Jeremiah 17:5-8, “This is what the Lord says: Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the Lord. He will be like a bush in the wastelands; he will not see prosperity when it comes. He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives. But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. it does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.”
This past Saturday evening before our church’s recovery service I was talking with a brother about his spiritual journey. He was telling me how he was over 20 years sober and had just begun to explore this whole “Jesus thing.” I shared my own Jesus journey with him. I told him it wasn’t until I was 38 years old and 10 years sober that I started believing this “Jesus thing” would be an option worth exploring. You see I didn’t like church, religion and most of the hypocrites associated with it. Today I still frown upon organized religion and people who are self-righteous about their religion. As I posted in a blog a month ago; it is not religion, it is a relationship and for me it is a relationship with Jesus Christ.
Obviously this “Jesus thing” has been a process for me and not an event. I had been born again when I was 19 and had a “white light” up front and personal encounter with the Lord, but I figured that was it and within a few months turned my back on the Lord, went back to my old ways and by the time I was 28 I was looking for an easy way to end my life and run away from it all because I had totally screwed everything up.
Then, in a state of desperation, I cried out to Jesus again. This time it was different because I told this “Jesus thing” I didn’t know who and what he was but I would try my best to follow it/Him. I immersed myself into 12 Step Meetings and often thought Jesus resided in those meetings because I felt an unconditional love that the Bible talks about Jesus having. I can remember reading the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous several times and everytime I got to page 85 I would read it multiple times because two sentences continued to jump out at me; “We are not cured of alcoholism. What we really have is a daily reprieve contingent on the maintenance of our spiritual condition.”
As I fast-forward through my years of exploring this “Jesus thing” and turning it from an exploration into a reality, I have found that I now have a daily “reprieve” contingent on the maintenance of my relationship with Jesus. Jesus died for my sins, which means I have freedom to live a new life and let the past be the past. But after he left the world he returned in the form of the Holy Spirit and His Spirit lives in all of us who choose to follow his ways. He is the living water and my daily reprieve from drugs and alcohol are contingent on me staying connected to the water so my roots continue to grow and my fruit gets better and better. I no longer need to go to 12 Step Meetings or Church (although both are very important) to feel the presence of Jesus. He lives in me as my “Pilot” and all I have to do is turn on my “Pilot’s light” one day at a time.
I’ve said it many times, but my time with God first thing in the morning is the most important time of the day. It is at that time that I choose to live that day like a tree planted by water and not a bush in the wastelands. I view this time as the beginning of my “reprieve” and it is when I light up the “Pilot light” to my life by getting connected to the Holy Spirit.
The two sentences I shared from the Big Book of AA can easily be modified to fit your specific challenges. In fact I have changed it to something like this for myself; “I am not cured of “self” and the many problems I can create when living life on my “own” conditions. I have a daily reprieve from self, contingent upon my spiritual condition which is at it’s absolute best when I am in touch with the Holy Spirit.”
What do you need a reprieve from? What causes you to spend time parching in the desert? Try seeking the Lord daily and your life in the desert will slowly be replaced by a life of prosperity, no worries and much fruit. I’ve experienced this first hand and I also know full well I am only one day away from screwing it all up so I don’t dare miss a day of turning on my Pilot’s light. I am so thankful God gave me this “Jesus thing” to tap into.
(Below is a marked up version of the pages that talk about our “daily reprieve” from my Big Book. Take a close look at the middle of page 85. The Big Book is a great adjunct to the Bible as I believe it was God-breathed…just my opinion.)
P.E.A.C.E.
