I’m In Recovery?

Well, we all are—falling and getting back up—a constant seesaw between defeat and victory, sin and forgiveness. We want to do good but evil always gets in the way.

Sin exposes us, and as self-made Americans, we instinctively try everything to fight back: isolation, sheer willpower, good intentions, mask-wearing, and sin management. None of those techniques works. God never designed us to conquer sin on our own. We cannot defeat sin or make ourselves better by our own effort. Pastor Matt Chandler put it well: “Without a heart transformed by the grace of Christ, we just continue to manage external and internal darkness.”

The struggle is real—darkness, defeat, and even depression. But the victory is just as real. Too often, we oversell the struggle and undersell the victory. Another trap we fall into: punishing ourselves in the middle of a struggle, forgetting what Paul said - there is no condemnation for those of us in Christ. We are not under punishment even when we are stuck in a cycle of sin (Romans 8:1). Our salvation isn’t fragile or temporary; it’s eternal. Backsliding does not cancel grace.

From my spiritual recovery group, I’ve learned that relapse is part of recovery and that true growth means taking personal inventory and promptly admitting when we’re wrong. That sounds a lot like sanctification: Christians falling down and, by God’s grace, getting back up again.

I’m in recovery. What about you?

Grace to you,
Cedric
Traditionalwriter@yahoo.com