Trading My Sorrows

 By Carl Kimbro, Fellowship Bible Church Celebrate Recovery Devotional Team, 4/7/21 


Cheryl and I like to call adopting our granddaughters “Parenting round 2.” Anyone who has had interruptions to their “rhythms of life” knows the unexpectedly sudden things like death, raising grandkids, taking care of an aging parent, or a host of other problems can be overwhelming. Some days I feel anger and resentment for a life that seems lost to me. Today as I write this could easily be one of those days.

One of my friends told me recently that he is beginning what is known to some as "empty nesters life" and planning the things they will do. Another friend is just enjoying time alone with his wife and getting to know her again like when they were first married.

These things remind me of the two years alone we had before we had to take custody of the girls. I am jealous and envious of my friends. I question why God allowed this to happen. It fuels my resentment again for son, the girl parents. I get mad, and I lash out at others around me. I know it’s unforgiving, and I know it doesn’t portray my life as a Christian to the girls or to those around me. That it turn causes me to spend the rest of my day confessing these sins to God. It's a trip into frustration that I hate. Fortunately, Celebrate Recovery has given me the tools to change the destination from frustration to joy.

When I feel stuck in my circumstances, or just plain miserable, Principle 2 reminds me of just how much I matter to God.

Principle 2
Earnestly believe that God exists, that I matter to Him, 
and that He has the power to help me recover.

“Happy are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” Matthew 5:4

It’s okay to mourn. It’s a God given emotion, but mourning doesn’t feel good. In the past, I turned to sinful addictions to bring me comfort. But it was just an illusion that didn’t bring peace or happiness. Celebrate Recovery has taught me to turn to the Word of God for comfort and truth.  In the scriptures I find a God who loves me and died for me that I might be free from sin to live with Him forever. I never lose my sense of awe that we have such an awesome God that He would do that for me. In scripture, I find many stories that show again and again how God comforted and brought peace to those who were hurting. My bible reading reminds me God will do this for me too!

Friendly words and prayer at just the right time are a blessing. My accountability partners are a life-line for me. Before I started to write this blog, I reached out to them. Immediately I received two texts offering brotherly love, prayer and concern. Just this encouragement alone changed my attitude quickly. I never had accountability brothers before. What a blessing! Because of CR, I have learned that leaning on others isn’t a weakness. It’s a lifesaver!

Are you hurting and mourning circumstances in your life? If so, I encourage you to turn to Principle 2 and remember that to God you matter!

Click HERE to listen to "Yes Lord (Trading My Sorrows)" by Jeremy Camp

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

12 Days Of CR Christmas

Image
One of our great leader Monica rewrote the lyrics to this old Christmas song to tie into the 12 steps. We had a lot of fun singing it and love that it keeps the focus on the 12 steps thru Christmas. Great job Monica! On the first day of Christmas, my Savior gave to me, the notion it’s not about me; On the second day of Christmas, my Savior gave to me, my sanity, and the notion it’s not about me. On the third day of Christmas, my Savior gave to me, the will to be faithful, my sanity, and the notion it’s not about me. On the fourth day of Christmas, my Savior gave to me, my inventory, will to be faithful, my sanity, and the notion it’s not about me. On the fifth day of Christmas, my Savior gave to me, the chance to come clean! my Inventory, faithfulness, my sanity, and the notion it’s not about me On the sixth day of Christmas, my Savior gave to me, desire to be humble, the chance to come clean! my Inventory, faithfulness, my sanity, and the notion it’s not about me. On the
Read more

Why do we introduce ourselves?

One of the things that might confuse a newcomer coming into this great ministry is the way we introduce our self and do so every time we meet in a Step Group and/or Open discussion group. The question that often comes up is; “Why in the world would we have to introduce our self every time we come together? I mean, we all know each other don’t we? We all know what the other is struggling with right? So why should I have to state my main issue I am dealing with? These are all logical questions and I think the below content from Tina at Saddleback might help shed some light on this. As you may already know, in our small groups we ask our Leaders to introduce themselves with this statement: “Hi my name is _______; I am a believer who struggles with________.” We ask our leaders to keep it short; to stick to one or two primary areas of recovery. We ask them not to state a host of recovery issues and character defects, etc… especially because we do not run recovery specific groups for cha
Read more

Verbal Reality--Why you can't believe an addict and what you can do as a co-dependent

I recently came across the below article when websurfing for information about verbal reality, a concept a friend introduced me to last year during a time I was trying to figure out is someone was telling me the truth or not. The below article is specifically for Porn addiction, and comes from a very good website, but I've found it true with all addictive behaviors. If you've never heard of Verbal Reality, and you question whether or not your spouse is being honest, this is a good way to help you sort it out, and a great tool for your recovery. ______ Consider This. (from http://www.pornaddicthubby.com/Help-For-The-Addict.html) Addicts of any kind live in a "verbal reality." This means if they say it, it is true and if they say it passionately enough even they believe it is really true. Men who have an addiction to porn live in a verbal reality. A sex addict believes what he is saying while he is saying it. Your most helpful tool in dealing with verbal reality is look
Read more