Sid's Recovery

This is a continuation of my post: That's My God!

Not only does God freely forgive us (justification), but He also wants to sanctify us – to change us from the inside out, to become more and more like Jesus. It doesn’t happen all at once, like justification. This is a continual process that we engage in for the rest of our lives and it is the MOST rewarding process I’ve ever been involved in. And, as long as we are involved in this process, our destiny is assured. We can be certain that our home is in heaven.

But why, you may ask, do we need to go any further than to be forgiven? If God wipes our record clean by the blood of Jesus, why would we need to be sanctified? … Well, while it is true that God gives us a new, clean slate to start over again with, He doesn’t take away our freedom to choose whom we will serve. And, he doesn’t normally change our learning history, which makes up our character. In other words, it is unlikely that He will miraculously take away our bad behaviors. He deals with our past without our participation, but He can’t deal with our future without our cooperation. If He did that, He would violate our freedom of choice, and my God would never do that us.

Let me illustrate, with my own life story… During most of my 25 years of “acting out” in my addictions, I realized that I was powerless over my problems, and I knew that my life was out-of-control. That’s the first step to healing, and that was good. I also came to believe that God could restore me to sanity – the second step.

And, I had enough understanding of justification that I regularly confessed my sins. And, by faith, I believed that God forgave me, and washed me clean in the blood of Jesus. I was justified – over and over again. But those were the only positive steps I took. Oh, I fought the temptations. I fought them with all the will power I could muster up. But I was still a practicing addict. And honestly, my addiction got worse and worse. In fact, I am quite sure that, if I hadn’t got into recovery in 1994, I would likely be incarcerated today. That’s just how bad it was becoming. And that, my friends, is why I needed more than just justification. I needed recovery. I needed sanctification. BTW, in my vocabulary, the words “recovery” and “sanctification” are synonymous. That’s why you will never hear me say (this side of Heaven) that I am recovered, because this is the progressive work of a lifetime, it doesn’t happen all at once.

You see, not only do we need forgiveness, we need character development; we need transformation! That’s where the process of sanctification comes in. So, what exactly is sanctification, and what must we do to cooperate with God so that He can accomplish this in our lives?

For me, it began when I made a decision to turn my will and life over to the care of God, as I understood Him. This involves three major components:

1. PRAYER: Constant (as near as possible) communion with God through prayer is vital to having victory over those sins that so easily beset me. For me, this needs to start as soon as I roll out of bed in the morning.
2. BIBLE STUDY: My mind is more clear and most able to focus on Biblical topics first thing in the morning. I never used to be a morning person, but as soon as I asked God to wake me up in the morning, that all changed -- for the better!
3. SURRENDER: When temptation comes, and my thoughts begin to turn towards sin, it is then and there that I must turn my heart and will to God and cry out to Him like Peter when he was sinking: "Lord, save me lest I perish!" (Matthew 14:27-31). Or surrender to Him like blind Bart when he said: "Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me!" (Mark 10:46-52). Or like Saul the persecutor, when he was struck down by the glory of Jesus. He said, "Lord, what would you have me to do?" (Acts 9:1-6). Absolute surrender to the will of God is the only way I have found to have consistent victory over any of my weaknesses.

As I choose to do as He directs in my life, He makes the impossible possible! This is how I cooperate with God so that He can work in me to will and to do His good pleasure (Philippians 2:13). This is the process of sanctification. This is the process of recovery.

"Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him." (Step 3)

"Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me." (Revelation 3:20)

This invitation from Jesus becomes extremely meaningful to us whenever we recognize our own powerlessness to do any good thing (Step 1) and begin to believe in His loving all-powerfulness to deliver us from our dependencies and restore use to sanity (Step 2).

In Revelation 3:20, Christ demonstrates His love for us. Even though we are sinners, Christ not only died to pay the penalty for our sins (Romans 5:8), but He continually "knocks" at the "door" of our heart -- seeking to fill us with His loving Spirit. He longs to work in us to do His good pleasure (Philippians 2:13), but He can't do that without our cooperation. So, He gently "knocks", using His "still small" voice (1 Kings 19:12) to speak to our conscience.

He doesn't barge in and clean house, just because we gave Him permission to do that sometime in the past. No, it is a continual process. It is always our choice. Will we trust Him enough to obey -- leaving the consequences to Him? Or, will we choose to do our own thing when He prompts us to follow Him?

"Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him." (Step 3)

In a practical sense, what does it mean to give it all up to God? Well, God has made (and continues to make) some positive changes in my life. And, I'm pretty sure that He's been able to do that partially because of my participation in this process. Of course, I can't take credit for that, because without help from Him, I wouldn't be able to make positive choices. Right now, I'm thinking of two ways in which I strive (by God's grace and power) to give my will and life to God. The first is directly initiated by God. The second is when I seek help from Him.

It has been said that God is always sending messages to those who will listen to His "still, small voice". These impressions come throughout the day for many different reasons. It could happen as I'm driving, to alert me of danger. It could happen when I am tempted to wrong thoughts, words, or actions. It could happen at anytime, and for any reason. When I listen for His impressions on my heart, then choose to obey, I'm giving up my agenda for God's. In so doing, He gives me strength to follow through on that decision. He cares about me. He wants to help me make good decisions.

There are other times when I don't know what God will is, like when I have hard decisions to make. It maybe in my work, when I can't seem to figure something out. Or, it may be in my personal life. In times like this, I find myself in prayer asking for wisdom, claiming His promises, like this one: "If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. 6 But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind." (James 1:5-6). But the question I most often ask God is "Lord, what would you have me to do?" (Acts 9:6). The answer often doesn't seem to come right away, but I still trust in God, that He always has my best interest in mind. For He will never leave me nor forsake me (Hebrews 13:5) even until the end of the world! (Matthew 28:20)

"Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him." (Step 3)

Not only is the God of my understanding my Savior, Friend, and Guide, but He is also my loving King. He accepts me just the way I am, no matter how low I've sunk into my dependencies. But He does even more! He provides the will and the means to restore me to sanity, as I turn my will over to His in total surrender to His guidance.

"For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him." (Philippians 2:13).

As I began to understand this principle and to practice it, God began delivering me from my dependencies. Each time that I surrender to Him (admitting to myself and God my powerlessness) as temptation comes to me, He gives me the victory! He never fails me. What an Awesome GOD!

You too can have this kind of freedom! "Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen." (Eph 3:20-21)

"Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him." (Step 3)

Failure in understanding about turning my will over to God is what kept me in my addictions for 25 years. And, as I have associated with many people who want a better life, it has been my observation that it is nearly always failure to embrace this principle that keeps them from progressing in their recovery process. Based on my experience, I have a theory as to why this is. I believe that, when we practice this principle, the powers of evil lose their grip on us, and they will do everything in their evil power to keep us in bondage.

Another reason why this principle is so hard to embrace is that it is painful to surrender ourselves -- even to the loving Higher-Power that CAN restore us to sanity. We would still rather follow our own paths -- doing the same stupid things we've always done, expecting different results. But when I think about it logically, that kind of thinking is just insane, even though my tendency is to go there. The apostle Paul describes the experience we need to have like this: "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me." (Galatians 2:20).

It is only when I die to doing things my way, at the cross, and surrender my "weak, wavering human will to the omnipotent, unwavering will of God" (Ministry of Healing page 176), that I am able to have the victory over the sin that so easily besets me. This is the key factor that started me into my recovery process and this is the key factor that keeps me in recovery today. When I choose to do it my way, I fail. But, when I choose to surrender my will to God in the moment of temptation, He gives me the victory! PRAISE GOD!

"As the will of man co-operates with the will of God, it becomes omnipotent. Whatever is to be done at His command may be accomplished in His strength. All His biddings are enablings."
(Christ's Object Lessons, page 333)

"Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him." (Step 3)