The Lord is able to make me stand

By: Carole L. Haines 

Now accept the one who is weak in faith, but not for the purpose of passing judgment on his opinions.⁴ Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand. (Romans 14:1&4) 

“I am a grateful Believer in Jesus Christ!” How many of us answer that way when asked who we are? Well, if you have been going to Celebrate Recovery for any length of time, you have heard this answer many times. Before I started in CR, as it is called by most of us, I would answer with my name, my role, such as mother, wife, friend; or perhaps my occupation which was Preschool Teacher and is now a Writer. But the deeper in I get with CR, the more I can see why so many there answer with, “I am a grateful believer in Jesus Christ.”  

The journey inward is a frightening and difficult one, like meandering through a Cavern without knowing its destination. But Jesus is our destination, and our Shepherd and Guide through the cavernous journey of self. I was afraid to take this journey at first because so much of my Christian walk, I was only getting half the story, which was: 

 “The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; Who can understand it? (Jeremiah 17:9) 

Why would I want to embark on a journey with someone who was deceived and desperately sick?  But God revealed to me the other half of the story about 20 years ago, which is: 

¹⁸ Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth. ¹⁹ We will know by this that we are of the truth and will assure our heart before Him ²⁰ in whatever our heart condemns us; for God is greater than our heart and knows all things. (1 John 3:18-20) Two truths emerge from these two passages.

1) God is greater than my heart. I don’t need to be afraid to journey with Him down into it. He already knows what is lurking there and wants to set me free from all that still binds me to old ways.

2) My heart is deceitful and desperately sick, I should not follow my heart. I need to follow God into my heart, only journeying with Him into its depths. Only He is the way, the truth and the life of this journey (John 14:6) That’s what this whole Blog is about, inviting you to go on that journey with me. Perhaps if I am vulnerable about my desperate need for transformation, it may help a few of you not to be afraid to embark on it too. Freedom is its reward. 

I have found that Celebrate Recovery provides a place for broken people to safely take this journey. We are all broken because of sin, not one of us is untouched by it’s piercing talons. God has set me free from so much, but the cavern is still deeper. As long as I have breath and want to experience more and more freedom I will stay on this journey of transformation in Christ. Freedom truly is its reward. I want to help others find what is already ours in Christ. I will share more on this as time goes on, but for now, prayerfully consider embarking on that journey with me, and let’s seek His face together. Find a safe group of Believers to journey with. If you need one, try a Celebrate Recovery Group near you. Be Blessed.