April 3, 2013

The Road to Recovery :: STEP FOUR


STEP FOUR: 

We made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.


Let us examine our ways, test them, and return to the Lord. ~ Lamentations 3:40




PRINCIPLE FOUR of Celebrate Recovery

Openly examine and confess my faults to myself, to God and to someone I trust. 


Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. ~ Matthew 5:8



Step Four begins the growth steps of our recovery journey. We are now ready to come clean, to dig into the areas of our life where we have been blinded by denial.  For our moral inventory it's very important that we stay balanced. We should make a list of our not only our weaknesses but also our strengths.

Grab a pen and paper as we follow Celebrate Recovery's suggestions for processing our Spiritual Inventory. Let's start examining various areas of our life:

  • Relationships: 
Who has hurt you? Who have you hurt? Are you seeking revenge / holding grudges?

  • Priorities 
What are your priorities? What is good / bad about them? Who do they affect and how?

  • Attitudes 
Are you grateful, complaining, sarcastic, anxious, fearful? Do you blow up easily?

  • Integrity 
Are there times you have been dishonest? Pretended to be something you aren't?

  • Mind 
How do your guard your mind? Do you fill it with unhealthy movies, books or magazines?

  • Body 
How have you treated your body? What habits or physical activities do you have?

  • Family
How do you treat family members? What family secret are you denying?

  • Church 
Have you been faithful to church in the past? Are you discouraging your family from church?

There is much more that we can talk about when it comes to our inventory.  It's my desire here to provide a jump start for your recovery. Please know this column isn't designed to take the place of a 12 Step program. If you aren't already attending a group I encourage you to go to the Celebrate Recovery website: www.celebraterecovery.com  to find a group in your area.

Also, if you don't have an accountability partner yet, attending a CR group will help you to find someone to help you work through your inventory list.  Remember, the road to recovery is not designed to be traveled alone!

I pray God will reveal just what you need to see as your courageously take this step.

Blessings... Tamara

Click here to watch / listen to our Road to Recovery theme song: The Serenity Prayer.




Resources:
Celebrate Recovery Leader's Guide
Celebrate Recovery Bible
The Twelve Steps for Christians
Life Recovery Bible