Action

Taking action is something we do every day in many different ways. We take action when we get out of bed in the morning to start our day, and we also take action when we hit the snooze, roll over and stay in bed. Both are actions resulting in very different outcomes. Consider the outcomes you want to achieve in your life (big or small) and think about the needed action to achieve those goals.

For example, some of us may be trying to improve our health during this pandemic. I know I am. In recent months we may have given into procrastination, unhealthy patterns and complacency. We may have used food to cope during this oppressive season and are reaping the consequences of weight gain and feeling sluggish. We think, “Okay, it is time to do something”. Our goal is to get fit and healthy!

We gather healthy recipes, purchase nutrition books, research exercise techniques and ways to get moving. We review the recipes, read the books, and find the best place to purchase healthy ingredients. We start to feel motivated; we anticipate and look forward to the results. We have gathered great information that if applied will achieve our goal of getting healthy and fit! However, if we never purchase the ingredients, make the recipes, apply the nutritional knowledge, and never put on our running shoes and get moving none of that gathered information will help. We can deceive ourselves into thinking we are actually doing something to achieve our goal when all we are doing is accumulating knowledge.

In a similar way, we can accumulate information at, for example, Celebrate Recovery each week. We can learn the Biblical Steps and Principles, how to build a support team, learn how to do a Step Study, be accountable and have boundaries. However, the only way that information will be helpful is if we take action and apply it to our lives. If all we do is gather knowledge we can be deceived. Information is only valuable if it leads to action. It takes more than knowledge to transform our lives; we experience freedom by applying the truth.

Steps to help (taken from Celebrate Recovery):

We made a decision to turn our lives and our wills over to the care of God.

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God – this is your true and proper worship.”
Romans 12:1

Consciously choose to commit all my life and will to Christ’s care and control.

“Happy are the meek.”
Matthew 5:5

Applying this step and principle takes action. We can find freedom from sin, healing from our past, forgive those who hurt us and live with purpose. However, this new way of living doesn’t just happen automatically. After we ask Jesus into our lives and commit our will to God, we must choose to take action and walk with Him. Following Him and obeying what we learn is a journey that happens one next step at a time.

God has more planned for our lives than we could ever imagine. But He won’t force us to cooperate. Will we accumulate recovery information but not act on it, just like those exercise tips and unused recipes? Or will we take action and experience God’s power at work in our lives. He has the power to transform our lives and help us recover, but it is a choice to take action and that choice is ours.

Glenda DeVries
Celebrate Recovery Ministry Leader

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