When we come into life with God in recovery, we usually focus first on behaviours. God invites us to shift our focus. We remember bad things done by us or to us. We feel anger, guilt and shame, often to an overwhelming degree. We tried to cover pain for years with addictive behaviours because it was all we knew to do. We had suffered injustice and so we felt we deserved pleasure stolen from us and we went after that in whatever convenient ways we found. We did not question the impact of our choices on others in the same way we felt no one considered the impact of their behaviours on us when they harmed us. We did what we felt we “had to do” to survive and
have a little happiness. Sadly, despite some momentary pleasures, we fell deeper and deeper into heartache and sin. While God doesn’t disregard destructive behaviours, He first invites us to life through Jesus. All along it’s been God’s intention that our life is satisfying so we could honestly report to others, “My life is good, pleasing, and perfect.” Most of us stand at that spot today and say, “Sign me up for that life.” Or do we?
We know we have problems. We know we need to find a "better way" than the addictions we have chosen to solve our problems. The issue remains, do we want our own “better way” or God's good, perfect, and pleasing way? What is God’s way? God clearly explains His way through the apostle Paul and then leaves the choice with us.
And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all He has done for you …. but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. (Romans 12:1-2 NLT)
God’s way is simple. We choose to believe He is good and receive Him and His way as the way to the life we were created to live. We give God permission to
change the way we think. When our thinking and God’s word clash, we repent, lay our thoughts down and choose for God’s. We match our behaviours to this new understanding of how life works.
We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:4-5 NLT)
