Unshackled Moments ~ July 2, 2018 ~ Dealing With The Past

One of the most difficult aspects of recovery, after detox and breaking that initial instinct to reach for that drink or drug, or place that bet, or eat that gallon of ice cream, or go on that shopping spree, or log onto that adult site, or whatever it is that has been used to fill the God-shaped hole in our lives, is dealing with the past. After all, our pain and mistakes of the past are often what drove us into our individual areas of bondage and helped to keep us there in the first place. We wanted, no, needed, to change the way we felt, to distract from, numb, or cover up our fears, feelings and frustrations. Some of us ran from reality for years. Now as we enter recovery and travel the road of discipleship to freedom, suddenly we find ourselves feeling and having to face things we always fled.

The most important aspect of a life worth living and freedom is a relationship with Jesus.A few things are necessary for a true and life-producing walk with God. We have to understand our need and the absolute impossibility to meet it on our own. We have to see that we have fallen short of being good enough to stand before our Creator without fear and shame but that because of the grace of His love and forgiveness we can become His adopted children. Our Daddy loves us and has done all that is needed to restore us to Himself.

Still, before we can have success in recovery and life, we must be able to see the necessity of that restoration and how amazing it is. The first step in that process is to see our past as it really is, not as we wish it to be, not excused or justified through the twisting of truth or shifting of blame. To find freedom from the power of the past over us, we have to understand the past. We have to be able to see where we let self-will, fear and resentment dictate our responses and actions in our relationships and circumstances and the ways those reactions attributed to our misery, pain and bondage, no matter the part others played.

Seeing this truth is the purpose of the inventory, the Fourth Step. Facing honestly the good and the bad of what has happened in our lives enables us to see the patterns of our behavior and the situations where we tend to turn to something other than Daddy as our solution. This enables us to see our need and face those thoughts, feelings and attitudes that have wrecked havoc and kept us in states of fear, pain and misery. Once we do this, we can begin to move into the life Daddy wants to give us, a life worth living and worth sharing with others. The past can become our greatest asset in service and sharing with others the power and way of life available through Daddy's love instead of a source of shame and condemnation.

What is the one thing you dread anyone finding out? How wonderful would it be to have the teeth of that monster pulled so that it can't cause dread in the dark any longer? What are the ghosts that haunt your life? How much better would life be with them exorcised? What if the pain that you hid and ran from could be healed so that there was no  longer a need to distract or numb those feelings? These are some of the blessings of healing the past that come from facing the truth of our history and accepting Daddy's provision, the Spirit's comfort and Christ's forgiveness that heals our wounds and restores us to health.

We may feel it's impossible to stop running, but with God, all things are possible that are possible. And we don't have to face it alone. Daddy loves you as you are, not as you should be. In the midst of what has become the past, He loved you, and He will continue to love you as you look at it honestly. What you discover about yourself will not come as a surprise to Him. The Spirit will guide you through the process and provide strength and comfort as you deal with all those things you refused to deal with before.


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