There are two camps in the recovery world. There are those who claim to be in recovery or recovering from whatever their addiction is, and then there are those that after at some point being free of the obsession to engage in the area of bondage claim to be recovered. For a while now, I have leaned toward the recovered camp, after all, with 5 years eleven months without using or drinking I have most definitely recovered from a hopeless state of mind and body. The thought occurred to me more than once that if I was diagnosed with cancer, took treatments and my body was free of cancer for a year or two I would not declare that I have cancer but am in remission. I would say I am cancer free, even though I would be aware that it could return.
But this morning as I gave God thanks for my recovery, He reminded me that I am not done, not even close. I am not in remission. I am in treatment, and I don't need to stop or slow the treatments either. I need to work harder because what hasn't been eradicated at this point is not the large easy to see tumors but the tiny, resistant, dangerous, easy to miss ones. I needed to remember that the drugs, alcohol and other areas of bondage in my life that God has freed me and is freeing me from are not the disease. They are all symptoms of the spiritual sickness I am treating by surrendering to the work of the Great Physician.
I have not yet reached a state of being 100% submitted to God 100% of the time. I still sometimes fall short, live like my old nature, act, think and feel selfishly. I still at times want to act like I am God and ruler of my life. I still sometimes fail to even want to love my fellow human beings, even more often I fail to love in action as I should. Until I reach the point of being perfect, unselfish, pure in love, in complete submission, reflecting nothing but the glory of the Creator, the cancer of the curse is still at work in my life, and I am not yet recovered, regardless of not drinking and drugging. There is more work yet to do. Let the treatments continue for I am still sick.
Today's Unshackled Echo was previously published on
April 17, 2016.
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