Moving Forward in God's Grace: The Journey Continues, Participant's Guide 5: A Recovery Program Based on Eight Principles from the Beatitudes (Celebrate Recovery) by John Baker

Author:John Baker [Baker, John]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Zondervan
Published: 2016-06-14T07:00:00+00:00

Lesson 3

HOPE

Principle 2: Earnestly believe that God exists, that I matter to Him, and that He has the power to help me recover.

“Happy are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” (Matthew 5:4)

Step 2: We came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.

“For it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.” (Philippians 2:13)

Please begin your time together by reading “The Second Step, Day 30” from the Celebrate Recovery Daily Devotional.

In the The Journey Begins step study, we learned that HOPE is being open to change. However, some of us were afraid to change, even if our past was very painful. We resisted change because of our fear of the unknown, or, in our despair, we thought we didn’t deserve anything better.

Here’s the good news: Hope opens doors where despair closes them! Hope discovers what can be done instead of grumbling about what can’t be done.

We understand throughout our lives that we will continue to encounter hurts and trials that we are powerless to change, but with God’s help, we can be open to allow those circumstances and situations to change us — to make us better, not bitter.

Ephesians 4:23 gives us a challenge to that end: “Be made new in the attitude of your minds.”

However, as the months and years have passed since your last step study, you might have slowly confused or forgotten where your true, lasting Hope comes from. Sadly, the farther we get from the early days of our recovery, the more we can begin to forget or minimize the people and tools that allowed us to get where we are today. One of the major things we can minimize is just how important our total surrender to God was and is.

HOPE

H — Hope comes from God

We cannot have continued healing from our hurts, hang-ups, and habits without hope. Real hope can only come from God. If we place our hope in people or things, we will come up empty. But when we trust in God, our hope is secure.

“Hopes placed in mortals die with them; all the promise of their power comes to nothing.” (Proverbs 11:7)

“Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him.” (Psalm 62:5)

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Romans15:13)

O — Open our hearts to allow God to restore all our hope in Him

If we are feeling hopeless, it may be that we have closed our hearts to God. God will not force His love or hope on us. In order for hope to be restored in our lives, we need to open ourselves and invite Him to work in us.

“Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.” (Psalm 42:5)

“When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy.

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