AS I JOURNEY FORWARD IN MY RECOVERY…

AS I JOURNEY FORWARD IN MY RECOVERY…

As I journey forward, I see the need on occasion to pause and at least take a quick peek over my shoulder. An occasional reminder of where we’ve been can help us see where we are, and more importantly, where we’re headed! We cannot dwell or ponder on the past, or we may stumble! Do not give satan a moment to enlighten a memory he created! It is human nature to cherish memories, but for many of us, far too many of those memories are based on times when we were following satan! We don’t need to go back there even for a brief visit, nor can we afford to! Our pasts are one of satan’s most productive tools to keep us from moving forward! In fact our pasts can easily paralyze us! It has certainly been an anchor in my own life! Even today as I write this, I can see how it has affected my journey. Our memories should jolt us forward, not lull us backwards. Christ did not rescue us from the past so that we should journey back on vacation! We were Born Again to start, and live a new life, and any time we spend in the old one is hindering our growth in our new one. The mature Christian is the one who leaves the past in the rearview mirror, and is constantly seeking God’s direction for the future. Also known as repenting as in Acts 26:20. Being Born Again is not rocket science. It is simply leaving the past behind, and moving forward following Jesus Christ. Seeking His advice at each and every junction! In each and every breath we take. It means taking on a whole new identity, and having nothing to do with any of the old one. God is perfectly clear in 2 Cor. 5:17, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” Lingering in the past where we once lived, will hinder our growth. And we have His help along the way! We have His Word and The Holy Spirit as a translator to guide us through life, and its many road blocks that the devil will constantly be setting in our path. We will get lost if we don’t follow His simple instructions, and allow satan to lead us astray!    

That’s why visiting the past for a moment or two, to jog our memory and remind us of where we’ve been is often needed to reset our bearings on our present journey. We must be very careful not to dwell there or the devil will try to convince us that it won’t hurt to go back for an extended visit! The Truth is that if God wanted us there, He would have left us there to begin with! God has Saved no one to walk backwards! Or to sit in a recliner relaxing and sipping margaritas! He has called each and every one of us to serve Him! And we can’t serve Him if we’re living in the past. We’ll only be serving ourselves and the devil!

Christians in addiction recovery struggle with this dilemma because most of the addiction recovery programs keep addicts centered and focused on their pasts! One of AA's most famous messages is, “once a drunk, always a drunk”! Perhaps the most hopeless statement a person needing hope could hear! AA's first step tells Christians who are participating in their meetings that they are “powerless”! Something that they were before they became Born Again, but pure blasphemy to the Christian according to Acts 1:8! “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”

The Christian struggling with addictions, or any other sin, must learn to quit living in the past. That they have become “brand new creatures in Christ,” and that they need to journey forwards, not backwards! The first and only step a Christian struggling with addictions needs to take, is to escape the walls of bondage that 12-step programs like AA use to keep them living in the past! Because there is no future in the past!