Living One Day At A Time (3)

“Look, today I am giving you the choice between a blessing and a curse!  You will be blessed if you obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today. But you will be cursed if you reject the commands of the Lord your God and turn away from him and worship gods you have not known before.  (Deuteronomy 11:26-28 NLT)

A daily inventory of our actions, when compared to God’s directives, will help us recognize the difference between right and wrong. However, inventory taking is not always to be focused on wrongs to be made right.  Recognizing the good things we have done is important to note as well – good intentions, good thoughts, and good actions.  A gratitude list should be an effective part of our inventory.

Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5:18 NLT)

Four main areas to be reflected on in an inventory are physical, emotional, relational, and spiritual.  What is my current condition? What am I feeling? What have I been given today? What unmet needs do I have? How am I living within boundaries that protect both myself and others? How am I welcoming God’s guidance in all my affairs?

What’s right? What’s wrong? What’s helpful? What’s harmful? How can we know? God has given us the wisdom to know these things through His word in the Bible. 

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.  (James 1:22-24 NLT)

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. The dirt on our face, which the mirror revealed, will not go away until we remove it by washing our face.  If we take daily inventory according to God’s word, and take appropriate action to deal with any problems, today will be another day of moving forward in our recovery.

Oh, that we might know the Lord! Let us press on to know Him. He will respond to us as surely as the arrival of dawn or the coming of rains in early spring.  (Hosea 6:3 NLT)

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