Have you ever felt hopeless? Or given up hope when things were really desperate? It’s an awful position to be in.  It feels like the bottom of the world is caving-in. There’s nothing to hold onto, no solid footing. 

Addicts often feel hopeless. They’re caught in a trap they don’t seem able to spring. After repeated efforts to “kick the habit” (whatever the addiction may be), they give up hope.  

Well-meaning people ask,”Why don’t you just quit.?” But God knows the addict has tried—over and over again. Nothing seems to work. It’s hopeless. Or so it seems. 

Recovery happens when, by the grace of God, the addict is able to “hope against hope,” to trust even when there is no earthly reason to believe that hope is possible.  This requires surrender, the willingness to let go of all desire to control the situation or fix the problem. 

The Bible says that Abraham believed—hoping against hope—that God would be true to his promise. He trusted that even when things seem completely hopeless, God’s love does not fail us.

That’s why the first three steps in recovery are:

• We admitted we were powerless -- that our lives had become unmanageable. ... 
• Came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. ... 
• Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.

Surrender, believe and take action even in the face of utter hopelessness. That’s when miracles happen and hope springs eternal.  That’s when “hopeless addicts” are reborn as sober women and men whose futures are bright and whose lives are filled with the bright promises of hope. 

Of course, you don’t have to be an addict to experience hopelessness. Life’s troubles are enough to overwhelm us at times. The first three steps of recovery are valid for everyone. They are practical steps built on universal principles of spirituality. 

In the end, we all have to admit we are powerless. If we can believe in a High Power and, hoping against hope, surrender our will and our lives to the care of a loving and merciful God, all will be well.