In today's episode you will learn the two essentials to successful recovery from addiction.
About Josh Kalsbeek, LMFT
• Marriage & Family Therapist, licensed in Nevada, Arizona, and Colorado. Currently I'm seeing all clients via video Telehealth sessions.
•Founder and CEO of Great Oaks Collective, and it's flagship program Overcome, a 10-Week virtual Intensive Outpatient Program for Christian couples experiencing sexual betrayal and addiction. Learn more at www.greatoakscollective.com. Because sometimes traditional counseling is not enough.
• Founder of Wisecraft, giving tools and ideas to help you grow in wisdom. Learn more at www.wisecraft.org. Or go here to sign up to receive my weekly newsletter, Words of Wisdom.
• To learn about what I'm currently focused on in my life, go to my Now page.
Transcripts
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Words of Wisdom, 91 on the two.
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Essentials to Recovery.
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Recovery Part eight.
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Recovery is about prayer and action.
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The entire point of recovery, according to the Big Book of
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Alcoholics Anonymous, is to get you into what they call daily, moment by
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moment, conscious contact with God.
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It's prayer.
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Wait, what isn't recovery about stopping the behavior?
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That's a part of it, but no stopping.
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An addictive behavior only sets the table for the feast.
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The real value and power comes from practicing the presence
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of God abiding in Christ.
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Why?
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You're powerless to overcome your greatest struggle on your own, whether
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that is alcohol, selfish, sexual behavior, codependence, fear of
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others, anger, overeating, overworking, addiction, sin or compulsive behavior.
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It doesn't matter.
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It's the same story.
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Either you are in control and powerful enough to change or you
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are not and you are not in control.
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You're not in control of overcoming your struggles on your own.
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You need God.
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You cannot become who you want to be on your own strength.
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The old Christian word for this is depravity.
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Our hearts are bent and twisted and can be straightened on their own.
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You desperately need God.
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The purpose of the Christian life, the purpose of recovery is prayer.
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Loving union, but it's more than becoming a monk so that you can
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pray constantly without distraction.
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Real prayer leads to virtuous action, character serving others, sacrificing
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so someone else can benefit.
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Genuinely loving others through God's strength has turned the world upside
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down, as John 15 tells us, your life's purpose is to abide in God.
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And if you do this, you will bear fruit prayer and action seeking
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God's will in the moment so you can act on it immediately.
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This is recovery.
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This is what it means to be a Christian, a follower of the way.
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Pray because you desperately need God.
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You need him to guide you each step of the way.
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Not taking action out of religious guilt or because you should,
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or so you can earn salvation.
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Take loving action.
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God alone is the most beautiful.
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God alone is good.
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God alone knows what is best for you.
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Take courageous action to advance God's loving kingdom, not your small ambition.
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Listen to the spirit and respond in obedience.
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Aim to do this every moment.
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That's it.
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True wisdom, true recovery is virtuous skill in living out of
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a loving relationship with God.
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Quotes, the purpose of your life is to have a fruit bearing relationship
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with Jesus Christ by Dan Frank in a Sermon from Grace Church Reno.
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That we need only to recognize God intimately present with us to address
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ourselves to him every moment that we may beg His assistance for knowing his
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will in things, doubtful and for rightly performing, those which we plainly see
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he requires of us Offering them to him before we do them and giving him thanks.
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When we have done by Brother Lawrence, the practice of the presence of God,
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my beloved is the most beautiful among thousands and thousands
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by Worship Mob, the song Yeshua.
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Questions.
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What fear, selfish ambition or resentment, do you need to surrender to God?
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A question to pray?
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How can I serve you?
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How is God leading you?
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Use these questions as journal prompts and prayers this week.
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End note, pray because you can't act because you can live wisely.
