All my Hope

By Carl Kimbro, Fellowship Bible Church CR Devotional team member 4/11/2018

Is God at the Center of my Recovery?

Usually, we start our sharing by saying something like “I am a grateful believer in Jesus Christ who struggles with (fill in the blank) and my name is (fill in the blank)”. What does it mean to us personally when we say “I am a grateful believer in Jesus Christ”? We know it signifies that He is in control of our lives and our recovery. But I have to ask myself (and maybe you can ask yourself, too), do I really approach my recovery as grateful?

Addiction, depression, divorce, and other things can send our lives spinning out of control. Coping becomes a full-time job. We try to hide it from others and just attempt to make it through the day. In desperation and fear, we call out to God for help. With Jesus at the center of our recovery we can put our trust in God as David did in Psalm 28:7 when he said “The Lord is my strength and my shield, in Him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to Him".

Deep down inside in his heart, in the center of his emotions, David trusted God to deliver him from his troubles. God honored his faith and trust in him by delivering David from powerful enemies. Enemies that seemed insurmountable and that he could not have defeated on his own. If God is powerful enough to do that for David, he can do the same for us in our afflictions. Relying on Jesus as our strength and trusting Him in our hearts is the key. If Jesus was willing to die for our sins, would He also not help us overcome our hurts, habits, and hang-ups? That doesn’t mean we won’t have struggles and an easy path to recovery. But it does mean we can trust in God and believe it will happen.

Here is an action we can do on our part too: Psalm 37: 5 says “Commit your way to the Lord, trust in Him and He will act”. We can turn our whole life over to God, holding none of it back. Living for Him, turn your troubles over to Him, praying to Him about His will in our lives. This verse undeniably tells us God will act on our behalf. He will reward our faith in Him by helping us in our recovery. It’s a powerful promise we can count on if we will turn our lives over to Him and trust Him deep in our hearts as David did.

Here is my encouragement for you:  The next time you start off with the statement “I am a grateful believer in Jesus Christ”, I encourage you to think about what that really means in your life. Are you putting your hope in Jesus for your recovery? Are you turning your whole life over to Him? If the answer is no, make this statement a reality in your life so you can see the power of His presence in your recovery.  Have a great week, forever family!

Click HERE to listen to All My Hope is in Jesus

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