Serenity Saturday Surrendered To Your Will
Saturday May 21, 2016
When you pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. I will be found by you,” says the Lord. “I will end your captivity and restore your fortunes. (Jeremiah 29:12-14a NLT)
Living with God in recovery and following the twelve steps is a spiritual journey that requires spiritual commitment. Surrendering our will to God's will is not simply a one-time decision. It is in the on-going process of continuous surrender to the will of God that our daily thinking and behaving change and life improves. There will be many instances where the life practices we’ve known in addiction are now challenged in our life in recovery. Several of those practices are the underlying problem areas that controlled the fear and pain that led us into addictive behaviour. We may think they are unrelated to our recovery because they are not specifically drug or alcohol related but they are, in fact, the very source of the problem that led us to use mood altering substances.
This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! (2 Corinthians 5:17 NLT)
It is in learning new ways to healthy relationships -- whether with God, ourselves or others -- that we need help if we are to truly have fullness of life. Particularly in the early years of recovery, when we face the contradiction between God’s way of life and life as we’ve known it, we will need to abandon our own flawed thinking and let God teach us new ways. We will have to stand firm against the desire and feelings of the moment and surrender our will and our life to God’s care, knowing that He cares for us more than we care for ourselves. He knows the path to real life for us. Our way truly is harmful and deadly. How many times have we already proven that?
Even though it is inconvenient and perhaps even momentarily uncomfortable, it is time to surrender our will and allow God to build us up and do with us as He wills.
Throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. (Ephesians 4:22-23 NLT)
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