Step Seven

[bluidkiti]

About Step 7

"In this step, we must come to God as his humble servants. We must recognize our need, not only for his provision in the material arenas of life, but also for healing in the spiritual, psychological, and emotional spheres of life. To continue sobriety and recovery, we must recognize the absolute necessity of God's miraculous intervention in our lives. If God does not change us, relapse is inevitable. Thus, when we ask God to remove our shortcomings, we must swallow our pride and humbly recognize that our lives depend on his response to our prayer." [Martin M. Davis, The Gospel and the Twelve Steps RPI Publications Inc., 1993]

"The whole emphasis of Step Seven is on humility. It is really saying to us that we now ought to be willing to try humility in seeking the removal of our other shortcomings just as we did when we admitted that we were powerless over alcohol, and came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. If that degree of humility could enable us to find the grace by which such a deadly obsession could be banished, then there must be hope of the same result respecting any other problem we could possible have." [Anonymous, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, AA World Services, 1952]

"The biggest change the humility of Step Seven brings is in our relationship with God. He is no longer the "helper" who helps us get our agenda on track so we can accomplish what we want. He is the "owner of the business," and we are trainee employees, learning the business and our part in it one day at a time." [J. Keith Miller, A Hunger for Healing, Harper, 1991]

"As we begin to see our defects being removed and our lives becoming less complicated, we must proceed with caution and guard against the temptation to be prideful. Sudden changes in our behavior can and do happen, but we cannot anticipate them or direct them. God initiates change when we are ready, and we cannot claim that we alone removed our character defects. When we learn to ask humbly for God's help in our lives, change becomes God's responsibility, and we cannot accept the credit." [Anonymous, The Twelve Steps for Christians, RPI Publications Inc., 1988]
Step 7: Related Biblical Themes

* Humbly. Humility is the spiritual core of Step Seven. Early in recovery, humility is, to put it simply, humiliating. At least that is how it feels. Our grandiosity and overinflated egos feel crushed by the fact that we do not seem to be in charge of our lives. Admitting our powerlessness feels like the most shaming and humiliating thing that could ever happen to us. It is only later in recovery that we gradually acquire a dramatically different understanding of humility. Grandiosity, the opposite of humility, is thinking or acting as if we are more capable, more powerful, more anything than we actually are. And grandiosity is exhausting. It is a kind of pretending, usually a pretending to be God, that takes enormous amounts of emotional, physical and spiritual energy. As we see humility gradually replace our grandiosity, we find, to our complete surprise, that humility makes life a lot easier. We gradually find that humility is less exhausting than grandiosity - that it is easier, more rewarding, more productive and less painful that pretending we are more or better than we actually are. It is this liberating effect of humility that we start to learn in Step Seven. It may seem like humility is the last thing you want but the benefits are enormous. Jesus put this fundamental biblical principle this way:

"Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted." [Matthew 23:12]

It is probably important to emphasize that the humility to which Step Seven invites us is not anything like the self-loathing which many of us learned as children. God does not call us to think of ourselves as worthless, miserable, unlovable worms. Nor is our goal simply to 'think less of ourselves.' Our goal is to think more accurately about ourselves and, ultimately, our goal is to learn to think and feel about ourselves in ways that are consistent with how God thinks and feels about us. Humility is one step forward on the journey to a more accurate and more biblical self-image.

* Asked Him The attitude most suited to working Step Seven is expressed well by the prophet Isaiah:

"We are the clay, you are the potter." [Isaiah 64:8]

The clay may have some potential, it may even in some sense be willing to become a pot, but the bottom line is simple: no potter, no pot. This is, of course, a major biblical theme. God is the Creator. We are part of God's creation. Step Seven invites us to the kind of humility appropriate for creatures. Creatures can gratefully acknowledge that they are the competent work of a gifted Creator but they deceive themselves completely if they try to be the Creator themselves. We do not have the Creator's power or wisdom. The Big Book of AA contains a prayer for Step Seven that makes just this point:

Seventh Step Prayer
My Creator, I am now willing that you should have all of me, good and bad. I pray that you now remove from me every single defect of character which stands in the way of my usefulness to you and my fellows. Grant me the strength, as I go out from here, to do your bidding, Amen [Anonymous, Big Book, AA World Services, 1939]

* To remove our shortcomings. The use of the word 'shortcomings' here is very close to the meaning of the Greek word harmatia which is often translated into English as 'sin.' It means "to miss the mark" in the sense that an archer might miss a target. It is important to remember that the biblical understanding of sin includes far more than the popular notion of 'bad things we have done.' When God seeks to cleanse us from 'sin' it includes far more than just forgiveness for bad actions. God's plans for us include removal of our shortcomings as well. It might be useful at this point to look back over the various ways in which the Twelve Steps describe our problem: unmanageability, insanity, moral failure, wrongs, defects of character, shortcomings. Each expression emphasizes a different aspect of the dilemma which addictions create in our lives. And each also suggests a different dimension of the humility to which Step Seven invites us. And, thankfully, each expression also suggests a different dimension of the grace which God is so eager to provide to those who humbly ask.
http://www.christianrecovery.com/tfr/dox/stepseven.htm

[bluidkiti]

Step 7 - We humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.

James 4:10 (KJV) Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

James 4:10 (NLT) When you bow down before the Lord and admit your dependence on him, he will lift you up and give you honor.

Just what does it mean to be humble? Humility is defined as "marked by meekness or modesty in behavior, attitude, or spirit; not arrogant or prideful. Showing deferential or submissive respect." Being humble is the opposite of being self-centered. It's time for us to stop playing God and let God do His work in our lives. It is time to humbly submit our entire beings to Him.

The key to Step 7 is having the humility and faith to turn ALL of ourselves over to God, to ask Him to remove ALL of our shortcomings. I tend to want to say to God, "Okay you take care of these big sins and shortcomings, and I will take the little ones." Or something like, "Okay God, thanks for getting me out of that jam; now I will take it from here." Some of us say, "God can have me on Sunday morning, but come Monday, all bets are off!" Maybe you have decided to be a dedicated husband, but your actions at work are off-limits to God. The question we need to ask of ourselves: Is God the Lord of our entire life or just part?

Jeremiah 18:6b (NLT) As the clay is in the potter's hand, so are you in my hand.

In Step 6, we talked about having real faith. Do we have the faith to trust God entirely? Step 7 is the practical application of that faith. Sure, we might buy what the Lord Jesus Christ offers us through his sacrifice, the forgiveness of sin and everlasting life -- but are we willing to make practical, concrete applications of that faith in regard to individual aspects of our sinful nature? Step 7 is a leap of faith and an acknowledgment that we want and welcome God's design for who and what He wants us to be. We entrust ALL of ourselves into God care, so that He can mold, shape and influence us - so that we may better do His will and work. He is the potter; we are the clay. He is Lord of all.

In order for God to remove defects from our lives, we have to give our lives to Him AND turn away from the shortcoming. Repentance is simply "turning away." It is going in one direction and then taking a 180-degree turn in the other direction. Having the faith and the humility to submit our lives to God is not enough. God will do His part, but we still need to do our part. If we truly want change, we have to make changes in our lives. We can't ask God to keep us from being lustful, but then keep hanging out at the "gentleman's club." God can guide us and direct us, but He loves us so much that he still allows us to have the free will to do as we please.

Okay, I hear some of you out there, "but David I can't go to God with this. You don't know how bad I have been!" As we say here in the South, "You ain't telling me nothing I don't know." God knows everything about you. But just as a loving parent wants his child to ask for help and forgiveness in times of need, so does God. God is not too busy, not too big, not too powerful and certainly not too burdened to help you. Just ask.

The writer of Hebrews sums up Step 7 in this way:

Hebrews 4:14-16 (NLT) That is why we have a great High Priest who has gone to heaven, Jesus the Son of God. Let us cling to him and never stop trusting him. This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same temptations we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it.

Step 7 is simply transferring the control of our lives over to God. It is putting ourselves in God's hand as unformed clay, asking Him to shape us and mold us into the person that He intended for us to become. It is letting God decide which defects are standing in our way of being not only who He wants us to be, but also what keeps us from being close to Him and those around us. Ready to stop trying to play God? Ready to stop banging your head against the wall while trying to fix yourself? Join me in a prayer that I have adapted from AA's "Big Book." This prayer is our first move toward the freedom of turning our lives completely over to God.

All-powerful God, I am now willing for you to have ALL of me, both good and bad. I pray that you now remove from me every single defect of character that stands in the way of my usefulness to you and those around me. Give me your strength to turn away from the faults that I have and turn toward You. You are the potter and I am the clay. Hold me, mold me and recreate me into what You want, In your Son's name I pray, Amen.
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/wolfpakron/12Steps-7.html

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7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings and to forgive us – believing He would remove them - and receiving His forgiveness.
He who conceals his sin does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy. (Prov 28;13) Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my inequity. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the Lord" – and you forgave the guilt of my sin. (Psl 32:5) Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

Study: Psl 41:4; Psl 51:1-13; Prov 1:7, 15:33,22:4; Math 18:1-4; Luke 18: 10-14; 1 Pet 5:6-7; Math 3:1,2; Prov 20:9,28:13; Psl 32:5; 1 John 1:9.
http://www.alcoholicsforchrist.com/sa.htm