Recovery Christian Center Daily Meditation - 4/21/12 - Victim, Victimizer or Volunteer
"Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing." James 1:2-4
At some point in the process of recovery and in our relationship with Christ we will see evidence of our old patterns resurfacing, in particular those we haven't truly dealt with. Whether it's childhood abuse that is causing us to select abusive partners, abandonment issues that turn our friendships into "hostage ships" or even sexual abuse issues that cause unwanted promiscuity in the name of looking for love. Unfortunately its the deep dark issues that the enemy loves to set us up with and the main reason that he can use those issues is because we have not allowed to shine His healing light into those deep dark places. So instead of dealing with the issues we now move from victim to victimizer or to volunteer. A victim of abuse who abuses others has become the victimizer and the victim of child abuse who keeps getting into abusive relationships as an adult has become the volunteer. The only way to break the destructive patterns is to turn to God and allow Him to guide us to the heart of the pain and misery that is causing us destruction in the here and now. This is where prayer, meditation, step work, sponsorship and studying the Word and our other recovery literature come in. Now once we are aware of our issues and are in the process of allowing God to work on us, when the enemy does try to throw it our face we now have the tools to do as the text says and "count it as an opportunity for great joy" because we no longer have to fall for the same old trick. Our faith can grow, but in order for it grow as much as possible we have to allow God into even the darkest places in our lives and into the deepest holes in our heart.
"Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing." James 1:2-4
At some point in the process of recovery and in our relationship with Christ we will see evidence of our old patterns resurfacing, in particular those we haven't truly dealt with. Whether it's childhood abuse that is causing us to select abusive partners, abandonment issues that turn our friendships into "hostage ships" or even sexual abuse issues that cause unwanted promiscuity in the name of looking for love. Unfortunately its the deep dark issues that the enemy loves to set us up with and the main reason that he can use those issues is because we have not allowed to shine His healing light into those deep dark places. So instead of dealing with the issues we now move from victim to victimizer or to volunteer. A victim of abuse who abuses others has become the victimizer and the victim of child abuse who keeps getting into abusive relationships as an adult has become the volunteer. The only way to break the destructive patterns is to turn to God and allow Him to guide us to the heart of the pain and misery that is causing us destruction in the here and now. This is where prayer, meditation, step work, sponsorship and studying the Word and our other recovery literature come in. Now once we are aware of our issues and are in the process of allowing God to work on us, when the enemy does try to throw it our face we now have the tools to do as the text says and "count it as an opportunity for great joy" because we no longer have to fall for the same old trick. Our faith can grow, but in order for it grow as much as possible we have to allow God into even the darkest places in our lives and into the deepest holes in our heart.
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