Addiction Recovery – Page 64 – REACHING HURTING WOMEN MINISTRIES

July 4, 2012April 15, 2026

Working the Steps: Step 7

Step Seven: We humbly asked God to remove our shortcomings.

Step Seven is critical to the cleansing process and prepares us for the next stages of recovery. In the first six steps we became aware of our problems, looked at ourselves honestly, revealed hidden parts of ourselves, and became ready to change.

Step Seven is the opportunity for God to remove the hidden areas that need changing.If you’re anything like me, your list is long and painful to reflect on. That pain may bring us to our knees, but what better place to begin with the Lord than in prayer.

If we confess our sins to Him, He is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong. ~ 1 John 1:9

Don’t hold anything back. It’s only in surrendering everything to God that we will find healing and freedom. With our inventory list in hand, we prayerfully give each item to God. This is the painful beginning we must experience to reach the peace and joy we seek.

The list of shortcomings may cause us to dwell on our self. Meditating on Christ’s presence in our life helps change our state of mind. Soon we begin to care more for others and put our self in proper perspective. As we accept who we are today we find joy in becoming the person God wants us to be in the future.

To humble ourselves we must see ourselves as God see us. This can be difficult when our entire life has been spent seeing our self as a worthless piece of dirt. By reading and meditating on God’s word regularly we will find the value God sees in us and His plan for our life.

It takes faith and courage to ask God to remove our shortcomings. We must trust that God hears us when we pray and believe He wants to answer us. We may not feel or sense an immediate change, but in thankful expectancy we go forward confessing that God has heard our request and has begun the change in us. In time change will manifest itself visibly.

Empty of self, surrendering to God’s will and serving others; we fulfill His plan for our life.

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. — Psalm 51:10-12

Find strength to work with our theme song video by @Bryan_Duncan http://youtu.be/swNgb9ya6WM

Resources:
Life Recovery Bible
The Twelve Steps for Christians
Follow The Solid Rock Road: Pathway to Radical Recovery by Jamee Rae Pineda and Sherry Colby
Recovery: The Twelve Steps as Spiritual Practice by Rami Shapiro

June 27, 2012July 17, 2025

HEALING HURTS :: 7 Truths to Overcome Inadequacy

Inadequacy, Inferiority, Low Self-esteem, Poor Self-worth, Self-loathing…

These and other related emotional issues are prevalent in our society today not just among young girls, tweens and adolescents, but women of all ages from all walks of life.

Feelings of inadequacy usually have their roots in childhood hurts and wounds, a dysfunctional family environment, emotionally abusive parents, critical or shaming authority figures, and cruel peers.

The media and culture has created unattainable standards of beauty, power, wealth and fame that also trigger feelings of inadequacy. Even though we’re healthy and have all our basic needs met, we obsess over our body, clothes, job, and possessions, worried that they don’t measure up.

Inadequacy causes us to drift along in life with no purpose or meaning. We build our lives on philosophy, self-reliance, human morality, ethics, wealth, power, or self-interest and find ourselves on a shaky foundation with nothing of substance holding us up.

Do you struggle with inadequacy, low self-worth, inferiority? Are you…

Self-critical
Fearful of failure and avoid taking risks
Desperate for approval from others
Unable to set boundaries
Ashamed of your background
Unhappy with personal appearance and achievements
Constantly comparing yourself to others

How can we get off this treadmill of torture, depression and despair?

Overcome self-defeating statements, acquire a positive self-image and learn to value yourself as God does.

Read aloud and receive the following 7 truths about yourself:

I accept God’s Word that I am created in His image. (Genesis 1:27)
I accept myself as being acceptable to Christ. (Romans 15:7)
I accept what I cannot change about myself. (Romans 9:20-21)
I accept the fact that I will make mistakes. (Philippians 3:12-14)
I accept criticism and the responsibility for failure. (Psalm 32:5)
I accept that I will not be liked or loved by everyone. (John 15:18,20)
I accept the unchangeable circumstances in my life. (Philippians 4:11)

Looking at life through eternal lenses changes our whole outlook. Seeing God’s purpose and plan in all things daily can help us accept who and where we are, to be more stable in the now – for the future.