When He Brought His Addiction to Light, God Broke the Darkness

COMPLEX CHILDHOOD

Jonathon “Jon” Seidl grew up in Wisconsin in a Christian family. “I don’t remember a time when I wasn’t a Christian. I was baptized around 8 or 9 years old.”  Yet, his family was both dysfunctional and loving. Jon was molested by his older sister when he was a young boy. That, coupled with other family issues and addiction running in his family, left Jon on edge in his own home, and he struggled trying to make sense of it all. 

In Wisconsin culture, alcohol is commonplace. In fact, the law allows parents to give children alcohol, and they can also consume liquor at certain restaurants with their parents’ consent.  “In Wisconsin, there are three things that get you through the long, brutally cold winters: Green Bay Packers football, deer hunting season, and drinking,” Jon explains.

When he was 14 years old, while attending “Deer Camp,” Jon got his first deer and was offered a glass of wine to celebrate the occasion. He took note of how it made him feel. He shares, “The racing thoughts and beating heart I had grown so accustomed to as my ‘normal’ abated. I would come to learn in my adulthood that I had been living with undiagnosed anxiety and OCD for most of my life. And this liquid serum made me feel better. It took my troubles away.” 

While he didn’t make drinking a habit in his younger years, as an adult, that changed. He used alcohol to escape OCD and anxiety. An occasional drink led to a daily drink. The daily drink turned into multiple beverages. Then, Jon would drink more as he built up a tolerance and was longing for a reprieve from the continual intrusive thoughts. At the same time, he was writing Christian articles, books, and praying. 

Jon explains, “The Church struggles to deal with people who have messy sanctification stories.” He adds, “Many Christians assume that once you become a Christian, you no longer sin. When sin creeps into a believer’s life, it’s so easy to say they were never truly saved or are a hypocrite. So, many believers hide their sin and pretend that everything is okay.” Jon refuses to do so. In his latest book, Confessions of a Christian Alcoholic, he candidly shares how he became an alcoholic while also loving Jesus.

For years, he was able to take breaks from drinking and not have any withdrawal symptoms. So, Jon convinced himself that he didn’t have a drinking problem. Yet, a common phrase that his wife, Brett, would say to Jon when he began drinking was, “Don’t get drunk.”

ROCK BOTTOM

His rock bottom came when he and his wife were away in Miami for a couple’s retreat. She wasn’t feeling well and wanted to rest in the hotel room. So, Jon went down to the bar to watch the football game. One drink led to another until he was drunk at 1:00 am. Knowing Brett would be disappointed, he decided to go to the beach and walk it off. While there, he had to go to the bathroom, so he decided to get into the water. Wading in the sea up to his neck, he relieved himself only to realize he was swimming in his own feces. In that moment, Jon knew how low alcohol had taken him, and he began to weep. Later, he went back to the hotel room and passed out. The next morning, Brett went to get breakfast by herself. When he woke up, shame, embarrassment, and guilt overcame him. Brett asked him several times if he got drunk and he said no. 

Eventually, he told her the truth and her reaction broke his heart. His wife encouraged Jon to get to the root of the problem because she knew if he didn’t, he would replace drinking with something else. He contacted a therapist and has been in counseling ever since. It’s been over two years since Jon has had a drink.

FINDING FREEDOM

Instead of focusing on specific programs to abstain from alcohol, Jon shares, “I shot for Jesus, and then I found sobriety. I didn’t shoot for a specific program.” These four steps helped him along the way:

Step 1: Abiding in Christ: Carving out intentional time every day only strengthens you as a believer.

Step 2: Finding your true identity: Your God given identity defines you. 

Step 3: Practicing radical vulnerability: True confession is vital in recovery.

Step 4: Obey what God asks of you: Don’t only listen to what God asks you to do. Do it.

BACKGROUND    

Jonathan M. Seidl is a bestselling Christian author, speaker, and mental health advocate known for his radical vulnerability in discussing faith, addiction, and mental health issues. He began his writing career after graduating from The King’s College with a degree in politics, philosophy, and economics. Seidl helped launch the news site The Blaze in 2010 and later served as editor-in-chief for the nonprofit I Am Second. Through his work, he has written over 10,000 posts, spoken at events across the U.S., and contributed to major media outlets such as Fox News, WORLD Magazine, and TBN. He is currently finishing his master’s in theological studies from Southwestern Seminary.

For more information on Jonathon Seidl, click the LINK!

CREDITS

Bestselling author, latest book, Confessions of a Christian Alcoholic; Mental Health advocate; Founder of The Veritas Network which includes The Veritas Daily: A daily devotional and blog with thousands of followers, and The Veritas Creative: Consults businesses and non-profits on storytelling; Written over 10,000 posts, spoken at events across the U.S., and contributed to major media outlets such as Fox News, WORLD Magazine, and TBN; Former editor-in-chief for I Am Second, Began his writing career after graduating from The King’s College with a degree in politics, philosophy, and economics; Finishing his master’s in theological studies from Southwestern Seminary (Dec. 2025); Married to his wife Brett, two children: Annie and Jack.