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Things I've Learned So Far While At Rehab

by Rick Oraham  
3/18/2008 / Christian Living

There is nothing I can do to make God love me any more and there is nothing I can do to make God love me any less. His love is unchanging, unconditional. There are not enough doors I can open for sweet old ladies, nothing I can do to ever make God love me any more. This is not an excuse to live like I want to live or do what I want to do knowing that God's love for me is unaffected by what I do. What I do know is that what we sacrifice by disobedience is His blessings and our own peace of mind. Sure, we can live how we want to live, but in the mean time we will not have that peace that surpasses all human understanding nor the blessings that come along with obedience.
It is not about religion; it's about relationship! As with all relationships what you get out of it is what you put into it. If you put nothing in, you get nothing out. If you consciously choose to give God daily time alone, you will truly get more out of it than what you put in.
There is a God-shaped hole in our soul that we try to fill with all kinds of replacements. It can be money, possessions, sex, drugs, alcohol. For me it was pleasure: anything that made me feel good or gave me the temporary satisfaction that I was looking for. But nothing "works". The hole that we each have within us can only be filled with a one-on-one relationship with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Anything else is a substitute that just does not work and leaves unsatisfied, longing for that next fix -- whatever it is.
If we're not careful, we drift away. We have to make a conscious effort to remain in God's will, staying strong in His word each and every day. Otherwise, it's like swimming in the ocean at the beach. You get in at one spot, swim for a few minutes and look up and your stuff is nowhere in sight! You begin to think that someone has stolen your belongings you left on the beach -- either your cooler, your towels. But what has happened is within no time, you have drifted! The undercurrents have carried you further down shore than where you put in at. This is the same with life. There is a scripture in Hebrews 2:1 that says we are to be careful that we pay close attention to the message we have learned, lest we drift away.
One of my favorite passages is in Philippians 3:12-14 where Paul writes that he is not all that he should be, and that he hasn't reached perfection, but he concentrates all of his energies on forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead. He pressed on to reach the goal. Imagine what it must have been like to be Paul, who had witnessed the murders of Christians, Christ-followers who he personally persecuted. And having to forget those images impressed into his mind, and strive to let go of his past, stop beating himself up over it and accomplish what it was God had for him to do in his lifetime. The same can be said for us, except, hopefully, none of us have done as much dirt as what Paul has done, yet look at how God was able to use him! He used a guy who had killed Christians to write 2/3rds of the New Testament! Just like Paul, we must forget the things we have done in the past, good and bad. Whether we are beating ourselves up over stupid things we've done that we wish we hadn't or whether we are reliving the good old days, living in the past, Paul says we are to move on! Imagine driving a car: if all you are doing is looking in the rear-view mirror, looking in the past at where you've been -- you'll crash! But, if you occasionally take a glance in the rear-view mirror of your life to see what God has brought you through, where His grace has intervened on your behalf and LEARN from your mistakes, constantly looking forward to new opportunities, looking through the windshield of your life, you'll be okay. This is what God requires of us: letting go of the past, and a whole-hearted, single-minded dependence upon Him and a focus to do what He requires for us. To not beat us up, knowing He loves us, no matter what! Nothing you or I can do will change this.
I've also learned that the battle against sin is something that we were not designed to fight on our own. The battle is the Lord's and not ours. 2 Corinthians 12:9 says that when we are at our weakest is when He is most strong. When we confess to our Lord, hey, this is where I'm weak, this is what I struggle with, that's when we'll find HIM there, ready to step up to the plate for us and knock whatever it is out of the park. But this comes with SURRENDER. We have to first admit to Him our struggle and LET Him intervene for us! He's a gentleman -- He won't come barging in to take control without our first letting Him do so. Revelations 3:20 says that He stands at the door and knocks. It's up to us to open the door and let Him in. At this moment of invitation is when God's power begins to show up on our behalf, until then, we will be defeated by sin time and time again until we realize, "I'm powerless over this thing. I can't handle it on my own. This is where you have to come in on my behalf, God"-- and when this happens, we will begin to experience victory over life-dominating sins.
This program is what you make of it. It isn't the most glamorous of conditions or what we would typically classify as a "vacation", but that's what it is. When do you really have 6 or 7 months to focus on YOU in the real world, with all the distractions of a job or family or bills or whatever distractions there are to keep you from focusing on your struggles, what makes you tick, your weaknesses -- YOU in general??? This, as weird as it sounds, is like a vacation! A vacation that you will get a lot out of if you put a lot into. Or a vacation that you will get nothing out of if you put little or nothing into. YOU GET OUT OF IT WHAT YOU PUT INTO IT SO MAKE THE MOST OF EVERY DAY THAT YOU ARE HERE BECAUSE TIME WILL FLY BY SO FAST!!!!

Rick Oraham ([email protected]), a greatful, recovering addict who is a born-again Believer in Jesus Christ. Currently Homeless and living at the Salvation Army

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