Action
How are the verses coming along?
This week, we dive into the New Testament and pick up a section that’s all about our attitudes.
A friend of mine told me that I have control over my attitude; feelings are information not instructions.
Food for thought…here’s week three’s verse(s):
12Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience,
13bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.
14And above all these things, put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.
This doesn’t have to be hard. Practice it for a few minutes every day.
You got this.
Reflection
Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing; heal me O, Lord, for my bones are troubled. My soul also is greatly troubled. But you, O Lord—how long?
Psalm 6:2-3
The sense of impending doom and of the walls closing in is not limited to our drinking and using days. Even after straightening out, we are often plagued by soul-stretching turmoil.
The temptation here is to fixate on it in the wrong ways. My mind would selfishly like to magnify my suffering to maximize my relief.
Often, it’s not the extent of my actual troubles that are my prolonged issue, but my obsession over them.
Just as in quitting drinking, I need God’s intervention to move past the spiritual speed bumps of what is now my everyday sober life. I’m not a cripple in need of being carried, but rather an athlete who now needs basic coaching.
And what better coach could there be!
In distress, let us turn to him for pouring out our soul. He listens.
In pain, let us come speechless to him in reflection and sorrow.
In confusion, let us bring our riddles to the master and wait patiently for his provision.
God, bend my mind towards yours.
Resources
The First 90 Days (pdf) - a 90-day series not found in the book
Book List (amazon) - My favorite recover/faith reads.
12-Step Christianity (YouTube) - My thoughts on discipleship and sponsorship.