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Recovery = A New Beginning!

by Angela Willingham  
5/27/2009 / Christian Living

I was sitting in a Recovery Group meeting at the church I attend. Most of you who have been with us for a while may be asking yourself, what was she doing there? I did not know that Angela had a problem with drugs or alcohol and you are correct I don't. What I learned in the recovery group meeting was that drugs and alcohol are not the only things we recover from. Maybe you are recovering from a divorce, being abused verbally or sexually, an addiction to lying or pornography, struggling with feelings for individuals of the same sex, being a gossiper, sexual immorality, or a bad relationship. Maybe it was a spirit of pride or rejection. Whatever it is we are all recovering from something.

The vision for the Recovery Group at Desert Life Church is:

To see men and women delivered from hang-ups and habits that hurt themselves and others, through the love of Jesus Christ.
The vision makes it clear that recovery group just like a new beginning is for anyone and everyone. Each of us has struggled with some thing if we are not still struggling with it. There are no big struggles and little struggles. What is a problem for me may not be a problem for you, but that does not make it big or small. I shared with a friend once that sexual sin seems to be a huge deal even though it is the one we in the body of Christ seem to deal with the least. Why did I say that? I do not have a natural bent towards drugs or alcohol, no matter how much society pushes that way, but we all have a physical body and we all have basic physical needs that scream at us from time to time to be dealt with. Yet, when we normally hear about recovery group that is not what we think of. We think you are cool if you are not messed up on drugs or alcohol. Whatever the issue or situation recovery and new beginnings are one and the same. You were in a place and now you are starting over, going in a different direction, leaving something behind. Maybe your issue like mine is not drugs or alcohol, maybe it is pride, disobedience, talking too much, judging others, being perfect or trying to be. Maybe your struggle is worry, un-forgiveness, being controling, un-willingness to give God control of some area of your life. Whatever the issue or situation, whatever the circumstance we can turn that thing over to God and allow Him to walk us through our own personal recovery, to a new beginning a place of a fresh start.
You might be asking what made me go to the recovery group. I would say to you I went because I wanted to be an encouragement or a help to someone else. But what I have come to learn in my relationship with God is that every time we give of ourselves He rewards us in private, maybe by a word spoken from one of the other participants, maybe by an answer to prayer, but when you do what you are supposed to do He will present Himself strong on your behalf. Maybe you don't think you are recovering from anything but let me assure you that we all are.
I guess I still didn't tell you my deal. Well as Pastor John facilitated the group, God began to remind me of His desire for us to love unconditionally, the way that He does. I have dealt with un-forgiveness issues many years ago, but now He just wants to keep reminding me/us to walk in faith, to trust Him to handle our situations no matter how big or how small. He keeps reminding me that no matter how difficult the situation there is someone out there that is waiting for us to do what we need to do so that we can be a witness in that area of struggle. I keep learning too keep on loving as God did when He sent His son. In the Amplified Bible (AMP) Passage John 3:16 says, 16For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten ([a]unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) As one that is not perfect I need God and people to keep on loving me. What am I learning? That Jesus who knew no sin became a sin covering for me, in spite of His perfection. He knew I was going to mess up and He chose to take my punishment upon Himself.
When I think about all of us that are recovering, I think how grateful I am that He did not give up on us and I pray that He will help us not to give up on ourselves or on each other. God teach us to love like you do. A father that does not give up on His children and continues to give us chance after chance after chance.
My goal in recovery is gain greater trust and faith in God, to recover from my issue of pride, judging and whatever else God shows me and to love others the way that He does, sacrificially. Will it hurt sometimes? Yes, but it won't hurt me any more than it hurts Him when I sin and He loves me anyway. While He hates my sin, I know that He loves me. God help me to love like that. Help me to exhibit Agape Love to others, to love them into a new beginning.
Check yourself today. What area in your life needs to go through some recovery? Where do you need a new beginning? We are all sinners saved by the loving grace of God, so it is okay to admit we are not perfect. The blessing is that God never expected us to be perfect. As sinners we fall short, but we can count on Him to make up the difference. Our only perfection is in Him. Be real with yourself and God today. Are you a recovering:
Gossiper
Liar
Porn Addict
Homosexual
Child abuser
Child abuse victim
Fornicator
Adulterer
Thief
Crime Victim
Maybe you are recovering from being a victim of identity theft that has ruined your life. Maybe it is a spirit of hatred because of something some one did to you. Maybe you are recovering from a spirit of rejection or bitterness that has a root so deep in your spirit that you see everything from a negative perspective. Maybe you are recovering from a spirit of racial prejudice based on your past or how you have been treated. Maybe you are learning to love again after years of abuse at the hands of the very people that were supposed to love you. Maybe it is a generational stronghold that has held your family for years. No one has ever gone beyond the sixth grade. Every man and woman in your family has had a child out of wedlock. Generational curses of stuff that has kept your family bound for generations and through recovery it is time for you to break the pattern.
Maybe you are recovering from an abortion that you had years ago or maybe it just happened yesterday. Maybe you are recovering from an unwanted pregnancy or from being a rape victim. I could go on an on and on, but what we all need to understand is that recovery comes in many forms from many different things. Society has fooled us into believing if we were not addicted to drugs and alcohol we were cool, but the truth is, there are some other things we have to recover from in order to take our place in the kingdom. There are some things we need to be open and honest about. Yes, I think the word transparent fits nicely here. In our transparency we will find healing and deliverance. In our transparency we will find the keys to unlock the doors the enemy has tried to keep us locked behind so that we could not experience the complete joy and freedom of our relationship in Christ.
Today ask God to show you that thing whatever it is that He wants you to begin your walk of recovery in. Don't be afraid. Don't turn away when it gets difficult. You have to walk through it to get to the place where He wants you to be. Pray for Him to send you to a person or group to help you walk through because we need each other to survive and make it to the place where He wants us to be. Maybe you have already made it through some stuff, then pray for Him to dispatch you as His witness to help somebody else get through. Galatians 6:1-3 says, 1 Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer[a] is overcome by some sin, you who are godly[b] should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. 2 Share each other's burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. 3 If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important. We have a job to do.


Scripture:
2 Corinthians 5:17-18:
17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!
18 And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him.

Angela Willingham, CEO New Beginnings Holistic Fitness Ministries, Inc.
www.mynewtemple.org
Copyright New Beginnings Holistic Fitness Ministries, Inc.

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