I am not, because I know I AM

I am an alcoholic.

That is still weird for me to say.  Even with almost 5 years clean.

I’ve gotten more and more comfortable talking about it. But, whenever I think about my struggles, or I’m talking to someone or some group about it, I am tempted to say “I used to be an alcoholic.”

That might seem like there is no real difference there. However, in the recovery community, it is important to not talk about your addiction as if it is gone or healed.  This is because any addict, regardless of how much time they have clean, can be one wrong decision away from falling back into active addiction. Whether they have 20 minutes, 20 days or 20 years… the idea is that we are clean but still an addict.

This is because there are very real physical, psychological and scientific components to addiction.  It is, in reality, a disease that is treatable, but incurable. 

So, my point is this:  I am an alcoholic.  I always will be.  I struggle saying that because it feels to me like saying “I am an alcoholic” is understood by others as “I’m still drinking” and those two things aren’t always both true.

But, in the community of faith in Jesus and the grace and mercy and forgiveness and salvation that come from him… we don’t believe that we are our past selves.

We are not our sins.  We are not our struggles.  We are not identified by our past.

At Celebrate Recovery, which is a Christ-centered recovery program, we’re taught to say things like:  I am a believer in Jesus and a recovering addict, etc.

Because, when we have a relationship with Jesus, we realize that we are not identified by our past.  We are identified by who Jesus is and what he says about us.

It is important that we not forget our past.  We should learn from our mistakes.  We should recognize all that Jesus has brought us through.  But we don’t allow our past to identify us.

So, maybe your struggle is not an addiction.  You may be reading this and thinking “I’m not an addict, so this doesn’t apply to me.”

The truth is, whether you have a chemical dependency issue or not, you have sins and struggles and things in your past that you aren’t proud of.  There are sins right now that you are working to overcome.  There are difficulties in your life, painful seasons (maybe not even caused by you, but by someone close to you) that Jesus is bring you through.

You are not identified by your past or your problems. You are identified by Jesus saying, “you are my child, who I love and died for.” 

You are not lost, an addict, you are not anxiety or divorce, you are not heartache, you are not any of the things that the enemy wants you to think about yourself.

You’ve been through those things.  But you are forgiven, loved and cared for on purpose.  Jesus is helping you recover from all of those things and your identity is someone whose life and faith and hope are in the God of creation that knows you intimately and identifies you and gives you purpose.

Don’t lose sight of what you’ve been through.  But, don’t believe those hard times are on your name badge either.  When we keep in mind all that we’ve been through, we are better able to remember what Jesus has done for us, and we can help others know that Jesus will do the same for them.

You are not____________________, because you know “I AM”

John 4:25-26

The woman said, “I know the Messiah is coming—the one who is called Christ. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” Then Jesus told her, “I am the Messiah!”

To learn more about making good, hard changes in your life, check any of the links below:

For further reading check out what Jesus said about himself:

The I AM statements of Jesus-

The Messiah - John 4:25-26 - "The woman said to Him, 'I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us.'  Jesus said to her, 'I who speak to you am He.' "

The Bread of Life - John 6:35 - "Jesus said to them, 'I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.' "

The Bread of Life - John 6:48 - "I am the bread of life."

Living Bread - John 6:51 - "I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread also which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh."

Light of the World - John 8:12 - "Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, 'I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.' "

From Above - John 8:23 - "And He was saying to them, 'You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world.' "

The everlasting I AM - John 8:58 - "Jesus said to them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I AM.' "  

Note: Refer to Exodus 3:6 and Exodus 3:14.

Light of the World - John 9:5 - "While I am in the world, I am the Light of the world."

The Door - John 10:7 - "So Jesus said to them again, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.' "

The Door - John 10:9 - "I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture."

The Good Shepherd - John 10:11 - "I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep."

The Good Shepherd - John 10:14 - "I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me."

The Son of God - John 10:35-36 - "If he called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken), do you say of Him, whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, 'You are blaspheming,' because I said, 'I am the Son of God?' "

The Resurrection and the Life - John 11:25 - "Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies."

Teacher and Lord - John 13:13 - "You call Me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am."

The Way, the Truth, and the Life - John 14:6 - "Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.' "

The True Vine - John 15:1 - "I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser."

The Vine - John 15:5 - "I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing."

I am He - John 18:4-6 - "Jesus therefore, knowing all the things that were coming upon Him, came out into the open and said to them, 'Whom are you seeking?' 5 They answered Him, 'Jesus the Nazarene.' He said to them, 'I am He. And Judas also, who was betraying Him, was standing with them. 6 Now then, when He said to them, 'I am He,' they drew back and fell to the ground.  (John 18:7-8 are similar.)

Note: In John 18:5-6 and 8, Jesus answered saying "I am He" when the arresting cohort said they were seeking Jesus the Nazarene.  The "he" is not expressed in the Greek.  The "I am" to Jewish ears was the name of Jehovah - the same "I am" response Jesus gave in John 8:58.  Refer to Exodus 3:14 (Ref. 3).

The Alpha and Omega - Revelation 1:8 - " 'I am the Alpha and the Omega,' says the Lord God, 'who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.' "

The First and Last - Revelation 1:17 - "When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man.  And He placed His right hand on me, saying, 'Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last.' "
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The Alpha and Omega, first and last, beginning and end - Revelation 22:13 - "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end."