My Testimony

March 27, 2017

“Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”  (2 Corinthians 5:17).

This alcoholic becomes sober; the immoral, pure; this addicted, free; the profane, reverent; the fearful, courageous; and the rude, kind.  These wonderful transformations constitute the most heartwarming evidence of the Bible’s power and inspiration.

The first step to my transformation was to ask my Lord Jesus Christ into my heart as my higher power, my Lord and Savior.  The second step was to seek to follow His will for my life in all my decisions.  The Lord handles everything in my life.  I trust Jesus with the “big” things and the “small” things of my life.  Matthew 19:26 says, Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”  The good news is that with the support that Jesus provides for me and the support of my family and friends, I can get back on track.  I can get “unstuck” and once again start working on a healthy and fruitful recovery program.

It has been said that my choices control my circumstances and my decisions determine my destiny.  In recovery, I’ve learned to make good choices and healthy choices for, perhaps, the first time in my life.  I know if I neglect my quiet times, my service to others, and my support team that I could easily fall back and get stuck in my old dysfunctional decision making patterns.  I would then slowly begin to take back my will and try to run my life on my own power.  When this happens, I would realize that I’m not God.  I admit that I’m powerless to control my tendency to do the wrong thing and my life would become unmanageable.

The Bible helps me get “unstuck.”  Romans 7:18 says, “I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature.  For I have this desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.”  When I keep doing things I don’t want to do, and when I fail to do the things I have decided I need to do, I begin to see that I do not, in fact, have the power to change on my own.

Proverbs 29:23 says, “Pride brings a person low, but the lowly in spirit gain honor.”  My false pride can begin to creep back into my life.  It undermines my faith and cuts me off from God and others.  When God’s presence is welcomed, there is no room for pride because He makes us aware of our true self.  Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make our paths straight.”

My life belongs to the Lord; I serve Him only.  I consciously choose to commit all my life and will to Christ’s care and comfort.  He is my Lord and Savior.  In trusting Jesus, all things are possible.

By Larry Salkeld, Brother in the Lord Jesus Christ