Step l No. 3 of the Twelve Steps of Recovery, continued - taken from The Life Recovery Bible p. 1395.
Bible Reading:  
2 Corinthians 4:7-10

This is the third column in a series of Step One of the Twelve Steps taken from the Bible…We admitted that we were powerless over our dependencies—that our life had become unmanageable.

“We may be afraid to admit that we are powerless and that our life is unmanageable. If we admit that we are powerless, wont we be tempted to give up completely in the struggle against our addiction? It doesn’t seem to make sense that we can admit powerlessness and still find the power to go on. This paradox will be dealt with as we go on to Steps Two and Three.

“Life is full of paradoxes. The apostle Paul tells us, “This precious treasure—this light and power that now shine within us—is held in perishable containers, that is, in our weak bodies. So everyone can see that our glorious power is from God and is not our own. We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed and broken.” (2 Corinthians 4:7-8)

“The picture here contrasts a precious treasure and the simple container in which the treasure is stored. The living power poured into our life from above is the treasure. Our human body, with all its flaws and weaknesses, is the perishable container. As human beings, we are imperfect.

“Once we recognize the paradox of powerlessness, we can be quite relieved. We don’t have to always be strong or pretend to be perfect. We can live a real life, with its daily struggles, in a human body beset with weakness and still find the power from above to keep going without being crushed and broken.”  (end of Step One)

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