Let it Go!

Matthew 19:22
That was the last thing the young man expected to hear, and so, crest fallen, he walked away. He was holding on tight to a lot of things, and he couldn't bear to let go.

There is always a pivotal moment in the recovery of an individual where decisions have to be made.
They are hard decisions.
Painful decisions.
But to embrace this new life of sobriety, they have to be made.

In addiction, an individual collects people, places and things that, to them, have brought comfort and escape.
They are so locked into the life of the addict that they cannot see that these are the very things that are aiding their addiction. When a person enters into recovery, for the most part, they simply want the pain to stop. They want relief from the stress and depression. So as they detox from their drugs and alcohol, they become clear headed and truly believe that they "can handle it from here." They don't realize that they actually haven't done anything to aid them in their recovery. They haven't addressed the issues that caused them to use. They haven't turned their life over to their Higher Power (in our case...the Higher Power is Jesus Christ). They simply have gotten some rest. Gained some weight, and are clear headed for the first time in a long time. What they are experiencing is a false sense of security.

The verse above comes from the rich, young ruler who comes to Jesus asking what must he do to have eternal life. Jesus responds and the young man replies, "Oh I've done all of those things." Jesus comes back to him with one last thing...."You lack one thing." In other words, Jesus saw the young man in a way that the young man was not aware of. He saw the flaw that would be his downfall. The young man harbored a love for his riches. He valued them more than he did possessing eternal life. Every person who is addicted reaches that place where they have to make a decision. The phrase we use is Recovery at all costs.That means that nothing, no one, or no place can come between an individual and their sobriety.

Every person who encounters conviction under the Holy Spirit reaches this place of decision.
To embrace this new life offered by Jesus, we must turn loose of the old one. We cannot meld the two lives together. We cannot have a kind of hodge-podge made up of the best of both life styles. Me personally, I have seen what the world has to offer and I want no part of it. By saying the world, I speak of the societal demands and values that are placed on individuals. They offer nothing but death and I desire no part of them.

Choose this day Jesus!
God on you....
mb