Kindle Notes & Highlights
by
John Baker
“I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.” ROMANS 7:18
Step 1: We admitted we were powerless over our addictions and compulsive behaviors. That our lives had become unmanageable.
Our first step is a big one. We are finally ready to admit that we are powerless to control an addiction or a behavior. The harder we try, the more unmanageable it becomes. Our lives have descended into chaos. When we take that first big step—giving up control—we are stepping away from denial and acknowledging our own need.
There is hope in that first step, for we can’t be helped until we admit that we need help. Until then we are trying to be God in our own lives, a...
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I attended some secular meetings, for example, but didn’t really commit to their programs. Then when nothing happened, I would say, “Why isn’t this working? Maybe God doesn’t love me. Maybe I don’t deserve to change.”
The truth is, I didn’t need one more thing to cram into my messed-up life. What I needed was something to replace my messed-up life. I needed to let go of my old life and hand it over to God.
A race begins with a single step, and so does recovery. The only way to run with perseverance is to hang on to God’s hand and let him take the lead. True change comes only when we die to ourselves and allow Christ to set the pace.
When we see someone sitting alone, we ought to be the ones who go over and sit down beside them. We don’t even have to say much. Just our presence means more than we will ever know. God has promised that he will never desert us or leave us alone. Let’s thank him for his faithfulness by being there for others.
We’ve all made plans and watched them collapse around us. Those are the times we need to leave space for God in our lives. He always has a reason when he disrupts our plans, but he won’t necessarily share that reason with us. A traffic tie-up, an unplanned phone call, or a missed connection is very often God’s doing, even if it ruins our own carefully laid plans.
If God decides to mess with our plans, get ready. He will almost surely have something better planned for our day.
The basic test of freedom is not in what we are free to do but rather in what we are free not to do!
I finally understood that the only lasting thing that could fill my emptiness was a personal relationship with the Savior! I began to see that everything I had was a gift from God.
Healing and wholeness are more than a state of being. They are also a state of doing as we constantly renew our commitment and demonstrate our thankfulness by giving to others.
God begins to change things. He takes our pain and gives us purpose. He takes our crying and turns it into praise. He gives us joy and peace and freedom from our hurts, hang-ups, and habits. He gives us reason to celebrate.
We hit bottom when we finally get tired of being beat up by ourselves and others. Then and only then, at the point of complete surrender, do we find rest. This isn’t the sitting and doing nothing kind of rest—it’s peace of mind.
First, surround yourself with people who are having victories and making progress in their recovery and in their lives. Second, stop digging your hole deeper by flooding your thoughts with the bad thinking that has gotten you where you are. Third, fill your mind with good things by memorizing Scripture and reading encouraging books.
Keys to recovery and peace of mind.
No matter how great the offense or abuse, forgiveness lies along the path to healing.
might be the kind that no one can miss. Regardless of
what form they take, they are reason to give thanks to God. It could be that we
Thanking God for the changes in our lives reminds us that he is the reason for our change, not us.
God must be more than a concept to us.
Serving others always puts us right in the thick of things, where God can heal and encourage us.
Asking for help doesn’t make us weak, but refusing to ask sure does.
While in recovery, though, I’ve learned that practicing patience and waiting on God’s timing is part of the Holy Spirit’s work in my life. When these virtues are coupled with self-control (meaning under God’s control), I am better able to wait. Quite honestly, in my perspective, it seems like he comes through at the very last moment—but the fact is that he always comes through. It’s never easy to wait, but things always work out better when we do.
We can’t afford to forget who we were before Jesus came into our lives.
There will be times when the path is a little muddy and we don’t know what to do. But if we pray and ask God to show us, he will. He’ll make the choice clear if we ask him—and then when we’ve done the right thing, he’ll honor it.
God says that he stays the same yesterday, today, and forever. He was, is, and will always be the great I AM. No, God does not change, but I do. I’m grateful for the change he has made in me.
I love what our great former President Ronald Reagan said: “We are never defeated, unless we give up on God.”
We’ve come a long way already, and we’ve learned that every step is a victory in and of itself. Recovery is tough because it requires us to face harsh truths, but the truth always sets us free.
In fact, there is no such thing as a half-truth or a little white lie or even stretching the truth. We either speak the truth, live by the truth, believe the truth—or we don’t. It’s that simple.
“What happens outwardly in your life is not as important as what happens inside you.”
I’ve given my heart to the only true source of happiness—the God who loves me.
“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” COLOSSIANS 3:23–24
