40-day Callenge | Go Forward with Faith and Purpose

 

Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?
~ Matthew 16:24-26, ESV ~

For members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints this life has significant meaning and purpose. As we engage in our journey through the Come Follow Me – Old Testament Study there is a call upon each of us to seek after Christ, to be all the more converted, and to be equipped and grow spiritually. This life is much more significant when we realize that each one of us is on our own journey. A journey toward a defined destination because of the infinite atonement of Jesus Christ. A journey that sees fulfilment of our Heavenly Father’s plan of happiness.

As you study through the Old Testament this year – be sure to follow the admonish of our Savior. Take up thy cross and deny thyself so that we may find our own path, our own meaning, and our own purpose. This will help us discover the answer to life’s challenges we shall face in the coming year. It also helps us understand the reason for our own existence and what purpose our Heavenly Father has called us to. With this perspective one may find a reduction in anxiety, worry, stress, and bring thoughtful and meaningful decision making. One may also experience an increase in satisfaction in knowing who they are and where they are headed as we strive to endure and overcome as Christ has endured and overcame (Revelation 3:21).

READ MORE HERE: 40-DAY CHALLENGE

The Year of Cultivation of a New Life

 

The first week of 2018 is almost closing out. How far along in your new year's resolution changes have you fully committed too? It is not too late to make necessary steps toward change. It begins with making an honest commitment to begin moving towards intention, purpose, meaning, and conscious living. Make 2018 all about cultivating a new life.

This single moment of commitment stems from the deep sense of impulse of one's desire to grow and change. This authentic impulse yearns for each of us to expand, embrace our larger potential and means to influence others. However, many of us make good intentions of wanting to change, yet we never follow through on those intentions. All paths that lead to hell are paved with good intentions.

Hell, in this context, is misery, pain, inadequacy, and suffrage. We desire to change, however, lack the commitment and motivation to follow through with seeing ourselves changing, growing, and enlarging into better people. Our desire for change requires a serious commitment and motivation for change to happen. This is one key principle I share with my patients. This does not make the journey, or the process, toward change an easy path to follow.

Commitment leads to sacrifice based on our willingness

The beginning path of conscious living, where we have meaning and purpose, begins with the understanding of our own willingness to commit ourselves toward necessary change. This requires necessary sacrifices needed to begin transforming our lives. For the person whose new year's resolution is to begin exercising requires the willingness to commit to exercising. Requires the willingness to change one's diet and eating habits, and making the sacrifices of time, money, and personal change of habits. For the person whose new year's resolution is to quit smoking, the willingness and commitment toward tobacco cessation.

Our level of commitment is our level of willingness. Lower our level of commitment, the lower our level of willingness to make change happen. The higher our level of commitment, the higher our willingness to make change happen becomes. And our commitment comes with sacrifice. That, I believe, is what frightens people from making an effort toward change. Our very desire is our very fear.

Without motivation, our commitment and willingness are futile

The final truth is this: it is not about our intentions. It is not even about our commitment, willingness, and our needed sacrifices. It is about what motivates us to not only start our journey, to keep going through those difficult times while we are engaged in change.

A farmer does not look at his land and say, "this is too difficult." Instead, he sees the various possibilities the land has in producing a bountiful crop. He is committed to cultivating the land, making the necessary sacrifices, and is willing to spend each day nurturing and cultivating. His motivation? It's not the actual bounty of the harvest he may gain. His motivation is the process of each day working, tilling, planting, nurturing, and being focused on what he has accomplished for that day alone.

 

Faith Overcomes

 

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There is no obstacle too great, no challenge too difficult, if we have faith

~ Gordon B. Hinckley ~

There are many presenting challenges the moment an individual begins traversing their journey through recovery. One faces many different obstacles. Challenges may seem difficult to face. Yet, it takes great courage and bold faith to overcome our obstacles and challenges. As we continue to remind ourselves three important truths:

• Because of our substance use, we are powerless, and our lives are unmanageable
• Since we are powerless and our lives are unmanageable, it takes something greater and more powerful to help us find restoration and peace in our lives
• We decide to turn our lives and our personal will (volition) over to our higher power

Faith is essentially that which we hope for and yet is unseen. We have faith that our lives will be restored, and we will eventually experience peace, joy, and have meaning and purpose. Our faith grows as we continue to learn to trust in our own Higher Power.

In Barnes Notes on the Bible, we find the following:

The mustard-seed was the smallest of all seeds. It has been supposed by some, therefore, that he meant to say, If you have the smallest or feeblest faith that is genuine, you can do all things. The mustard-seed produced the largest of all herbs. It has been supposed by others, therefore, to mean, If you have increasing, expanding, enlarged faith, growing and strengthening from small beginnings, you can perform the most difficult undertaking. There is a principle of vitality in the grain of seed stretching forward to great results, which illustrates the nature of faith. Your faith should be like that. This is probably the true meaning.

Ye shall say unto this mountain ... - Probably he pointed to a mountain near, to assure them that if they had such faith they might accomplish the most difficult undertakings - things that at first would appear impossible.

Recovery from substance use requires the smallest amount of faith. This small faith becomes powerful in the life of the individual. It is the essential truth of all religious and spiritual belief systems. It is essential to recovery as well.  Our faith begets hope, and our hope begets peace; whereby we begin to experience healing in our lives. That is what recovery is about - healing and restoring ourselves.

The greatest enemy to one's sobriety and recovery is this: Fear of our inadequacies to overcome obstacles and challenges we may face. Our greatest ally is faith in our higher power where we draw confidence and strength to face our obstacles and challenges.

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Today's Thoughtful Meditation

I will begin exercising the smallest amount of faith when facing the challenges and obstacles that may hinder me from moving forward in my own recovery.

 

A Sense of Peace in Recovery

 

Photo by Christopher Sardegna on Unsplash

Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another ~ Romans 14:19, KJV

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All of us who come to the gate of recovery also come to face the reality of how destructive our lifestyle, while under the enslavement of our substance use, became. We deal with the hardship and loss of relationships, our sense of health and well-being compromised. More importantly, we come to face our own sense of insanity - and the need to restore our sense of peace.

When we focus on moving toward a greater sense of peace in recovery; we are concerning ourselves with restoring peace amidst our present tragedy and loss. The only truth we come to understand is this:

We came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. 

Here, one wrestles with the presupposition that in order to restore one's sense of sanity means we have lost our sense of sanity. We also come to admit and understand that there is a greater power that moves us toward a restoration of what we have lost. As we focus on pushing through our own journey of recovery, we are also working to find serenity in our lives.

The things we follow after, that make for peace for us, while taking our journey through recovery are those things that transform us inwardly. In a way, we come to a place where we find serenity as our old life, ways, thoughts, and behaviors are put to death. This happens so that we may rise with newness of life, hope, and peace.

Our sense of serenity and sanity come, only, when we are able to make the ultimate sacrifice - accept the reality of our own insanity and put it to rest once for all. We are only hopeful toward peace as we embrace our new way of life through recovery.

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Today's thoughtful meditation

Today, I will follow after things that bring peace and restoration into my life as I navigate my own journey through recovery.

Stand a Little Taller in Recovery

 Growing up in the LDS faith, one of my favorite hymns were Put your shoulder to the wheel. Not quite a typical hymnal of worship. However, it held specific meaning in a way that helped shape my understanding of life. The hymn was written during the migration of the Mormon Pioneers as the author took thought in how the saints pushed their various wheeled carts along.

In recovery, each individual has work to do. As the third stanza says:

Then don’t stand idly looking on;

The fight with sin is real.

It will be long but must go on;

Put your shoulder to the wheel

Sin is quite an interesting word. There are a variety of Hebraic words translated into the common English language for sin. One word is Chata (Khaw-taw). It means to "miss the mark", or "to go wrong." In recovery, the fight to go wrong is quite real for many who suffer from substance use disorder. The road to recovery is long, and to reach a place of serenity, one must go on with their journey. And this is only accomplished when an individual put's their shoulder to the wheel. The meaning is found in an Aesop fable concerning Hercules and the Wagoner:

A Wagoner was driving a heavy load along a muddy road. He came to a part of the road where the wheels sank half-way into the mire, and the more the horses pulled, the deeper sank the wheels. So, the Wagoner threw down his whip, knelt down and prayed to Hercules the Strong.

“O Hercules, help me in this my hour of distress.”

But Hercules appeared to him, and said: “Tut, man, don’t sprawl there. Get up and put your shoulder to the wheel.”

Hercules definitely had the strength to remove the wagon. However, the moral of this fable tells us that we sometimes benefit when we exert our own efforts and strength in order to accomplish what needs to be accomplished. Some of the time, we have our own strength to rely upon to move forward.

Recovery takes formidable and great effort on our part when we put our shoulder to the wheel

The idea behind putting one's shoulder to the wheel stems from the understanding that it takes a great and formidable effort on our part. Recovery is no different. By putting forth great effort, we are putting our own shoulder to the wheel to push along our journey out of the mire of substance use.

The time is now for individuals to stand a little taller, to lift their eyes from the past, prevent from focusing on what has not yet been determined, and commit to a season to squarely place their shoulder to the wheel of their life and push with mighty force toward sobriety.

The time is now to do what is right in recovery

As the new year begins, let this be the season where you make a radical commitment to recovery. A time to stand a little taller in recovery, focusing on what is happening now, opposed to what has or has not yet happened. This is a season for you to do what is right regardless of the consequences that may follow. There is nothing to fear when we stand a little taller, submit our lives and will over to our higher power (as one may understand). When we do, we may remember this:

Then work and watch and fight and pray

With all your might and zeal.

Push ev’ry worthy work along;

Put your shoulder to the wheel.

(Chorus)

Put your shoulder to the wheel; push along,

Do your duty with a heart full of song,

We all have work; let no one shirk.

Put your shoulder to the wheel.

 

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Today's thoughtful meditation:

I know recovery takes work, courage, commitment, and requires strength and effort. I'm resolved to put my shoulder to the wheel of my recovery and stand a little taller to move forward.