Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. 1 John 4:4
In the disastrous consequences of my addiction, I felt as if my life was never going to turn around. I had no one to blame but myself, but I’d created a calamity in which my marriage and career seemed like they were never going to recover. Even after I’d been to treatment and sober for a few months, obstacles kept popping up. By that time, I’d decided that I was going to make a daily effort to follow God’s path instead of my own, and I wanted to see some divine intervention. I wanted my life to start getting better.
God never promised me that I’d get my marriage and career back though. He simply promised that if I followed him, I’d find a new life. I had to believe in that and daily, sometimes a hundred times a day, I had to remind myself of these truths – God can be trusted. The world can’t take away my new life. If I follow him, things may not turn out how I want, but things will turn out for my ultimate good. I must daily follow him because he’s the answer to my life’s greatest needs.
These are truths that I must still remind myself of daily. In recovery now, I’m not now struggling with putting my life back together. My marriage and career are better than ever. I don’t feel like I’m in a fight for my life anymore. So, today, the challenge is to not allow apathy and complacency to creep in. The appetites of the world are insidious and it’s my nature to continually veer off God’s path to simply go back to doing whatever I want. The world is constantly attempting to seduce me into following my own path and, if I’m not careful, I can allow little compromises to sneak into my day.
Daily, sometimes a hundred times a day, I must still remind myself of the truths of today’s passage. I’ve got two paths I can follow. I can follow the world, living however I want. Or I can follow God, doing his will. Those are my two options and daily I must choose. I’ve seen where the world’s path takes me, and I’ve seen where God’s path takes me. God is greater than the world and his promise of life is authentic. The world’s path promises satisfaction, but delivers only immediate gratification followed by pain, emptiness, and misery. Daily, I must remind myself of where I find authentic life, joy, and peace. Then, I must follow that path.