Mr. Graham stated in his “My Answer” column: “Alcoholism is one of the greatest scourges of our nation. It destroys the health and well-being of countless individuals and causes untold grief among families and friends. The words of the Bible have been proved time and time again: ‘Wine is a mocker and beer a brawler; whoever is led astray by them is not wise’ (Proverbs 20:1).

“But you know this through bitter experience, I suspect. And yet your problem is that you seem to be powerless to do anything about it. Does that mean there is no hope? No! There is hope—hope in Christ. The Bible says, ‘Everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins through his name’ (Acts 10:43). That is a wonderful truth and you can know it in your life if you have truly repented and turned to Christ.

“Don’t let your pride get in the way. Seek out someone (such as a pastor you know) who can direct you to groups in your area that can help you … If there are people around you who are constantly trying to get you to drink, you may have to steer clear of them in the future. Avoid places where you know you will be tempted to drink. It will not be easy, but you need to take specific steps to keep from getting even deeper into the pit of alcoholism.

“Christ will help you with your alcoholism as you allow Him to control your life. No, it may not be an easy or smooth road, although with some people Christ seems to remove all desire for alcohol at once. But Christ will do several things for you as you grow in your relationship to Him.

For one thing, He will give you a new purpose and meaning in life. He will surround you with His love and show you that you are very valuable in His eyes—far too valuable to destroy yourself with alcohol. Then he will give you new friends, Christians who love you and want to help you. You may even find that God will lead you to Christians who have been in the grip of alcohol also and have conquered it through Christ; and He will help you through His Holy Spirit to have a new strength to resist temptation.”

You may wish to contact Alcoholics Victorious, 1045 Swift Street, Kansas City, Missouri 64116, telephone: (816) 471-8020; or Overcomers Outreach, P. O. Box 922950, Sylmar, California 91392, telephone: (800) 310-3001. These ministries may have a support group in your area.