learn from them that our lives are celebrated and that we will be well cared for.

After we learn to crawl and walk, we look beyond mother to our father. Fathers are intended by God to help us learn to explore the world and take the initiative to try new things. They are also designed by God to encourage us to grow into the identity and purpose that He created us to have. Dads empower us to become established in this world and succeed. Little girls learn what it means to be female through their mothers, while little boys learn what it means to be male from their fathers.

As we enter school, the next important relationships we have are with our same-gender peers. At this stage boys usually think girls have “cooties” and girls may think boys are a bit nasty. This is a normal stage of development. Little boys learn how to relate to other little boys as they interact and play together. It works the same for girls. We learn that we are a good and acceptable little boy or girl as we fit in well with other little boys or girls.

As we gain confidence in our own gender peer group, we then begin to reach out to the other gender and learn how to relate to them. Boys notice that the girls lose their cooties and are becoming attractive. Girls notice that the boys aren’t so nasty after all. Confidence in who we are as a person continues to grow as we establish healthy relationships with the opposite sex.

God intends our emotional and relational development to continue throughout our lives as we enter into committed relationships, begin our families, and relate to others in our community. Many of us have not had the ideal development and growth described in this article. A problem at any stage of development will create challenges in the future stages. Fortunately, the Lord has taken that into account and has made provision for our emotional healing on the cross. We can take comfort in the verse that was referenced earlier in this article which reads, “When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take care of me.” When Jesus began His ministry, He read out of the book of Isaiah where it says, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted…” (Luke 4:18-19). In the original language, the phrase “brokenhearted” refers to shards of glass like when you break a mirror. Jesus was saying that He was sent by the Father to heal the “shards of glass” – the fragments of our heart – from emotional trauma and neglect. We find in Jesus a loving Savior who is willing to hear our prayers, heal our emotional wounds, and fill the voids in our hearts with His presence.

If you’ve grown up without the kind of nurturing that God designed you to have, spend time in prayer and share your hurts with Him. Recognizing our areas of deep need is a first step in overcoming our mother and father wounds. Be honest about your pain. Ask Him to teach you to recognize His healing presence and to heal your heart. As you work through the various areas of need in your heart, you may recognize pockets of hidden anger. It is important for your own personal growth to learn to forgive those who have wounded you. Forgiveness is more for your sake, than for the sake of those who have offended you. Your offender may be totally unaware that he or she has wounded you, or he or she may actually be glad that you were wounded. We live in a very fallen world. Harboring anger and resentment will only serve to hinder you, keep you bound to your wounds, and give your offender the victory. Forgiveness sets you free. Ask the Lord to help you release your anger and resentment to Him and allow Him to deal with those who have hurt you. Your offender and your wounds will lose their power as you experience the healing power of Christ.

Sometimes when we are sinned against, we respond with sinful reactions. Ask the Lord to show you the areas in your own life where you have responded to your pain in sinful ways. When He does, repent and seek to make amends where appropriate. In walking away from our sin we find a deeper capacity to receive God’s love and walk in deeper relationships with others in the Body of Christ. In addition to friends, we all need others who are more mature than us and have journeyed successfully through some of life’s difficult pathways. Ask the Lord to send you a safe, Christian mentor to walk with you and help you in your journey. Your pastor, a recovery group, or the pastoral care department at your church may be a good place to start. No pastor or mentor can become the long-lost mother of father that you never had, but he or she can share his or her experience with you as you both walk towards Jesus together.

As you follow these steps in your journey, you will begin to experience the fulfillment of the verse, “When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take care of me.” You will grow into a beautiful relationship with God the Father where He truly will fill the voids in your heart. He longs to become the safe, loving, nurturing parent that you have always wanted.

© Reconciliation Ministries 2014. This article may be reproduced and distributed as long as credit is given and no fee is charged.

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Recovery Scriptures - Dan Hitz