A good friend has ask me to do some guest writing for recover4real.com the CelebrateRecovery blog of Crosspoint Church. As I write for them I will also be posting those colums here on my blog as well.
In the past few months I have dealt with three different people going through divorces. One of them caused by their own addiction to alcohol, the others their spouse left them for someone else. Two of these individuals are falling apart, convinced their life is over, and their world has ended. They say they want help but no matter what you do to try to help they reject it. Their response “You don’t understand what I am going through…no one understands how I feel!!”
The truth however is statistically half the people who have ever been married have gone through what they are going through. They would however rather have a pity party for themselves than focus getting on with the business of recovery and making the best of their future. That is what the love of Christ and His grace is all about… putting the past behind you and moving forward. God’s grace is not something that is earned but something that is freely given to all Ephesians 2:8-9 (NKJ). No matter where you have been or what you have done, nothing surprise or shocks God and His grace is available to you, if you will accept it.
If you have an addiction, drugs, alcohol, or are going through some tough times, you are not alone. Hundreds of thousands of people are dealing with the same thing you are. Many of their stories parallel yours. What is the main difference between someone who is recovering from an addiction or setback in life and someone who is not…attitude and taking advantage of God’s grace. Chuck Swindoll has a great quote “Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.” When everything else seems out of control there is always one thing you have total control of, and that is your attitude.
Two of my friends are falling apart…but the third is putting their life back together. They have chose to examine where their life went wrong, take responsibility for the part they played in messing it up and are now taking steps to adjust their attitude. They are tapping into God’s grace and makeing the necessary changes in an effort to not repeat the same mistakes. If they can do it anyone can do it…if they so choose.
So, what attitude are you going to choose today? Are you going to access God's grace or keep struggling in your own limited power? Remember the choice is yours, choose wisley.
