Unveiling the positive impacts and transforming power of faith on recovery.
Faith and the Reality of Positive Health Outcomes
Faith has long been recognized as a powerful force that can transform lives and bring positive change.
There are people who, for various reasons, oppose faith or faith as a part of recovery. Meanwhile, faith as a source of recovery has reportedly been proven to improve health outcomes of all kinds in treatment. Without discussion of levels of faith, devoutness, piousness, or understanding of the specific faith, just the fact of having faith has tremendously improved the outcomes of millions in recovery.
There is a constant flow of online questions asking why faith-based solutions to recovery are so popular as opposed to solutions that purposely exclude faith.
I am a believer in a diversified approach to recovery that includes professionals that work to improve a person’s physical health, mental health, and social health and includes (and possibly focuses on) improving spiritual health.
The facts are in, however: People with faith as a component of their recovery have better recovery outcomes.
People with faith as a component of their recovery have better recovery outcomes.
I recently stumbled across an abstract of a research project named “Belief, Behavior, and Belonging: How Faith is Indispensable in Preventing and Recovering from Substance Abuse.” A key finding of this project is that of “185 studies identified, 84% found that faith reduced the risks of drug abuse.” That is an overwhelming number. Considering that there are many definitions of ideas of faith, and some are outright destructive at their core for various reasons like narcissists as leaders, focus on money and manipulating the masses, etc., the exceptionally high positive outcomes suggest that faith is indispensable as a component of recovery.
In the Bible book of James, we find wisdom and guidance on how faith can impact our health and well-being. This article explores some key aspects of “faith,” the profound effects of faith on physical, mental, and emotional well-being, drawing upon biblical teachings and scientific research.
The Link Between Faith and Health: Exploring the Book of James
In this book from the Bible, James emphasizes the importance of faith and its impact on various aspects of life, including health and well-being. One key aspect of faith outlined by James is the central importance of prayer.
15 and the prayer of faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him.
James 5:15 New American Standard Bible
Here James explicitly describes how faith coupled with prayer can make the sick person well. These words are sometimes misinterpreted to mean that anytime anyone says anything directed at God and calls it praying, he is somehow obligated to do it. As if James was saying, anyone who says I want to be better is automatically fixed immediately.
As you scan the stories of the Bible, you find that in practice, most often, even the most spectacular miracles promised directly by God require a certain kind of faith. One of the most common ways this faith is tested is the test of time.
In Genesis 18:10, a man named Abraham is promised a son to be his heir. In Genesis 21:2, the promised son Isaac is born. The verse may seem far apart, and that is on purpose. When God gave the promise to Abraham, he was seventy-five years old, but when Isaac was born, he was one hundred years old. Having a son at seventy-five or one hundred is equally miraculous, but the time it took for this promised son to arrive was twenty-five years.
2 You lust and do not have, so you commit murder. And you are envious and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask [a]with the wrong motives, so that you may spend what you request [b]on your pleasures.
James 4:2-3 New American Standard Bible
Another component that has to be coupled with prayer is unselfish motives. In James 4:2-3 we read that we do not receive things because we do not ask, and we do not receive when we ask because we have the wrong motives, often selfish and self-centered motives.
We will not unpack all that here, but the motives behind your prayers and patient faith are vital components to making prayer work and another factor James is wholly focused on. In James 2:26, he vehemently states that “…faith without works is dead.” According to James, one massive test of your faith is your actions.
26 For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.
James 2:26 New American Standard Bible
If the prayer has to be offered in “faith” and the same person who said that says that “faith” without “works” is dead, then the critical measure of your faith is how it plays out in works. Much of what James wrote is about how to live out faith. Remember that you need “faith” to begin with, even to want to do any “works,” but the faith has to be coupled with action to be legitimate faith. As James states here, if faith finds no expression in your life, there is some genuine evidence that you should consider the authenticity of your faith.