My head throbbed, my throat was dry and raw, and every muscle in my body pulsed with pain. This debilitating condition was common after my all-night binges.
My wife, Melissa, frustrated, angry, and hurt, constantly pleaded with me to seek help. I made promises to try harder to stop using, only to relapse. My addictions were destroying me, and it seemed that no matter how hard I tried, I could not break free.
All this changed one chilly February night in 1988 when, in desperation, I agreed to attend a church service with my wife. I was so sick and tired of living life chained to drugs.
The Holy Spirit had already prepared my heart for what would happen next. That night, as the pastor invited people to come forward for prayer, Melissa and I responded. We knelt at the altar and gave our lives to God.
As I poured my heart out in prayer, turning in faith to Jesus, an indescribable peace flooded me. When I rose from that altar, I knew I had been forgiven and redeemed and had been given another chance. I began a new life that night. At 27 years old, I had finally surrendered my life to Christ.
Second Peter 1:3–4 declares that “By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires” (NLT).
There are three things God has made available to us to equip us for life and godliness. First, we have His “divine power.” Through it, we receive all we need for life and godliness.
Notice the word all. It is through God’s Holy Spirit that we receive this divine power to overcome and experience lasting change. Through that power, I have been clean and sober for 37 years. His power is available to you, too, when you yield to God and place your faith in Christ.
Second, we have His “great and precious promises.” These promises are precious because we don’t deserve them; they are offered to us through grace. They are great because a great God makes them.
Immediately following my salvation decision, I became involved in a Bible-believing church, and like a sponge, I soaked up the promises of God. I discovered in 2 Corinthians 5:17 that I was now a new creation. I was no longer an addict or an alcoholic.
Ephesians 1 told me I was accepted, adopted, sealed, loved, and forgiven by God. I have chosen to identify myself the same way God identifies me. I stand on His promises that I can overcome temptation (1 Corinthians 10:13) and live a victorious Christian life (Romans 8:37). His truth set me free (John 8:32). It can set you free too.
Third, we have His “divine nature.” At that altar, I received God’s divine nature. That nature gave me new appetites, new wants, and new desires. Our nature determines what we hunger for, how we live, and the people we surround ourselves with.
I no longer desire the same people, places, or things that had been a part of my previous life in addiction. I have a new nature.
This same transformation is available to you. God’s divine power, His great and precious promises, and His divine nature can become yours. It all begins with surrendering to the God who offers you what you need to live a godly life in this godless world.
Michael Dixon surrendered to God 37 years ago after childhood trauma and addiction nearly destroyed him. Changed by God, Michael became a pastor, author, licensed addiction specialist, and director of his nonprofit, L.I.F.E. (Living in Freedom Everyday) Ministries. His bilingual curriculum, L.I.F.E. Ministries, helps others find wholeness and freedom in Christ Jesus and can be purchased on Amazon. Videos can be viewed by the incarcerated on EDOVO and through VL’s platform on Pando.
