No One Wants to Go to Treatment
Then the three companies blew the trumpets and broke the jars. They held in their left hands the torches, and in their right hands the trumpets to blow. Judges 7:20
When it comes to treatment, the addicted patients with whom I work usually fall into two groups – those who want to go to treatment and those who resist going. Ironically, the only patients who want to go to treatment are usually those who’re already in jail. For them, treatment is an improvement in their situation. For almost everyone else, treatment is a place to be avoided. The one who’s addicted may know that he (or she) needs time away from the drug, but very few people enjoy treatment. So, unless he’s in jail, the one who’s trying to stop using drugs often tries to quit his own way. Invariably, he fails repeatedly because he makes terrible decisions and the only way he’s going to stop is to surrender some of his decision-making freedom. He knows the right way, but he tries everything else first, as his life descends further into chaos and misery.
I know this because I’ve been there – avoiding what I knew to be the right decision, trying to do things my way. Having gone to treatment and having found recovery now, I’ve learned that my way is disaster and that God’s way is life. I may not prefer God’s way, and God’s way may seem like madness, but true madness is found in resisting God, insisting on doing things my way. I’d have been far better off in my addiction, if I’d have just done what I knew I needed to do – go to treatment – in the first place.
In today’s passage, God taught his people to follow his plan, even when it appeared foolish. In the story, God commanded Gideon to attack the Midianite army with only 300 men. They went at night, surrounding the enemy camp, not carrying swords, but rather a torch in one hand and a trumpet in the other. Maybe they carried weapons on their belts, but they didn’t need them as the enemy, in its terror, destroyed itself. That night, Gideon learned that in following God’s plan, even if it seemed crazy, he could not fail.
My way is disaster. God’s way is life. I know this to be true, but I still struggle with surrender. I always want to do things my way. God’s way just often seems so counterintuitive. Why would I surrender my freedom to live as I please. That sounds dumb. Gradually though, I’m learning that I’m far happier if I simply do what I know to be right the first time, saving myself the madness and misery of my way.