(addiction)4 min readJuly 27, 2026

When Recovery Feels Like a Marathon

By the Pace with Grace editorial team

Key Verse · 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 (NIV)

“But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.”

Recovery is not a sprint. It's a marathon. With twists and turns and setbacks. And sometimes it feels like you're running in place.

Paul knew a thing or two about weakness. He had a 'thorn in the flesh' that he prayed for God to remove three times. But God said no.

“To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.'”
2 Corinthians 12:7-10

God's power is not made perfect in our strength, but in our weakness. That's a hard truth to swallow when you're in the midst of recovery.

But here's the thing: you don't have to be strong to be in recovery. You just have to be willing. Willing to take the next step, to make the next phone call, to attend the next meeting.

God, I feel so weak. I feel like I'm running out of steam. But you say your power is made perfect in weakness. Help me to boast in my weaknesses, to trust that you are sufficient for me. Meet me in my addiction, in my recovery. Amen.

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When Recovery Feels Like a Marathon

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