Patient
christian
Uncaged
Originally posted at: http://www.theresstillhope.org
One summer, Bob Bartlett, an explorer, filled a boat with rare birds, put them in cages, and began to transport them to America. Somewhere in the Atlantic, the boat encountered rough water, and one of the birds got away. They watched the bird fly away to apparent “freedom.” But, several hours later, the bird came back. He couldn’t find any land, so he returned to the ship.
What had once been a prison was now the only way this bird could get across the ocean.
I have seen dozens of addicts declare themselves “free.” As a result, they abandoned their groups and their program. Eventually, they did one of two things. They either relapsed, or they returned to their “cage.” We welcomed them back to the group, where they continued the voyage with the rest of us.
God is all about freedom. “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty” (2 Corinthians 3:17).
Make no mistake. That liberty is more about the journey than the destination.
Recovery Step: Don’t abandon ship. You need your group and your group needs you.
Burden
A Game You Can’t Win
originally posted at: http://www.theresstillhope.org
During the days of King Saul, the Israelites sang a song that got Saul’s goat: “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands” (1 Samuel 18:7).
Every time that song played on Spotify, it provoked a spirit of jealousy within Saul. “They credit David with tens of thousands and me with only thousands,” he said. “Next, they’ll be making him their king.” (1 Samuel 18:8). What did Saul do about it? “From that time on Saul kept a jealous eye on David” (1 Samuel 18:9).
Author Mark Batterson addresses this. “The irony of the story is that David was actually Saul’s greatest asset. He helped Saul save face against Goliath – and saved Saul’s kingdom. The beginning of the end came when Saul started playing the comparison game. No one wins the comparison game.”
There is only one person you should ever compare yourself or your recovery to. That is the person you were yesterday.
Recovery Step: Quit comparing yourself to others. Period.
Control
