Step 10 Consistently Continuing

Step Ten: We continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.

If the LORD delights in a man’s way, He makes his steps firm; though he stumble, he will not fall, for the LORD upholds him with His hand. (Psalm 37:23-24 NIV)

“Continued to take personal inventory”:  It is amazing to see what a human being can achieve through consistent disciplined effort.  As we continue the discipline of taking personal inventory on a regular basis we will achieve the ease of living at peace with God, with ourselves, and with our neighbor.   It is necessary to discipline ourselves to read the word of God and develop a habit of listening to God, rather than simply relying on our own thoughts. We need to learn God’s principles for healthy living and allow those principles to reshape the way we think and act. 

“Personal Inventory”: What are we doing from day to day, even moment to moment, to train ourselves to hear and respond to the voice of God?  Are we challenging ourselves to do things like pray and study and read and reflect on the word of God, particularly when we don’t feel like it?  If we follow this discipline we will discover surprising truths about how God says life works, though it is dramatically different from what we have practiced or what we experience in society.  Our choice is, will we surrender to this new way of living as the healthy way or thoughtlessly fall back into old habits?  Our ongoing inventory helps us see how we are growing in putting God’s way of life into practice.  

By now you should have been teachers, but once again you need to be taught the simplest things about what God has said. You need milk instead of solid food. People who live on milk are like babies who don't really know what is right. Solid food is for mature people who have been trained to know right from wrong. (Hebrews 5:14)

“and when we were wrong, promptly admitted it”:  If we put off taking care of a problem that we are aware of, it will not go away just because we avoid dealing with it.  When we notice something is wrong, we can immediately, with God’s help, make the proper adjustments.  Only God can make the corrections in us as we surrender our lives to His plan. If we take inventory according to God’s heart and God’s truth, we will take the appropriate action to clear the problem.

But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.  For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror.  You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like.  But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it. (James 1:22-25 NLT)