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- Righteous Debris
TRUTH
Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one.
James 1:13
REFLECTION
It can be easy to dismiss God in everything except the blame for the difficulties we encounter.
When we don’t want to look inward or when we cannot find reason in the horror of the world, we say it’s God’s fault.
Whether we believe in Him or not.
When tragedy strikes, we accuse Him of callousness.
When fortune strikes, we pat ourselves on the back.
When our addiction swallows our life, we both cry out for help and clench our fists in anger.
How and why did He let this happen to me?
If He loved me, He’d take this affliction away from me.
These are stances I’ve held at one point or another and they’re as childish as they are popular.
I’m not smart enough for a theological debate, but I’ve lived through enough to attest that at the back of my addictive downfall were a ton of poor decisions made by yours truly.
Yes, God stands above and beyond the whole show of our lives, and yes, there is a method to the madness that He let me fall through.
But it doesn’t mean he orchestrated the evil that I choose to participate in.
Nor it doesn’t mean that my participation was not unnecessary.
It starts to get a bit untethered when I dwell on this because it can seem like I believe opposing truths.
Blaming anyone, including God, for my present circumstance or strife will get me nowhere.
Better to own up to my part, dust off the debris, and begin the journey of my life again.
God, I’d like to participate in your journey today.
SPONSOR
Reflection and gratitude are invaluable in recovery. Gratitude Plus is a social gratitude journal with an anonymous global feed. Try Gratitude Plus now.
NEXT
When you’re ready, here are some tools for you:
Book List (amazon link)
Some of my favorite reads related to recovery and/or wrestling with faith.4th Step Guide (free download)
A PDF with instructions and worksheets for a thorough 4th step. Straight from the Big Book. Fearlessness not included.12-Step Christianity (YouTube)
My thoughts on the parallels between discipleship and sponsorship.
KEEP LEANING FORWARD
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