We have come a long way in our journey of recovery. We can look behind us and see the baggage we have unpacked along the way. Are you beginning to feel a little lighter? Since we are half way through our twelve step journey, let's do a brief review of how far we've come.
Over the past five months, we have
Admitted we are powerless over sinful patterns and over the behaviors of others
Come to believe only God can restore and redeem us
Made a decision to turn it all over to God so He can do His work in us
Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves
Admitted to God, ourselves and someone else the exact nature of our sinful patterns as a result of our past
It has been both freeing and challenging at times, but now is the time where true change, freedom, and redemption is about to happen. In step six of our recovery journey together, we will ask God to remove our defects of character. Let's ease into this, though. There are years of shame, guilt, pain, anger, and more to ask God to remove. This is not an overnight endeavor. So how can we ask God to remove these defects of our character?
In his epistle, James is speaking to Jewish Christians who had been rejected and dispersed from Palestine because of their faith. James is writing to these people to urge them in their faith to stay true and persevere through their trials. This applies to us today as well. We have faced many trials and will likely face more in our lifetime. The importance of holding on to our faith and persevering is a common thread throughout the Bible.
In James 4:10, he tells us to Let's take a closer look at two key words in this Scripture.
Humble - the dictionary definition of this is; having or showing a modest or low estimate of one's own importance. God is the most important person in my life and showing humility to me is to kneel before him with my face down and my arms up. This shows God I am fully submitting to Him and recognize His power over my life. It shows God, I value Him more than anything else.
Exalt - is defined as; make noble in character; dignify. This reveals to me just part of God's character. He loves me so much that He looks at me as noble, once I humble myself to Him.
The importance of holding on to our faith and persevering is a common thread throughout the Bible.