The First Step…
If you’ve ever felt:
· helpless about being able to overcome an addiction, then you are on the right path.
· like you don’t have what it takes to change your life in positive ways, then you’re closer to those positive changes than you think.
· as if you’ve tried everything you could possibly do to step away from destructive behavior on your own, then you are becoming more prepared for change.
Each of these situations would appear to have someone heading toward deeper destructive behaviors at best or toward hopelessness at worst. But 7,000,000+ people who have completed a Celebrate Recovery Step Study have proven the validity and power of understanding and admitting that God often starts His work when we turn to Him and admit we can’t do it ourselves.
That runs counter to the ‘pull yourselves up by your bootstraps’ mentality that is taught and reinforced, but the first three of Celebrate Recovery’s Eight Principles lay the sustainable foundation for recovery:
Realize I’m not God; I admit that I am powerless to control
my tendency to do the wrong thing and that my life is unmanageable. (Step 1)
Earnestly believe that God exists, that I matter to Him and that
He has the power to help me recover. (Step 2)
Consciously choose to commit all my life and will to Christ’s care and control. (Step 3)
It’s not a recovery story, but I love how the first Bible translator in China Robert Morrison communicated the Who behind every sustainable change that happens. Before Morrison left for China, someone asked if he really thought he could change the 2000 year old problem of idolatry in China. His response: “No I don’t, but I expect God can.”
What is that question for you that can be answered the same way Robert Morrison answered when he said: “No I don’t, but I expect God can.”
· Do you think you can remove worry from your life? No I don’t, but I expect God can.
· Do you think you can undo years and years of addiction? No I don’t, but expect God can.
· Do you think you can just eliminate your desire to turn to destructive coping mechanisms? No I don’t, but I expect God can.
“He must increase, but I must decrease.” John 3:30 NIV
Jesus…said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:26
If you have hurts, habits or hang-ups you are committed to recover from, take it from the 7,000,000+ people who gave their recovery the best first step possible by admitting you can’t do it on your own and acknowledging that God has the power and the desire to help you recover.
Source for Robert Morrison story: Ten Modules Equipping You to Mobilize by The Traveling Team p58