Recovery With a Purpose

by Dave Boyle

This is a question that many people have asked themselves over the last couple of years since the book, "The Purpose Driven Life" by Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church in Orange County, CA; has come out. In fact so many people have been asking themselves that question, that the book has been either number one or two on the New York Times best seller list for the past 60+ weeks.

And it’s a question that we, as guys who have struggled with sexual integrity issues, should be asking ourselves on a regular basis. The Every Man’s Battle Workshop has made it very clear to us: we need structure in our lives if we are going to be successful in our recovery. And at the very core of having a structure in place, is having a purpose to live for. In other words, it’s a lot easier to implement an action plan in our lives when we know why we’re doing it.

In "The Purpose Driven Life," pastor Rick sets out the five purposes that he believes are the most fundamental and most important in any believers life. The first one is that we were made to worship God. The very first line of the book is, “It’s not about you.” The sooner that we realize that our lives are about worshipping, obeying and pleasing God and not about pleasing ourselves, the sooner our recovery can begin. Remember one of the big roadblocks to recovery? It’s entitlement. “I deserve to get on the internet with how stressful my life has been.” “I’m entitled to have that affair with the way my wife’s been treating me.” But God says it isn’t about me, it’s about Him, and working through that sense of entitlement to get to a place where I’m obedient to God whether I feel like it or not is a huge recovery step. The second purpose that Rick outlines in his book is that we were made to have fellowship with other believers. There is no such thing as a “lone ranger” Christian. Our recovery is so tied in to having others around us that it is one of the most important things you’ll ever do in your journey to sobriety. If you are not part of a support group, please start exploring that right away. You cannot do this on your own. The third purpose in the book is that we were made to be like Christ. That kind of maturity takes work, which is why it is the very first thing of your action plan that we talk about at EMB. Spend at least 15 minutes in the Word and in prayer every day. No one can become mature in Christ with out spending time in His Word and in prayer.

Rick’s fourth purpose that he talks about in the book is that we were made to serve God. And most of serving God is serving His children. If you’ve been in recovery awhile now and have some sobriety time behind you, this is a good time to start practicing some of the gifts God has given you to help others. You may want to step up in your support group and start providing some leadership, or start actively looking for another guy to be a sponsor or accountability partner with. God doesn’t want you on the sidelines, and He doesn’t want you just showing up but not contributing from the gifts he has given you. Pray for a servant’s heart, and for God to open the door for you in ministry. And finally, we were made for a mission. And that mission is to spread the good news of Jesus Christ, whether that be actively witnessing to our friends, family, co-workers or neighbors, or sharing with other guys in recovery what God has done for you. Read over what the 12th step says sometime. The bottom line is you can’t keep it unless you give it away.

These are five of God’s purposes for your life. Go back over them and see which one is most lacking in your life, and in your recovery, and pray this week that God will help you to implement it. And then go for it, and see what exciting things God brings into your life!

source: http://www.everymansbattle.com/articles.asp?id=493