June 22 - Free Through Surrender

Surrender sounds like giving up. It's actually where freedom begins. Pastor Mike, Corey, and guest Memphis close out their week together on the truth that ties the whole run together. Corey grounds surrender in Big Book page 164 — abandon yourself to God as you understand God — and the relief of finally admitting the problem was never everybody else. It was him. And that's good news, because a problem of his own making is one he can actually do something about. Mike draws the line between acceptance and resignation. Resignation gives up and goes negative. Acceptance relinquishes control while staying engaged — choosing to be a peacemaker instead of a get-my-way maker. He opens up about the breakdown last fall, when fear over family relationships pushed him to the edge, and how God met him there and showed him he was trying to control what was never his to control. The fear isn't gone, but it no longer runs him. Memphis lands the heart of it with the most honest surrender story of the run: whether his partner comes home at night or not, he's learned his role was never to control the outcome. His job is to love well, do what God would have him do, and leave the rest to God. I surrendered the role that was never mine to play. That, he says, is how you become free. Page 103 seals it — we had to stop fighting anybody or anything. When we cease fighting, the freedom comes. Acceptance is not giving up. It is choosing peace over constant struggle. Freedom begins where control ends. Christian recovery | 12-step faith | sobriety devotional | surrender | acceptance | letting go | serenity prayer | addiction recovery | AA and faith | sober living | daily reflection Daily entries at dailyripples.com — [email protected] Daily Ripples connects recovery principles with the life of faith. New episodes every day.