Taking Inventory
At various times on our recovery journey we are asked to take personal inventory. Why is it important to make a frank and honest assessment of ourselves?
For numerous reasons we have participated in actions that were both destructive and addictive. We feared pain, craved pleasure, desired power, and wanted to live life in our own way. We tried to find pleasure in sinful behaviours and/or addictive substances. To satisfy our self-centered desires, we mercilessly manipulated some who were as broken as ourselves and others who tried to help us. Now we have come to realize we need to find a new way of life and must take the time to identify what needs to change.
The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is? But I, the Lord, search all hearts and examine secret motives. I give all people their due rewards, according to what their actions deserve. (Jeremiah 17:9-10 NLT)
God tells us that knowing the truth is a building block to freedom. The Bible tells us that we are unable to be honest with ourselves – all of us have hearts that don't know how to face truth. We find ways to justify and minimize what's wrong and too readily find excuses to avoid some issues altogether.
As we inventory our past behaviour, our relationships, and our character defects or strengths, it’s important that we invite God's Holy Spirit to reveal those things in us that need forgiving and healing and making right.
God already knows our deepest thoughts and he understands what the Spirit is saying, because the Spirit speaks for his people in the way that agrees with what God wants. (Romans 8:27 ERV)
Taking personal inventory is a positive step because it helps us identify those things that are obstacles to living the fulfilling life that God is offering us. God’s principles are provided for us in the Bible. We need to trust God and obey them.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, I need You to help me look at my heart and my life and identify those things that hinder me from having a loving relationship with You and with others. Please give me the desire and the power to make changes as they are revealed. Amen
Audio for Taking Inventory
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