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Celebrate Recovery

Choosing Trust

By Cheryl Luke, National Director Cultural Communities

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”

Proverbs 3:5-6 (ESV)

An interesting exercise in trust is falling backwards into the arms of another person. Maybe you’ve played this game as a child: One person is blindfolded, spun around several times, then positioned in front of someone else. When ready, the blindfolded falls back into the waiting arms of the person standing right behind them. It’s a game of anticipation, hope and trust. Think about the moment just before the fall back. The desire to participate is present, along with the no small degree of trepidation. It’s unnerving! Questions abound. “Can they catch me?” “Will they catch me?” “Do I really want to go through with this?” “I. Can. Do. This!” Fists clenched. Arms crossed tightly over chest. Three. Two. One. Fall back.

Once the decision to fall back is acted upon, self-reliance shifts to total dependence. Whole-hearted confidence and trust are surrendered. This is what God asks of us, as his followers. This is where He wants us to live. This is no game. In Proverbs, we are instructed to genuinely place our reliance on the Lord, giving him control in and over our lives.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.”

Proverbs 3:5 (ESV)

Trust is defined as having confidence in or the reliance on the integrity, strength and ability of a person or thing. Trust is a difficult notion; even after it has been earned. “Consciously choosing to surrender my life and will to Christ’s care and control,” as noted in Celebrate Recovery’s Principle 3, is about trust and it is a process. Especially when one considers the history of some – addiction, dysfunction, disappointment, abuse, etc.

In recovery, and in life, we face the lure of choosing to fall back into our old behaviors or into the arms of our Savior, who is patiently waiting to keep us on track. Nothing compares to the powerful and protective peace that God has freely given each one of us when we choose to trust Him.

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