Hope
My husband and I are missionaries for the addiction recovery program for our church. The program is based on the 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous. Our topic for tonight is step 2. The one word that describes that topic is HOPE. The step is very much about getting to know who God really is. Most addicts and addicts families have a distorted view of God. Many have turned away from God in their life because of those distortions. In step one you realize how powerless you are to control the addiction and that it has taken away your freedom and put you in bondage. The only way you can find any HOPE of recovery is in trusting in a power greater than yourself. That trust is step 3. First you’ve got to know who you are going
to trust in. So who is God?
I believe that who to trust is Christ. The gospel of Christ. Gospel means good news. Many believe that God is controlling. I think that is a distortion. None of us like to be controlled. How can that be good news? Many get those distortions from how their parents treated them and from the culture. I think just the opposite is true of God. Rather than being controlling the most valuable gift he gives to us, is the gift of agency. We are free to choose. Men abuse that agency and try to control each other, which brings tremendous pain into the world. God will not stop them because of the value of that gift. Even in the most controlling circumstances brought about by men there are choices. There is always the choice of how to react and what attitude we will have.
If God isn’t controlling, then what about all those commandments he has?
I believe those commandments are from a loving father teaching us how not to abuse each other, but rather how to love each other more completely and bring more love into our own lives. They are a gift to us to show us the way in a very confusing and truth distorted world.
One of the distortions that I grew up with is: Even though I know God loves us, I didn’t feel like I could ever be perfect enough to make it to Gods kingdom. No matter how good I was able to be, I could never be good enough.
That is called perfectionism and it is a lie. By believing that, I was completely rejecting the whole reason Christ came to this earth. The gift of the atonement that makes it possible for each one of us imperfect people to be made whole and receive all that God the Father has to offer.
The truth is that my best will be good enough and all that I fall short of Christ will take care of. I can trust him to pick up the pieces of my life that I am incapable of fixing. As I continually turn to him for guidance he will show me a way out of the bondage from my addictive and compulsive behaviors. Not only that, but as I try to live the commandments in order to bring more love into my life and to other people, he will help me fine tune the general commandments so they are more specific to my individual circumstance.
Then on top of that he will also show me the way to find powers and peace even beyond what I could imagine or dream of. Even in a mixed up, distorted, chaotic, unpeaceful world.
I say that is HOPE!