prevent relapse – Reaching Hurting Women Ministries

Temptations are tricky. They sneak up on you when you least expect it. You’re going along, thinking you’ve got it all together and then…

WHAM!

A big fat temptation hits you!

Well, that’s not exactly true. We may be going along alright, but somehow, we’ve let an old thought or pattern creep back in. We become complacent or simply lazy with our boundaries.

Either way, it’s very dangerous.

In October my daily 12 Step devotional focuses on Step 10:

We continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.

So far the readings have hit home. Hard!

Check out these samples:

Dealing with Anger: Deal with short-term anger before it turns into long-term destruction.

Preventing Relapse: Only God’s Word will help us continue in recovery and avoid the devastation of relapse.

Dangerous Pride: Even the pride we feel in recovery can set us up for temptation and relapse.

Spiritual Exercises: Continued inventory will keep us spiritual fit and strong in the face of temptation.

Personal Boundaries: Honest inventories help us maintain boundaries important to recovery.

Positive Thoughts: What we keep in our mind and heart determines what we do and say.

Perseverance: We cannot win the race for recovery by going just part of the way.

No Shortcuts: On our journey toward recovery, shortcuts are only stepping stones to a relapse.

Daily Recovery: We will always be tempted by our old lives; but we need not always fall prey to them.

Needless to say, I’ve been doing some serious reflecting.

I don’t know about you, but an enticing temptation is not worth what it could cost me; all the ground I’ve gained in my marriage and my family, not to mention my health and my very life. More than anything, I don’t want to compromise the testimony I have today.

It’s time to reassess boundaries. Put back up the concrete barriers that can protect my heart, mind and soul.

Make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts. – Romans 13:14

10-11-10

What is an emotional pit? Anything we can’t get out of with our own strength.

What is your pit made of? Self-pity; compulsive habits, depression, anxiety, worry, doubt…

“A pit is an early grave Satan digs hoping to bury you alive.”~ Beth Moore

How did we get into this pit?

Pushed in innocently by someone else :: family heritage, spouse adultery, job loss.
Slipped in by our own unplanned doing :: started dieting ended with eating disorder.
Jumped in with willfully planned sin, rebellion or disobedience.

Our pit dwelling may be caused by any combination of the above, or we may have gotten into one and it lead to another. Whatever the case living in the pit is not where we want to be.

Whatever we focus on will draw us in.

By focusing on our weaknesses or the circumstances we see in the natural, we give them power in our lives. They draw us in. We end up walking directly into the pit that we really want to avoid.

When we’re riding a bicycle and we focus on the parked car near the curb we’ll surely ride into it. The same is true with our areas of weakness. If we focus on them we will fall right into it.

Instead, we must keep our focus on Christ, by meditating on His Word we will be less likely to fall back into our pit. I’m not saying we won’t still struggle. But I know from experience, if I keep my thoughts going in the right direction that’s more than half the battle.

Can’t we just steer clear of the pit?

As Believers we owe ourselves and those in our circle of influence the determination and commitment to do everything in our power to walk away from the pit. You might fake it till you make it. But will power won’t sustain for long. Unless and until we turn our our self-destructive desires and weaknesses over to God nothing will change.

When will we turn our desires over to God? Must they nearly destroy us?

Unfortunately, that’s what I did. I had to lose my job, my home, my car, my family, and then my freedom before I looked up from my pit to find God’s loving hand reaching to pull me out.

Is God in your life? Are you living victoriously? Or are you living in your pit?

I encourage you to spend some time with God. Ask Him to search your heart for the pits that you may be headed for or are living in now. Get a good study Bible, do a topical word search related to your pit struggle. Dig into God’s Word. I guarantee you will find a hand reaching to pull you out!

I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire, he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. ~ Ps. 40:1-2

Click Here to watch Beth Moore’s teaching video “Get Out of That Pit”