God is key to our RECOVERY. Recovery is more than just stopping BAD BEHAVIOR.
Think about it. Adam was a Gardener.
Even though the Bible does not specify which tree in the Garden of Eden he was forbidden to eat from, but let’s say for analogy sake that it was an apple tree.
Don’t you think that every time he looked at an apple tree that it reminded him of his failure — the sin — and the first time he took a bite of that apple? He’d remember the SHAME he felt and how he HID from God in the garden because he was EMBARRASSED about what he had done. He would remember how lonely he felt after losing the intimacy he once shared with his maker. He would be reminded of the consequences of his sin and how hard life was now.
Suppose Adam thought to himself, I am going to work really hard and chop down every apple from this tree. Then I won’t have to face what I am feeling inside. So he does just that. There are no more apples on the tree. He feels good about himself and the progress he’s made. For a time, everything seems to return to normal. But then one day, the following year, about the same time . . . the apples return. Lots and lots of apples.
You’d think God would have taken the apple tree down, but he didn’t. That apple represents sin. God didn’t take sin — or temptation — away, just like he didn’t take the apple tree away.
If you keep thinking about something long enough, it becomes your focus. The more Adam looked at the apple, the more appealing it became to him.
But God offers us an alternative. Something better. Something on the inside of us. We can’t see it, but it is very real. It satisfies us and fills up those empty places in our heart. When we are satisfied, we no longer crave the apple. SIN loses it’s appeal.
God didn’t take away the sin, but He offers us something better that will satisfy us. We will no longer be tempted to fulfill our needs in illegitimate ways. How? God gives us Himself. He wants to satisfy our deepest needs. He wants to be in charge of changing our heart — and our behavior.
But it only happens when we take our focus off of our mistakes and failure, and onto the Only One who can truly help us.
