Today’s Daily Bread ~ Joy through Accountability

James 5:16 – Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and wonderful results.

October 26th of this year will be my first sober birthday.  I remember vividly the day God told me I could never drink again.  He told me, very specifically, that there were things we had to do and places we had to go, but that I was of no use to Him while I was drinking.  I didn’t drink all the time, but when I did, I usually did or said something I regretted.  Then I couldn’t face God, and would spend a few days wallowing in shame.  Once I did ask forgiveness I never really felt I received it, because I wasn’t repentant.  I knew I would drink again.  Finally, God showed me what a foothold it gave the enemy in my life, and told me it was time to give it up.  So I did.  And the first thing I did was call my middle sister.  Then I called my mom.  Then my husband.  Then my other sister. Then my friends.

It was essential that I tell the people closest to me for two reasons.  First of all they would pray for me.  Secondly, they would hold me accountable.

In my twenties particularly, I had a lot of mornings where I woke up with a foggy memory at best of the night before.  Later, as friends would fill me, I would listen in a combination of amazement and embarrassment, and tell myself that I simply couldn’t drink like that again.  I was putting my health and my safety (not to mention my dignity) at risk.  If I got carried away around the wrong group of people I could lose my job.  But I never wanted anyone else to think I had a problem, so kept it to myself.  A method that fails every time.

I am not in the Alcoholics Anonymous program, but several of my family members are fabulous AA success stories.  The first thing that happens when you join AA is sponsor assignment.  You have someone to check in with at least once a day.  Someone to call when you desperately want that drink.  Someone that’s been there and will hold your hand and lift you up through the process.  We should approach our faith walk the same way.

I am so blessed to have several close girlfriends who know everything about me – the good, the bad and the ugly.  We know each others’ secrets.  We know each others’ strengths and weaknesses.  When I first stopped drinking, I would often ask them to pray for me if I had a party to go to, or any event that could pose a temptation.  I believe with all my heart that their prayers and God’s grace are the reasons I’ll be having a little birthday party on October 26th – BYOSC (bring your own sparkling cider).

There are going to be times in our lives when we’re strong.  Who can you lift up?  There are going to be times when we feel the walls caving in and the ceiling crashing down.  Who can you lean on?  We were never meant to embark on this journey alone!  The author of Hebrews writes, “Think of ways to encourage each one another to outbursts of love and good deeds. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage and warn each other, especially now that the day of His coming back again is drawing near (10:24-25).”

I have found those verses to be an incredible source of strength.  When I start to feel like I’m drowning in my problems, the Holy Spirit convicts me that that in and of itself is the problem.  I’m spending too much time on me.  It’s time to think of ways to encourage each other to outbursts of love and good deeds.  It’s time to step outside of my selfish little box, where everything is about me and my stuff, and look for ways to ease the burdens of others.

Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for the good friends you’ve placed in our lives, and we ask that You would help us to be better friends to them.  I know there are many who don’t feel like they have anyone to hold them accountable, and I pray that You would bring someone to them.  Help us to shed our pride and confess our sins.  Help us to listen to each other with open minds and hearts, listening with a spirit of love and compassion, and never judgment or condemnation.  We thank You for Your forgiveness and grace God, and ask that You would strengthen us to share the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  It’s in His Name we pray.  Amen.