Devotional:

First God, Then… Recovery!

In James 4:13-15, it says, “Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil. If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.”

This tells us that we cannot and are not ultimately in control of our lives. In verse 15 it says, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” What we gather from this is that God ultimately decides what trajectory our life is going to take. Sure, we may say or do things that may not be in His will, and good might come out of that, but living in His will and direction wholeheartedly will ultimately lead to success and growth in our life. Giving your whole life, total devotion, over to God is essentially what this passage is trying to tell us. Sounds pretty simple, right? Fully relying on God and trusting in Him isn’t always easy. Humans can be selfish. Humans can be impatient, and we might not want to wait on God. We try it on our own, instead of depending, and sometimes waiting, on Him to direct our paths.

So, what are we chasing? Business growth, a significant other, a newer car, a bigger house? Those goals aren't necessarily a bad thing, but if we chased God and a relationship with Him as much as we do temporal things, we would be trusting in Him to bless us and help us accomplish our goals along the way.

5 years ago, I was in active addiction. I had been for years, and I covered it pretty well, but God knew. I went through the motions of asking God to take the desire of the pills away, but then that would mean I couldn't get my “fix” and I might have to deal with the past that had held me down for years. I would give the addiction to God but take it back when I hit a rough patch. Very few people knew, or maybe they had an idea and just didn't approach me about it, so I went through it alone. No one's fault but mine.

God promises us in Hebrews 13:5 that He will never leave us or forsake us, but I had forsaken Him. Until I gave this addiction over to Him and left it at His feet, nothing changed. Well, I left it there and never looked back, and a lot has changed. A renewed relationship with my kids, a new outlook on life, a desire to help others to get freedom from what is holding them back and directing others to a personal relationship with God.

For me, “First This, Then That” means first I had to totally surrender my addiction to God. I had to be serious. I had to want freedom more than I wanted the pills. I had to want God to control me, more than I wanted the control. Here comes the good part… then that! Then God took control, picked up this addicted man, cleaned me off, set my head straight ahead so that I didn't look back, and He walks beside me.

This is what I desire for you. Give EVERYTHING in your life to God. Don't take back little pieces. First God! Then freedom.

Prayer:

Dear Lord, thank you for giving us the ability to trust in you. Give us the willingness to give everything to you, to totally depend on you with our pain, our worldly desires, everything we struggle with, so you can make us whole and set us on the right path. Amen.

Thank you for joining us today for 21 Days! Tune in tomorrow and we'll have another devotional for you. Join us every Tuesday night at 6:30pm at each location as we gather together to worship, have a devotional, and pray together during these 21 Day of Prayer and Fasting.