by ProfDave, ©2021
(Mar. 18, 2021) — And a quote from last night’s class: “a big enough lie, told often enough, will be believed.” (A. Hitler) OK, another one: “You can fool some of the people all of the time and all of the people some of the time, but you can’t fool all of the people all of the time.” (A. Lincoln) I’m in recovery. Celebrate Recovery®, to be exact, dealing with “habits, hurts, and hang-ups.” Don’t we all have them? We’ve been struggling with denial (not the river in Egypt). “You can’t heal a wound by saying it’s not there!” (Jeremiah 6:14). But we try, don’t we? We tell ourselves the “big lie” – “I’m OK; the world is crazy” – and fool ourselves. “Principle 1: Realize I’m not God. I admit that I am powerless to control my tendency to do the wrong thing and that my life is unmanageable.”
Denial is not wise. It disables your emotions, consumes you with anxiety, shuts you off from God and from others while you continue to suffer. Besides, you can’t hide from God anyway – and your significant others experience the fallout even if they don’t know where it is coming from. So why not let go and let God?
Today’s snicker: When cannibals ate a missionary, they got a taste of religion. (Diane Lloyd)
Denial. Are you still eating missionaries? No, seriously, hurts, habits and hang-ups interfere with our lives and relationships – and our relationship with God. We all have things that stand in the way of growth. We are never going to change until we identify and surrender them. Recovery step #1: “We admitted we were powerless over our addictions and compulsive behaviors, that our lives had become unmanageable.”
Today’s Word: “I will bring you out . . . I will free you from being slaves . . . I will redeem you with an outstretched arm . . . I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God.” Exodus 6:6-7. God’s words were spoken to ancient Israel, yes, but I hear them speaking to my own heart and situation. He has brought me out of bondage to more than one slavery, taken me as His own, and become mine! How about you?
“I don’t understand myself at all, for I really want to do what is right, but I can’t. I do what I don’t want to – what I hate. I know perfectly well that what I am doing is wrong, and my bad conscience proves that I agree with these laws I am breaking.” Romans 7:15-16. Been there and done that. You have, too, if you’ve ever tried to clean up your act. Reforming yourself is like trying to pull yourself up by your own shoelaces. All you get is a sore back and broken laces. You need transformation – you need a “higher power” and not “the force” or an “exalted master” (who has never been there) or a lawgiver (to tell you how wrong you are). You need a Savior – someone to forgive and deliver. May I recommend mine?
Recovery from life’s wounds, addictions, and hang-ups begins by acknowledging our own powerlessness to fix ourselves. There are some things that only God can do in us. There’s no sense trying to do God’s job. In Vietnam, I got an infection in my toe. I put a Band-Aid on it. It got worse and I caught a nasty tropical disease through it. I should have gone to the “Doc” to begin with. Don’t play God with your wounded soul! Go to the Doc.
David W. Heughins (“ProfDave”) is Adjunct Professor of History at Nazarene Bible College. He holds a BA from Eastern Nazarene College and a PhD in history from the University of Minnesota. He is the author of Holiness in 12 Steps (2020). He is a Vietnam veteran and is retired, living with his daughter and three grandchildren in Connecticut.