"The Levites—Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, and Pelaiah—then instructed the people in the Law while everyone remained in their places. They read from the Book of the Law of God and clearly explained the meaning of what was being read, helping the people understand each passage. Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who were interpreting for the people said to them, “Don’t mourn or weep on such a day as this! For today is a sacred day before the Lord your God.” For the people had all been weeping as they listened to the words of the Law. And Nehemiah continued, “Go and celebrate with a feast of rich foods and sweet drinks, and share gifts of food with people who have nothing prepared. This is a sacred day before our Lord. Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the Lord is your strength!” And the Levites, too, quieted the people, telling them, “Hush! Don’t weep! For this is a sacred day.” So the people went away to eat and drink at a festive meal, to share gifts of food, and to celebrate with great joy because they had heard God’s words and understood them." Nehemiah 8:7-12 NLT
Step 4: We made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
One of the traps for people in recovery and in Christ is that they get stuck at Step 3 or salvation. We saved but whats next? We have turned our lives over to God so we should be good right? Biblically and in the step process that's just the beginning. We still need to take a long hard look at ourselves to get to know ourselves, our strengths and weaknesses, our self destructive patterns, and how our past is still dictating our present. It's time for an inventory.
When the remnant of conquered Israelites returned to Jerusalem to rebuild, they were unaware of their past and how far from God's Law they had been living. When it was read and explained to them the realization of their past sins caused a profound sadness until their leadership told them, "Don't be dejected and sad, for the joy of the Lord is your strength!" He wanted them to understand that finding the truth should be a joyful experience. It's the same with us today. While the process of facing our past can be an emotional experience, we need to do it so we can get better and better get to know ourselves. While we will find out we have done many things that weren't pleasing to God, we need to remember that because of our decision in Step 3 to surrender to Christ we are already forgiven.
The purpose of facing our past is to help us get better and deal with issues if not dealt with will cause us problems now. We are making a fresh start on a new life in Christ and in our recovery. This is a time of celebration. We are celebrating God for what he has done and is continuing to do in this new life.
No comments:
Post a Comment