Important Choices in Your RecoveryImportant Choices in Your Recovery
Life Recovery Today with Stephen Arterburn
Stephen Arterburn talks about the vital choices to feel emotions, persevere with new strategies, and live with humility as part of a faith-centred recovery journey. Stories, scripture and practical questions are used to help people move from being stuck in pain to engaging with honest, transformative growth.
28:34•24 Aug 2026
Feeling, Persevering and Humility: Key Choices for Life Recovery
Episode Overview
- Allow yourself to feel emotions instead of numbing or burying them, because feelings carry vital information about what needs attention.
- Persevere by trying new strategies and seeking support from groups, counsellors and spiritual resources rather than simply "trying harder" alone.
- Recognise that Jesus fully felt grief and anguish, showing that deep emotion is part of a faithful life, not a failure of faith.
- Practise authentic humility by admitting you don’t know everything and by asking others how your behaviour affects your relationships.
- Accept God’s "pruning" as painful but meaningful work that leads to healthier, more fruitful growth in your recovery journey.
“"You never bury feelings dead. You bury them alive."”
What are the common struggles and victories in addiction recovery? This episode of Life Recovery Today zeros in on the "important choices" that shape genuine change, especially for people working a faith-based 12-step journey. Stephen Arterburn takes you through three big themes: feeling your emotions, persevering when you want to quit, and embracing humility. He starts with the "choice to feel", pointing out how many people try to shut emotions down rather than face them.
His warning is sharp: "You never bury feelings dead. You bury them alive." Using a story about a ignored red warning light on a car dashboard, he compares feelings to indicators you ignore at your own risk. You’ll hear Steve share personal pain around divorce, where counselling helped him realise that what felt like anger and shame was actually fear.
That story opens the door for a wider look at how emotions, even fear, can protect and guide you rather than ruin your life. He also points to Jesus as "a man of sorrows" who fully felt grief and anguish, showing that deep feeling isn’t weakness. From there, the focus shifts to perseverance. Steve challenges the myth that persevering just means "trying harder" at the same failed strategies.
Instead, he talks about support groups, therapy, bible study, and new approaches as the way to keep going: "Trying harder makes trying harder." For anyone in addiction, depression, anxiety, or broken relationships, this is a nudge to reach out rather than retreat. Finally, humility gets centre stage. Steve contrasts authentic humility with fake spiritual posturing and bluntly notes, "We can see you" when arrogance shows up.
He suggests asking others questions like, "What’s it like being around me?" as a practical step towards healing conflicted relationships. If you’re wrestling with buried feelings, constant relapse, or spiritual pride, this episode offers clear, faith-shaped choices that can move your recovery from stuck to growing. Which choice feels most urgent for you right now?
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