Wonderfully Made

Bible reading Psalms 139:13 – 18

Step 4 - We made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.

Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord. Lamentations 3:40

Principle 4 –  Openly examine and confess my faults to myself, to God, and to someone I trust. (Steps  4 and 5)

“Happy are the pure in heart.”

Growing up, we may have been led to believe that we were “good enough”. We probably try to become “good enough” by doing, since we weren’t acceptable just as we were. We need to be careful as we make a moral inventory not replay in our own minds all the old lies about our lack of value as human beings. This Is not the purpose of the inventory! Using it this way can be detrimental to our recovery.

We need to replace the misconceptions about our self-worth with the truth. David reflected on God’s view of us when he wrote: “You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body, and knit them together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! It is amazing to think about. Your workmanship is marvelous – and how well I know it. You were there while I was being formed in utter seclusion! You saw me before I was born and scheduled each day of my life before I began to breathe. Every day was recorded in your Book! How precious it is, Lord, to realize that you are thinking about me constantly! I can’t even count how many times a day your thoughts turn towards me.” (Psalm 139:13 – 18)

David’s glimpse of the high-value God places in our lives, even before we are, shows that our value precedes doing. By faith we need to accept this foundational truth about our basic values as human beings. We must accept that our lives are worth the pain of working through recovery.

Aspects of God’s perfect character are reflected in the lives of each and every person.

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No More Struggles

And we have ceased fighting anything and anyone – even our drug of choice!

When Celebrate Recovery found me, I thought I was in for a struggle, I celebrate recovery might provide the strength needed to beat my addiction. Victorious that fight, who knows what other battles I could win. I would to be strong, though. All my experience with life proved that. Today I don’t have to struggle or exert my will. If I take those 12 steps that Jesus Christ do the real work, my addiction problems disappear all by themselves. My living problems also cease to be struggles. I just have to ask whether acceptance – or change – is required. It is not my will, but His, that needs doing.

Matthew 11:28-29 “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

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Understanding the Past

Bible reading: 1 Corinthians 3:10 – 15

Step 4 - We made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.

Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord. Lamentations 3:40

Principle 4 –  Openly examine and confess my faults to myself, to God, and to someone I trust. (Steps  4 and 5)

“Happy are the pure in heart.”

Our addictions may already have destroyed everything we’ve worked for – our family, friendships, finances – everything may be lost. Beginning recovery is like starting back at the foundation and building a whole new life. Making an inventory should help us consider what caused our losses in the first place. That way, we’ll be able to rebuild with materials that will hold up under fire.

The apostle Paul wrote, “But he who builds on the foundation must be very careful. And no one can ever lay any other real foundation than that one we already have – Jesus Christ… Everyone’s work will be put through the fire so that all can see whether or not it keeps its value, and what was really accomplished. And every workman who has built on the foundation with the right materials, and whose work still stands, will get his pay. But if the house he has built burns up, he will have a great loss. He himself will be saved, but like a man escaping through a wall of flames. (1 Corinthians 3:10, 12 – 15).

Even though Paul was referring to the final judgment, this also applies to recovery. We know that what we use in building our old way of life didn’t hold up. By doing our inventory, we can make sure that we don’t experience further loss by repeating our past patterns, which are vulnerable to destruction. When future tests come, the lasting effects of our recovery and the rewards of our new way of life will be evident to all.

Since we have turned our lives over to God, He is the foundation on whom we must build.

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Material and Spiritual Well Being

Fear … of economic insecurity will leave us.

Having fear reduced or eliminated and having economic circumstances improve, are 2 different things. When I was new Celebrate Recovery, I had those 2 ideas confused. I thought fear would leave me only when I started making money. However, another participant in Celebrate Recovery explained it to me this way as I was chewing on my financial to: “For us, material well-being always followed spiritual progress; it never preceded.” I suddenly understood that this promise was a guarantee. I saw that it put priorities in the correct order, that spiritual progress would diminish that terrible fear of being destitute, just as it diminished many of the fears.

Today I try to use the talents God gave me to benefit others. I’ve found that is what others valued all along. I try to remember that I no longer work for myself. I only get the use of the wealth God created, I have never “owned” it. My life’s purpose is much clearer when I just work to help, not to possess.

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God’s Mercy

Bible reading: Revelation 20:11 – 15

Step 4 - We made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.

Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord. Lamentations 3:40

Principle 4 –  Openly examine and confess my faults to myself, to God, and to someone I trust. (Steps  4 and 5)

“Happy are the pure in heart.”

We may wish we could avoid making a moral inventory; it’s normal to want to hide from examination. But in our hearts, we probably sense that day will come when we will have to look carefully at our lives.

The Bible tells us there’s a day coming when an inventory will be made of every life. No one will be able to hide. In John’s vision he saw “a great white throne and the one who sat upon it, from whose face the earth and sky fled away, but they found no place to hide. I saw the dead, great and small, standing before God; and The Books were opened, including the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to the things written in The Books, each according to the deeds he had done… And if anyone’s name was not found recorded in the Book of Life, he was thrown into the Lake of Fire” (Revelation 20:11 – 12, 15).

It’s best to do our own moral inventory now to make sure we’re ready for the one to come. Anyone whose name is in the Book of Life is saved. This includes all who sins have been atoned for by the death of Jesus. Those who refuse God’s offer of mercy are left to be judged on the basis of their own deeds recorded in “The Books”. No one will pass that test! Perhaps now is a good time to make sure our names are in the right book. And when we know our lives are covered with God’s forgiveness, we will be able to examine them fearlessly.

We can be fearless in our inventory is have been loved and accepted by God.

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Love And Tolerance

Love and tolerance of others is our code.

I have found that I have to forgive others in all situations to maintain any real spiritual progress. The vital importance of forgiving may not be obvious to me at first sight, but my studies tell me that every great spiritual teacher has insisted strongly upon it.

I must forgive injuries, not just in words, or as a matter of form, but in my heart. I do this not for the other person’s sake, but for my own sake. Resentment, anger, or a desire to see someone punished, are things that rot it my soul. Such things fasten my troubles to me with chains. They tie me to other problems that have nothing to do with my original problem.

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A Searching Examination

Bible reading: 2 Timothy 1:9 – 11

Step 4 - We made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.

Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord. Lamentations 3:40

Principle 4 –  Openly examine and confess my faults to myself, to God, and to someone I trust. (Steps  4 and 5)

“Happy are the pure in heart.”

Searching is more than just casually looking around; it implies an intense desire to discover what we’re looking for. What can motivate us to make a searching moral inventory, especially since we know will be uncovering our inadequacies?

God is not looking for people good enough to desire His love. Instead, God wants to find people who identify their inadequacies as a place for His love and kindness to fit into their lives. If this is true, why shouldn’t we be enthusiastic about searching, even for our failures? Every deficiency, every need, every shortcoming can make room for the love of God be displayed prominently in our lives. The apostle Paul wrote to Timothy, saying, “It is He [God] who saved us and chose us for His holy work, not because we deserved it but because it was his planned long before the world began – to show his loving kindness to us through Christ” (2 Timothy 1:9).

If we approach our inventory with the intention of looking for places in our lives for God’s mercy and love have a chance to make up for our failings, we can be enthusiastic about both the good and bad that we find there. Jude tells us, “Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life” (Jude 1:21). Knowing that God is looking for places to display His love in our lives, we can make an intense, yet fearless, search.

Our fearless internal search brings to life areas of our lives desperate for God’s love and mercy.

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