You fell in love with a person, not an addiction. Yet here you are, watching someone you care about disappear behind a substance or behavior that has become their master. The person you married surfaces occasionally between the lies, broken promises, and 3 AM discoveries that shatter your trust all over again. You’re living with a stranger who wears your spouse’s face.
Supporting a spouse through addiction means grieving the relationship you thought you had while fighting for the one you hope to rebuild. It means setting boundaries that feel like betrayal and showing love that sometimes looks like stepping back. You oscillate between hope and despair, wondering if you’re enabling or helping, if staying means wisdom or foolishness.
Addiction affects entire families, not just the person struggling with substances. Your pain is real, your exhaustion is valid, and your need for support is urgent. The Bible doesn’t minimize the devastation that addiction brings to marriages, but it offers hope for both healing and redemption. These verses speak to your weary heart while pointing toward the strength, wisdom, and community you need for this marathon, not sprint, toward recovery.
Bible Verses About Supporting a Spouse with Addiction
1. Galatians 6:1 – Restore Him Gently
Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted.
New International Version (NIV)
2. 1 Corinthians 10:13 – No Temptation Has Overtaken You
No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
English Standard Version (ESV)
3. Proverbs 27:5-6 – Wounds from a Friend Can Be Trusted
Open rebuke is better than love carefully concealed. Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.
New King James Version (NKJV)
4. Matthew 18:15 – If Your Brother or Sister Sins
If another believer sins against you, go privately and point out the offense. If the other person listens and confesses it, you have won that person back.
New Living Translation (NLT)
5. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 – The God of All Comfort
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort. He comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any kind of affliction.
Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
6. Isaiah 61:1 – He Has Sent Me to Bind Up the Brokenhearted
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives and freedom to prisoners.
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
7. Psalm 34:18 – The Lord Is Close to the Brokenhearted
The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.
King James Version (KJV)
8. Romans 12:12 – Be Joyful in Hope, Patient in Affliction
Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer.
New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
9. Ephesians 4:15 – Speaking the Truth in Love
Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.
The Message (MSG)
10. 1 Peter 5:7 – Cast All Your Anxiety on Him
Casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully.
Amplified Bible (AMP)
11. Psalm 55:22 – Cast Your Cares on the Lord
Throw your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you. He will never allow the godly to be upended.
New English Translation (NET)
12. James 5:16 – Confess Your Sins to Each Other
Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The urgent request of a righteous person is very powerful in its effect.
Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
13. Philippians 4:6-7 – Do Not Be Anxious About Anything
Don’t worry about anything, but pray about everything. With thankful hearts offer up your prayers and requests to God.
Contemporary English Version (CEV)
14. Jeremiah 17:14 – Heal Me, Lord, and I Will Be Healed
Lord, heal me and I will be completely well. Rescue me and I will be perfectly safe. You are the one I praise.
Good News Translation (GNT)
15. Psalm 147:3 – He Heals the Brokenhearted
He heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds.
New Century Version (NCV)
16. Isaiah 43:2 – When You Pass Through the Waters
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; when you pass through the rivers, they won’t sweep over you. When you walk through fire, you won’t be burned, and the flame won’t set you ablaze.
International Standard Version (ISV)
17. Lamentations 3:22-23 – Because of the Lord’s Great Love
It is because of the Lord’s acts of mercy that we are not consumed, for His compassions do not fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness!
Tree of Life Version (TLV)
18. 2 Corinthians 12:9 – My Grace Is Sufficient for You
And he has 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 in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
Lexham English Bible (LEB)
19. Proverbs 4:23 – Above All Else, Guard Your Heart
Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it is the wellspring of life.
World English Bible (WEB)
20. 1 Corinthians 13:7 – Love Bears All Things
beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
American Standard Version (ASV)
21. Psalm 46:1 – God Is Our Refuge and Strength
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
Revised Standard Version (RSV)
22. Matthew 11:28 – Come to Me, All You Who Are Weary
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
New American Bible (NAB)
23. Romans 8:28 – God Works for the Good
And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
Douay-Rheims Bible (DRB)
24. Hosea 14:4 – I Will Heal Their Waywardness
I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely: for mine anger is turned away from him.
English Revised Version (ERV)
25. Psalm 30:5 – Weeping May Stay for the Night
For — a moment is in His anger, Life is in His good-will, At even remaineth weeping, and at morn singing.
Young’s Literal Translation (YLT)
26. 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 – We Are Hard Pressed on Every Side
We are pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed.
Darby Translation (DARBY)
27. Ephesians 4:26-27 – In Your Anger Do Not Sin
When you are angry, do not sin; and be sure to stop being angry before the end of the day. Do not give the devil a way to defeat you.
Weymouth New Testament (WNT)
28. Psalm 73:26 – My Flesh and My Heart May Fail
My fleisch and myn herte failide; God of myn herte, and my part is God withouten ende.
Wycliffe Bible (WYC)
29. 1 Peter 4:8 – Above All, Love Each Other Deeply
And aboue all things haue feruent loue among your selues: for loue shall couer the multitude of sinnes.
Geneva Bible (GNV)
30. Ecclesiastes 4:12 – A Cord of Three Strands
And yf one myght ouercome him that is alone, two shall withstande him: for a threfold corde is not lyghtly broken.
Bishop’s Bible
31. John 8:32 – The Truth Will Set You Free
And ye shall knowe the trueth, and the trueth shall make you fre.
Tyndale Bible
32. Psalm 121:1-2 – I Lift Up My Eyes to the Mountains
I look up to the mountains; does my strength come from mountains? No, my strength comes from God, who made heaven, and earth, and mountains.
The Living Bible (TLB)
33. Romans 15:13 – May the God of Hope Fill You
Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
The Passion Translation (TPT)
34. Psalm 31:24 – Be Strong and Take Heart
Be strong and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for and hope for and expect the Lord!
The Voice Bible (VOICE)
35. Isaiah 40:31 – Those Who Hope in the Lord Will Renew Their Strength
But those who trust the Lord will find new strength. They will be strong like eagles soaring upward on wings. They will walk and run without getting tired.
New International Reader’s Version (NIrV)
Our Thoughts On What the Bible Says About Addiction and Marriage
Scripture acknowledges that sin and brokenness affect not just individuals but entire families and communities. When addiction enters a marriage, it creates what the Bible calls “bitter roots” that can defile many people. Yet Scripture also offers hope through stories of restoration like the prodigal son, showing that no one is beyond God’s reach for healing and redemption.
The Bible teaches us to hate sin while loving the sinner, which becomes intensely personal when that sinner shares your bed and your bank account. Biblical love isn’t passive or enabling. It speaks truth, sets boundaries, and sometimes requires tough love that feels anything but loving in the moment. Scripture shows us that true love sometimes means allowing natural consequences to teach what our words cannot.
Perhaps most importantly, the Bible reminds us that we cannot save anyone. Only God transforms hearts, and only the individual can choose recovery. Our role is to love faithfully, pray persistently, and trust God with outcomes we cannot control. This doesn’t mean staying in dangerous situations, but it does mean releasing the burden of being someone else’s savior.
Say This Prayer
Father, I’m exhausted from loving someone whose addiction has become the third person in our marriage. The person I married is still in there somewhere, but this disease has created a stranger who lies, manipulates, and breaks promises I want desperately to believe. Help me love them without enabling them, support them without losing myself.
Give me wisdom to know when to help and when to step back, when to trust and when to verify. Protect my heart from bitterness while keeping it soft enough to receive them when they’re ready for real change. Help me set healthy boundaries that honor both my well-being and our marriage covenant.
When I want to control their choices or their recovery, remind me that You alone can transform hearts. Help me focus on my own healing and growth while praying faithfully for theirs. Surround me with people who understand this journey and can offer practical support and encouragement.
If this marriage cannot survive their addiction, give me peace about that outcome. If it can, show me how to love them well through recovery. Above all, help me trust that You see us both and have a plan for redemption.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Evang. Anabelle Thompson is the founder of Believers Refuge, a Scripture-based resource that helps Christians to find biblical guidance for life’s challenges.
With over 15 years of ministry experience and a decade of dedicated Bible study, she creates content that connects believers with relevant Scripture for their daily struggles.
Her work has reached over 76,000 monthly readers (which is projected to reach 100,000 readers by the end of 2025) seeking practical faith applications, biblical encouragement, and spiritual guidance rooted in God’s Word.
She writes from personal experience, having walked through seasons of waiting, breakthrough, and spiritual growth that inform her teaching.
Evang. Thompson brings 12 years of active ministry and evangelism experience, along with over 10 years of systematic Bible study and theological research.
As a former small group leader and Sunday school teacher, she has published over 200 biblical resources and devotional studies.
She specializes in applying Scripture to everyday life challenges and regularly studies the original Hebrew and Greek texts for a deeper biblical understanding.