The Bible is filled with seeming paradoxes but there is one recurring theme. God’s strength is revealed most in our weakness. In a previous post I discussed what I have control over and what is out of control and found the answer to the first to be “very little” and the second to be “quite a bit”.

At first glance that doesn’t seem like an auspicious beginning to the new year and some would say, “Matt, take it easy on yourself – you just have to be more positive about change.” And that is partly correct because I should. God says that he will continue the good work he began in us until the end of time. However, it is God that will bring this healing and change – not me.

If I could do it, I would. I’ve tried all kinds of self-help books, rigid plans (legalism) to bring about order, kicking my butt, positive thinking, etc. to remove sin/problems resulting from sin from my life and none of it worked. I was still left with the same issues. When I shut one down, my problems worked into another area. It was like one of those stress balls. I would squeeze it but the goo never went anywhere (and it was goo). It just went into another area of the ball.

The first step of real life change

It was when God led me to the ministry of Celebrate Recovery that I read the first step and truly began a journey down the road to healing. I’ve seen more change in the past few years than in my entire life put together and it all started with this one thing.

“Realize I’m not God. I admit that I am powerless to control my tendency to do the wrong thing and that my life is unmanageable” (Principle 1 of ‘The Road to Recovery’)

Isn’t that strange that a ministry such as this wouldn’t put “Stop doing ‘X’” as the first step? If I’m smoking crack, committing adultery, or laying guilt trips on my kids, wouldn’t I want to address this problem first?

How God handles life change in the Bible.

I was reading Jeremiah and saw the following passage that God instructed Jeremiah to tell the people:

Therefore, go and say these words to Israel, ‘This is what the Lord says: O Israel, my faithless people, come home to me again, for I am merciful. I will not be angry with you forever. Only acknowledge your guilt. Admit that you rebelled against the Lord your God and committed adultery against him by worshiping idols under every green tree. Confess that you refused to follow me. I, the Lord, have spoken’ Jeremiah 3:12 (NLT)

Acknowledge, admit, and confess. He doesn’t say “stop.” These three things require a great amount of humility because to do any of those, we must first admit we are wrong, which means we acknowledge that something else is right. This is a huge step in societies with relative morality, but really it is hard in societies with absolute morality as well. People are sinners, and we are proud. I don’t like admitting I’m wrong at all. Other people are good at admitting they are wrong, but that is only because they don’t like conflict. Inwardly they “know they are right.”

Admitting my powerlessness and sin brings healing saves me from wrath and judgment.

And yet you say, ‘I haven’t done anything wrong. Surely he isn’t angry with me!’ Now I will punish you severely because you claim you have not sinned. Jeremiah 2:35 (NLT)

Notice how God says he will punish me for my denial / blocking out the light of truth, not that I will be punished because I’m a bad, bad man.

Wrath and judgment is a highly unpopular topic in the Bible and the Christian church today but the fact remains there is judgment spoken about by every person God throws out there as a vessel of his message including Jesus Christ. It has to be addressed, and we all know it, even if it’s just deep, deep (deep) down there in the innermost parts of our heart.

Categories: Step 2
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