Yesterday I mentioned a man I sponsor who had slipped. His response to the devotional was, “I love you.” When we get lost in temptation and giving in to it, the isolation Satan wants us to live in returns. One of the tools we learn in Celebrate Recovery is to reach out at this point. This is what James 5:16 is telling us when it says, “Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed….” When one does this he expects condemnation for he feels this condemnation strongly within. However, God’s Grace is much stronger than this condemning force if we will only take the step of obedience and reach out.

Another one of our men sent me his testimony earlier this week. He finished the Step Study we completed last winter and has his rough draft written. I’m in the process of reading it for guidance before he shares it with our group. I’ve gotten to know him quite well and his story breaks my heart as so many do. Yet, God does what He always will do if we give Him the chance–He takes our mess and makes it His Message. Sin looks so good from the outside we think, but when one gets into it, the consequences try to kill the goodness God wants us to possess. Once again, reaching out is the first right step. This young man has done this now for almost two years and he is ready to tell his story for the sake of giving others hope in their own journey. How good our God is!