Look Ahead
It seems that every time that I pray and ask God to speak to me through His Word - He does just that. I have to admit though; it isn't alway what I want to hear!
I was in Genesis chapter 25 reading about Jacob and Esau. The birthright of the 1st born was a pretty big deal back in the day. I cannot believe that he gave it up so easily.
I feel like he exaggerated a little. That makes sense to me because I have done that throughout my recovery. He said, "What good is a birthright if I am dead from starvation." That sounds like me when I say, "Oh, just this one drink won't hurt me." Or, "I am tired and going through a hard time. A drink will relax me."
God showed me today that I am a lot like Esau. I am indifferent to the things in life that are really important.
Like Esau, my primary concerns have been to satisfy my immediate physical needs - with little or no thought at all about my future!
I can easily talk myself into any bad decision without giving much thought to the consequences or the way that it will alter my future.
Recovery gets tough! Lots of times I know that I just want to give up. A bad day will make a bad decision look good and much easier to make.
God showed me today that I need to see things in the long view. Before I make any decisions, I need to think about the consequences and the way it may alter the future.
I definitely need to treat my recovery this way. I need to picture the positive, long range results that will come if I just hang in there. The hard work pays off in the end when you get the positive results. If you look ahead and think about that, maybe it will be a little easier to give up the momentary pleasures of the bad decisions that keep us from reaching the positive results at the end!
Be Encouraged, Chris
