"Have you completely rejected Judah? Or have you loathed Zion? Why have you stricken us so that we are beyond healing? We waited for peace, but nothing good came; And for a time of healing, but behold, terror!"
Jeremiah 14:19 (NASB)
In recovery things can get pretty dark. And I want to take a moment here to remind everyone that I am not just speaking of recovery from addiction. Life in general is a journey through recovery. As you read this, and any of my blogs for that matter, keep that in mind and replace any references to my personal struggles with your own hang ups. Now that I've cleared that up I will continue. One would think that the moment we quit drinking or using, our life will change completely and all will become dandy! And although this holds true to some extent, simply quitting our drug of choice does not complete recovery. There is a spiritual overhaul that must take place in order to reap the harvest of recovery. And unfortunately this harvest comes through trials and pain.
Self-pity can come over us quite easily. And we end up finding ourselves in a pit of despair because of our suffering. Blaming God for our despair seems easy. After all...we did our part! We quit using and drinking and so now if we are unhappy it must be that God has abandoned us right? WRONG!!!
Just like the Israelites held captive in Babylon, we too must come to a place of recognition that we have fallen away from God. We must come to a place of admittance that without God we have nothing and we are nothing. We must come to a place where we acknowledge that God must come first in our lives and then...put it into practice and literally put Him first! If we cannot acknowledge our powerlessness without God and if we cannot turn our will and our lives over to Him, then we can be sure that this imprisonment will last for an eternity. But God is a gracious God! And, He has promised that He will restore us on the condition of following Him and His ways wholeheartedly. Jeremiah 29:10-14 says, "You will be in Babylon for 70 years. But then I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised, and I will bring you home again. For I know the plans I have for you,' says the Lord. 'They are plans for good and not disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days 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. I will gather you out of the nations where I sent you and will bring you home again to your own land."
In the midst of all the crud that comes with the recovery process we can find hope that our God has not abandoned us and that He truly knows where we find ourselves and what we need to get where we are going. I choose to stand firm on His promise of deliverance and allow NOT the pit of darkness to drive me back into despair. My hope is in the Lord!
No comments:
Post a Comment