God can deliver us from addictions – and Heather Kopp knows that full well. On the Friday edition of Live the Promise Bill Arnold talks with Heather about the God who saves from alcoholism and what happens when messy people are found by a holy God.
“Shame was such a big part of my story.” Heather was a believer who lived in community with other Christians throughout her life. By day, she was a successful editor who was working on Christian books. By night, she drank enough to black out and hid it from her husband in several ways.
“I still read my Bible; I still cared. But every night this desperate need to drink and get relief [came over me]… the hypocrisy of what I was doing was so painful. A lot of times as Christians, we’re more vulnerable to hiding and hypocrisy than a person who doesn’t have faith.”
Bill and Heather unpack
• The difference between understanding the gospel and embracing it.
• How Heather realized her desperation for God and had her faith “reborn” upon becoming sober.
• Heather’s “rock bottom” moment.
“God kind of has to sneak up on us… if we saw the end was near and the turn of events, a lot of us would make sure that never happened. I was already so miserable and I had been praying and repenting and going forward at church… I think every one of those attempts mattered. One morning I woke up and found myself on my knees by my bed, wailing in a way I had never done before. As the afternoon wore on, I [realized] I had been delivered from my ego and pride and to a willingness to ask for help.”
• How her husband Dave supported her through her recovery and new-found sobriety.
• What we can do when a loved one is living with addiction.
“Live in ways that don’t condone or enable their addiction. Look carefully and make sure that person is experiencing the full consequences of their behavior.” Heather offers one last piece of advice. “Get help for yourself.”
Heather’s book is Sober Mercies.
Key Scriptures: Psalm 34:5
Theme Song: Finish What He Started by Steven Curtis Chapman
