Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. Isaiah 40:31
Renewal - desperately needed on so many levels. We take vacations from work to be able to recharge ourselves to be able to relax and therefore be refreshed and be productive. Stay at home moms need to take small retreats from their kids to be able to find an inner calm, reenergize and remember their purpose. I could give lots of examples but you get the idea.Jesus even took spiritual renewals. When he needed to get recharged, he retreated from life, isolated himself and prayed to His Father - Our Father. And we are encouraged to do the same.
But not all renewing is meant to be done in isolation. For those with an addiction, there are different types of renewal. There is the time needed when one has to be alone to process through all the decisions and choices that need to be made. But then there is the renewal that needs to be happen in a group setting such as a traditional 12-step meeting or a Celebrate Recovery meeting. This is a time where one gets recharged about the challenge of sobriety but with encouragement from others who are going through the same thing - or the encouragement from sponsors or accountability partners..the people who have gone before and conquered.
I guess that's why I like the idea of weekly meetings (and for some it's daily meetings). Let's face it - our lives are crazy busy! And with different stresses pouring down on us daily it's so easy to slip up. But with going to a place of renewal on a regular basis we get that recharge that we need to face life for another week. And yes, those in recovery do face life one day at a time so daily encouragement is really required to be sober.
If you are in recovery for an addiction, I encourage you to pray and read the Word daily (and don't forget those are Green Light activities in recoveryBox) and then I encourage you to find a local meeting to find encouragement from others who understand the life of addiction.
