You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. (Romans 5:6 NIV)
Step One in the 12 Step recovery program is an admission that we are powerless over addictive substances, people around us, and those things we've become dependent on to sustain life as we know it. In our current circumstances we acknowledge that where we are today is not healthy and we are not even achieving our survival mode. We know that if we continue on this path it will cause a further downward spiral in our well-being. At this point we can no longer cope with life as we know it. We admit surrender. We are like an army that can no longer advance against the enemy. We admit defeat and turn to God for mercy and grace. God assures us that if we trust Him, He will rescue us and help us do what we cannot do for ourselves. In fact, Jesus said He came to seek and save people exactly like us, in circumstances just like ours.
For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost. (Luke 19:10 NLT) Jesus, who has been watching and waiting as we stumbled around doing our own thing invites us to come to Him for life. He is the only one that can give us life. He knows we can’t find life on our own. He knows at this point in time it is impossible for us to choose to behave in healthy ways on our own. In His love, God calls us to come close to Him and enter into a new way of living where He will gently lead us and give us peace. He will also strengthen us to behave in new ways He calls us to follow. The life Jesus wants to give us is the life that has been prepared in advance for us.
Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. (2 Corinthians 1:21-22 NIV)
Each of us has tried our own way of living which does not work. Today, are we willing to trust God’s way?
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