It’s interesting how God uses themes in my life. Usually a point is made several times over the course of anywhere from a day to a couple weeks. This is likely because I’m thick-headed and not that good of a listener so I’m happy God extends enough mercy to give me a few shots at “getting it.”

I’m starting to catch these reminders on instance #2 instead of #3, 5 or 7 and before I’m sitting in an 8×10 cell. I prayed over the past few years about God helping me pay less “stupid tax” and learn lessons an easier way, so it is super-encouraging to see this start to happen.

This week’s “theme” seems to be the 12th step of Celebrate Recovery:

Having had a spritual experience as a result of these (12) steps, we try to carry this message to others, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

“Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently, But watch yourself, or you may also be tempted” Galatians 6:1

It started off with me pondering God’s direction in my life.

• I have been struggling with producing what I consider true fruit in my career – am I going to right the ship?
• Is my career going to morph into something else?
• If my career morphs, how does it change – is it a sub-field of my current one, or is it something radically different?
• It seems like God is turning my strengths into weaknesses these days and using my weaknesses as his strengths. Very frustrating, as I put a great deal of time into developing what I assume are strengths. However, I’ve noted pretty much everyone God uses in the Bible had serious flaws. Those were what God used to bring himself glory and also bestow some residual glory on them, so I shouldn’t be surprised. I should even be encouraged.
• Is God going to make sense of a few overtly spiritual and personal experiences I’ve had over the past couple years and do they come into play with these other issues? The experiences were certainly weird and cool at the same time and definitely God, but could be interpreted in several ways. Unless God is bringing someone into my life who has some insight, then I have to take it as God wanted me to just know he has a plan and loves me. The details at this point aren’t that important though, regardless of how much I want a complete picture. God dropped into my heart the week before how God is looking for people to say “Yes, God” before knowing the question God is asking.

Sharing Christ with People I Know Very Well…

Next I was sporadically coming in contact with a person I know who has been struggling mightily over the past few years with something spiritual in nature. I experienced many of the same struggles, though they manifested themselves differently in my life.

After watching myself and listening to others first going through a 12-step program, I’ve realized it is extremely difficult for people to connect to other people’s stories unless there are direct correlations at first. (e.g. I struggle with alcohol and so did they).

Once a person is in a Christ-centered 12-step program (or perhaps any 12-step – I’m just speaking to my experience), God starts dropping truth in their heart, where they realize the root of literally any issue in people’s lives has the same root. This root crosses geography, culture, language, sex, and any other division we’ve created to break down our world into digestible chunks.

For the aforementioned reason, any previous efforts to make a connection turned up nothing. Of course I usually did it with at least a beer in my system so not sure what I was really expecting – not saying God hates beer. Just that it impairs judgement which is needed in its entirety for delicate matters like discerning God’s wisdom.

So, even though I identify with this person’s struggle, I don’t know how to help other than pray. Neither does my wife. Neither does anyone else who knows them.

So instead of praying for them, I decided to avoid them – smart, huh?

Revealing My “Fear of Man”

God then dropped a message from J.R. Vassar into my ipod via the Village Church podcast.

The subject was “fear of man” – and covered all these different ways we show fear of man (hint, most don’t have any usual evidence of “fear” so they go unchecked). I wasn’t surprised by this – had realized this before, but it rekindled those embers God previously laid in my heart.

The part of the message that ended up sticking in my gut was how I am not opening my heart to God to “be used to bring this good news to others.” My fear didn’t involve this person rejecting me.

It was that they weren’t going along with my idea so I didn’t feel powerful or useful. Ugh.

Sharing Christ with Neighbors, Coworkers, and Others in My Circle of Daily Influence…

Sure, I share on a blog – but this is easy. You and I will probably never meet this side of heaven. How about my neighbors? How about my co-workers? Shoot, how about even family?

And I’m not talking about handing out some tracts or books, or giving them the save you from hell story. I’m talking about letting people into my life. If they then reveal they are struggling, as everyone is and will usually reveal if we are in a deep enough relationship with them, then just sharing what God has been doing over the past few years.

Sure, I’m not a “good person” now (nor will I ever be). I’m also not above falling back into any of the multitude of ways I try to substitute for a relationship with God that end up in compulsive and destructive habits or harmful acts. Even though I have been set free from sin in Christ, I still give in to free will. God even points out we will all do this all our lives. Yet he still calls us to be willing to be used by him according to his good purpose – sharing the gospel of Christ and to give glory to God.

God does the rest. It isn’t my job to come up with a stirring oratory, a bullet-proof case for God, or even to be responsible for the other person’s actions when I simply share my experience with God.

My “fear of man” manifested in everything from excuses, isolation or aloofness, anger, and prideful wasting of time on frivolous activities surrounding my own temporary happiness keep me from being used by God.

Finally God used the Friday-night message at Celebrate Recovery which happens (of course) to be about this very message God has been drumming into my head the past week.

Okay, that’s reminder #3 in just a few short days – time to let God make some changes…

Next Steps for Sharing My Spiritual Experience Via a Christian 12-Step Program

I know there are a couple other CR ministries in town that are relatively new and lacking in people with experience to share their testimony. That would be an easy start since I’ve given my testimony in front of a decently-large crowd and lived to tell about it.

Other than that, I don’t know anything more than my answer needs to be “Yes”, and spend more time listening to God and spending less time on empty activity or even praying through a list of “God please help with ____ for (insert me or another person)”

There are times where I’ve done the “Yes”, and interesting… okay, amazing things happened in my life. If I’m not letting God stretch me, then I shrink – simple as that.

Intimidated About Sharing God’s Story of Restoration from Your Mistakes?

It’s probably more than you or I realize on a given day. That good news should be shared in whatever way God “tells” us.

God doesn’t want us to wait until this day when we have it all figured out before we’re qualified to share about the grace and mercy through Jesus Christ. All we have to be is one step ahead of the person who God puts in front of us with a need in their life.

Sometimes being “steps behind” others still gives us room to share. This is because the whole “step ahead” or “step behind” is bogus. This perception is based on our own clouded judgment of another person’s life. I have no idea what a person is really struggling with on a given day or over the course of a week, month, or year. Even my failures where God picked me back up is an encouragement.

Sharing comes in many packages, too. For some it is a warm meal, a hug, or a listening ear.

However, watch out for the following. Many people use non-verbal sharing of Christ’s love as an excuse for never sharing the good news of the gospel. The root of this is fear of man, covered up in a cloak of charity, compassion… and denial. Beware of this – if God isn’t doing something in your life that freaks you out a bit, that is probably a huge red alert that something is wrong in the relationship.

How Has God Restored You from Screw-Ups?

I appreciate your prayers that God will help my faith to be a “Yes, God” person while I live out my days and trust him with the rest. You can also add your prayer requests or experiences in sharing God’s work to restore the trainwrecks you’ve made in your life.

Let’s keep the comments for this post based on sharing God’s fixing your mess rather than evangelism as a whole. Like Christ,  this blog is more focused on the unrighteous than the righteous.

Thanks in advance for everyone’s transparency and honesty today and am excited about the good work he is continuing to do in your hearts until the end of time.

Categories: Step 12
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