Step Seven: We humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
What does it mean to humbly ask God to remove our shortcomings? If we truly have come to that place where we want God to remove our shortcomings then we will certainly have given some thought to what our shortcomings actually are. We will be aware of the negative effect they have had on our lives and strongly desire to have them removed.
When you take a stained jacket to the dry cleaners and ask them to remove a stubborn stain, they will ask if you know what it is. In this way they will more readily be able to treat it. God knows all about our “stains” and has made provision to remove them. However, He wants us to acknowledge the stain, think about how it got there, and how it has impacted our lives.
The Lord is good and does what is right; he shows the proper path to those who go astray. He leads the humble in doing right, teaching them his way. The Lord leads with unfailing love and faithfulness all who keep his covenant and obey his demands. (Psalm 25:8-10 NLT)
When we think of the shortcomings in our character, do we have a sense of remorse or do we attempt to justify them? To humbly ask God to remove our shortcomings indicates that there is some sense of remorse. We have become aware of how far we have strayed from being the person God created us to be. We are humbled by the gift of new life God is offering us. We know that only the power of the Holy Spirit within us will enable us to follow along this path to fullness of life. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9 NIV)
We lay the solid foundation for our new life with God in recovery by admitting that without Him we can do nothing. To experience life as God presents it in His word we need to leave behind our stubborn pride and our own flawed knowledge and view our life through the lens of humility. God’s teaching will be different from what we have known in the past but it is the sure way to victory over our own self-absorption. For the Lord takes delight in his people; he crowns the humble with victory. Let his faithful people rejoice in this honor and sing for joy on their beds. (Psalm 149:4-5 NIV)
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