Admitting The Root Cause of My Problems

We are working our way through the twelve steps and asking ourselves how each step can inform our life with God today. Today we look at Step 5 – We admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.

The exact nature of our wrongs is rooted in the lie that our problems are caused by what is around us rather than what is within us.  It’s time that we admitted that to God, to ourselves, and to another human being.

Doing things our own way actually creates greater problems for us and for those around us.  It’s time to admit that we cannot do life on our own and need to seek God’s help, which He is ready and willing to provide for us. 

Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.  I’ve promised it once, and I’ll promise it again: I will obey your righteous regulations.  I have suffered much, O Lord; restore my life again as you promised. Psalm 119:105-107

It’s time to agree with God about the exact nature of our wrongs. It’s time to admit that wrong is wrong and that we are guilty of wrong thinking and harmful behaving.  When we finally face the reality of our sins, it is helpful to recall God’s kind and merciful nature.  No sin is too great to be forgiven because Jesus paid the high cost of sin with his death on the cross. 

Allowing ourselves to grieve over the painful events we have participated in, is part of the healing process.  It means we see the error of our ways and have a desire to change. God will encourage and help us heal from the source that set us on the downward spiral.

If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. 1 John 1:8-9 

Heavenly Father, we admit that we cannot do life on our own and that we need Your help.  We repent and turn away from our independent, self-centered ways of thinking and living and choose to trust You and follow Your instructions in all our affairs. Please help us recognize and walk the next steps on that path to a meaningful, purposeful life.  Amen

And so our challenge today, as it was on the day we did our first Step 5, is to choose authenticity – to choose to bring anything that’s wrong into the light of the presence our all loving, all forgiving God. 

We take a moment to grieve both over the harm we’ve caused and the harm caused us.  We tell God and another person so that we can begin the healing process. What will you and I do with the wrongs in our lives today?