“Maintaining Momentum”
Part 7 of “The Path for Healing and Redemption” 

¹⁷For the Lord says, I was angry with them because of their sin and greed, and so I disciplined them. But they were stubborn and kept on going their own way. ¹⁸ I have seen how they acted, but I will heal them. I will lead them and help them, and I will comfort those who mourn. Isaiah 57:17-18 (GNT)

The BIG Idea:

The 7^th step on a path for healing and redemption is for us to realize that there is always the potential for sin to creep back into our lives when we get off the path Jesus intends for us to travel. This pattern begins with complacency, then leads to confusion and compromise. We can maintain momentum in our journey when we reserve a daily time with God for self-examination, Bible reading, and prayer. This helps us to remain focused on God and God s will for our lives as we gain the power of God to maintain momentum.

The First Step to R-E-C-O-V-E-R-Y: (The REALITY Step)

REALIZE I am not God. I admit I am powerless to control my tendencies to do the wrong thing and my life is unmanageable. Our sin nature is the cause of our challenge(s).

The Second Step to R-E-C-O-V-E-R-Y: (The HOPE Step)

EARNESTLY believe that God exists, that you matter to God, and that God has the power to help you recover. It is important for us to acknowledge God exists, to understand the true character of God, and to accept God s offer to help me. We must plug into the power of God. We must believe and receive.

The Third Step to R-E-C-O-V-E-R-Y: (The COMMITMENT Step)

CONSCIOUSLY choose to commit all my life and will to the care and control of Christ.

The Fourth Step to R-E-C-O-V-E-R-Y: (The HOUSECLEANING Step)

OPENLY examine and confess my faults to myself, to God, and to someone I trust. The forgiveness of God makes us spotless through the blood of Christ Jesus.

The Fifth Step to R-E-C-O-V-E-R-Y: (The TRANSFORMATION Step)

Voluntarily submit to every point of transformation God wants to make in my life and humbly ask God to remove my character flaws and challenges.

The Sixth Step to R-E-C-O-V-E-R-Y: (The RELATIONAL REPAIR Step)

Evaluate all my relationships by offering forgiveness to those who ve hurt me and make amends for harm I ve done to others except when to do so would harm them or others.

Remember, growth is not smooth.

Relapses happen in a very predictable manner.

-         Complacency

-         Confusion

-         Compromise

-         Catastrophe

What causes a relapse?

-         Reverting to our own willpower.

How can you be so foolish?! You began by God s Holy Spirit, do you now want to finish by your own power? Galatians 3:3 (GNT)

The angel told me to give Zerubbabel this message from the Lord: You will succeed, not by military might or by your own strength, but by my spirit. Zechariah 4:6 (GNT)

-         Ignoring one of the steps in the path to healing and redemption.

You were doing so well! Who made you stop obeying the truth? How did he persuade you? Galatians 5:7 (GNT)

-         Trying to recover without support.

⁹ Two are better off than one, because together they can work more effectively. ¹⁰ If one of them falls down, the other can help him up. But if someone is alone and falls, it's just too bad, because there is no one to help him. Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 (GNT)

Let us not give up the habit of meeting together, as some are doing. Instead, let us encourage one another all the more, since you see that the Day of the Lord is coming nearer. Hebrews 10:25 (GNT)

-         Becoming prideful.

Pride leads to destruction, and arrogance to downfall. Proverbs 16:18 (GNT)

If you think you are standing firm you had better be careful that you do not fall. I Corinthians 10:12 (GNT)

How do we prevent a relapse in our path to healing and redemption?

The Seventh Step to R-E-C-O-V-E-R-Y: (The MAINTENANCE Step)

Reserve a daily time with God for self-examination, reading the Bible, and prayer to know God and the will of God for my life as God grants the power to do it.

And He said to them, Keep watch, and pray that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. Mark 14:38 (GNT)

1.      Evaluation

Put yourselves to the test and judge yourselves, to find out whether you are living in faith. Surely you know that Christ Jesus is in you? unless you have completely failed. II Corinthians 13:5 (GNT)

Let us examine our ways and turn back to the Lord. Lamentations 3:40 (GNT)

This means that we evaluate the . . .

-         Physical

-         Emotional

-         Relational

-         Spiritual

You should each judge your own conduct. If it is good, then you can be proud of what you yourself have done, without having to compare it with what someone else has done. Galatians 6:4 (GNT)

We evaluate through spot check inventory, daily review, and annual checkup.

2.      Meditation

This means slowing long enough to hear God.

Happy are those who reject the advice of evil people, who do not follow the example of sinners
or join those who have no use for God. ² Instead, they find joy in obeying the Law of the Lord,
and they study it day and night. ³ They are like trees that grow beside a stream, that bear fruit at the right time, and whose leaves do not dry up. They succeed in everything they do. Psalm 1:1-3 (GNT)

Trust in the Lord, all you that worship Him. He helps you and protects you. Psalm 115:11 (GNT)

3.      Prayer

⁸ Do not be like them. Your Father already knows what you need before you ask Him. ⁹ This, then, is how you should pray: Our Father in heaven: May Your holy name be honored; ¹⁰ may Your Kingdom come; may Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. ¹¹ Give us today the food we need. ¹² Forgive us the wrongs we have done, as we forgive the wrongs that others have done to us. ¹³ Do not bring us to hard testing, but keep us safe from the Evil One. Matthew 6:8-13 (GNT)

Questions for Reflection:

What causes a relapse?

Relapses happen in four predictable steps. What are those four steps?

How do we prevent a relapse in our path to healing and redemption?

In this important maintenance step, what three things lead us to knowing the will of God for our lives?

There are four parts of our lives that need evaluating to prevent us from falling back into harmful patterns with our hurts, habits, and hangups. What are those four parts?

Why is it important to slow long enough to hear God?

Are you pursuing God in dealing with your hurts, habits, and hangups?