Control (Part 1)

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

·         We admitted we were powerless over the effects of our separation from God-that our lives had become unmanageable. 

If you have ever been through The Twelve Steps or attended Celebrate Recovery, the above passage should be very familiar to you.  Our Life Group is currently going through The Twelve Steps over the next 30 weeks, in an attempt to deepen and grow our relationship with God and with each other.  The next time we meet, we are going to work on Step One, which essentially is facing reality and admitting that our lives are simply NOT working with us in control. 

I certainly struggle with control issues, specifically, wanting to be in control of my marriage, my children, work, etc.  The problem is, I am not God and only He can be in control of our lives. 

The apostle Paul even struggled with his humanness and sin, but he never let is interfere with his commitment to do God’s will.  You see, this first step is all about admitting that we are powerless and also admitting that our lives have become unmanageable as a result.  This First Step is the foundation of all of the Twelve Steps-letting go, and letting God.   

There will be more to come on this as I personally work through the Twelve Steps.  I hope that you may find this useful as a reader of this Blog as we can all learn from these principles of faith.