Tomorrow night I will be teaching the lesson ADMIT to our Celebrate Recovery group. The previous lesson was CONFESS. It has always puzzled me why these two lessons need to be taught side by side when the two words seemingly have the same meaning. This morning I’ve been looking deeply into the two lessons to see just what the authors had in mind. The confess lesson is all about prepping to do one’s inventory. In order to do a thorough job in preparing for it, one must be honest and complete in their willingness to tell all. It then goes into the benefits of doing this. Much of the admit lesson goes into the benefits of sharing this inventory, but it also goes into helping the one admitting choose the person one will admit to–their sponsor.

Over the years of Celebrate Recovery I’ve given my inventory several times with the first time doing it only out of obedience. I had to do it so I could “be a leader” in the ministry. I was still in great bondage to my past which my sponsor at that time helped me see. Only after my 2nd time of doing it did I begin the journey of my 3.5 years of counseling/therapy. It was then that the components of this lesson began to come true–the promises of scripture. The idea that “when Christ sets us free, we are free indeed” hadn’t meant at all what i wanted it to mean. I wanted my freedom to look like NO MEMORY of my past. Instead, today, my freedom looks like using my story to help others find their freedom from the bondage of their own past. Freedom, when we finally turn everything over to God, now looks looks like our past in God’s hands being used as another one of His tools.

Not only do I no longer hide my past, I now rejoice that God had me confess, and then admit and then–FIND HIS FREEDOM just as His Word promises.