Step Seven: "We humbly asked God to remove all our shortcomings".
"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9).
I can't think of too much harder than becoming willing to give up the very things that I have used my entire life to cope with life's difficulties. "God, would you take away my comfort. Please remove my support and my coping mechanisms. Exercise out of me the very things that I substitute for you." Step Seven is a prayer for change. It is to beg God to do whatever is necessary in order to transform me through and through. Step Seven requires great courage and a willingness to embrace great pain.
"Step Seven goes beyond confession and asks God to change us....When we repent, we turn from our sins. At the same time, we turn to God. We turn from self-will to his will" (Don Williams, Jesus and Addiction).
This kind of prayer requires courage and but it also takes a great deal of trust in God. He does not strip us naked of our unhealthy shortcomings just to leave us barren and alone in some far off desert. He takes away the garbage that we have put our trust in for perhaps our entire lives so that he can replace it with something better--Himself!
"God loves us. God accepts us. We are his. We are no longer worthless and alone, bouncing around in a meaningless universe" (Don Williams, Jesus and Addiction).
About Me
- Dave Samples
- I am the Pastor of Tolar Baptist Church, Tolar, Texas. I am the author of, "Messed Up Men of the Bible: Seeing the Men in Your Life Through God's Eyes" (Kregel, 2016). The book received the Golden Scroll: Non-fiction Merit Award. In addition, Messed-Up Men was recognized by the ECPA as one of the best Bible Studies of 2017. I am the founding pastor of Grace River Church in Severance, Colorado. Previously I pastored Cornerstone Baptist Church, Windsor, Colorado (9 yrs) and FBC, Lipan, Texas (6 yrs). My first church to pastor was the Cliffside Baptist Church of Amarillo, Texas. I have served on staff of the FBC, Monterey, Tennessee, Olsen Park Baptist Church, Amarillo, Texas, and FBC, Camden, Tennessee. I have served the Colorado Baptist General Convention as the Chairman of the Executive Board and as a Vice President. I have served as a Trustee for the North American Mission Board of the SBC. I have been blessed to walk alongside the love of my life, Tina, for the past 32 years. She is a talented author, teacher, singer, and song writer. Tina writes at www.tinasamples.blogspot.com and is the author of, Wounded Women of the Bible, 2013 by Kregel Publications.
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