Recovery to Discovery

Recently through a study in which I am engaged, I heard this phrase - recovery to discovery.  It ignited in my spirit in a different way than it was being taught.  I heard instead what God has been and is still doing in me.  Then yesterday I was blessed to sit in on an all day teaching on coaching and heard a lot about "discovery".  I was certain then that the Lord was speaking to my spirit about His process in me.  Usually when something becomes so crystal clear to me it is also a message for someone around me.  Today we are going to explore just what recovery to discovery can mean for us.

Recovery is a word that we associate with previous injury or damage.  Cities recover from devastating floods.  Countries recover from economic depressions.  People recover from illness or accidents.  Most often we consider recovery in a concrete not abstract way.  However the damage that has been done to our hearts is every bit as concrete as physical damage and in fact can be more influential in our lives than the physical.  As I have listened to victims of abuse, I have learned that the emotional, mental and verbal abuse has a more lasting impact than physical assault.  It's damage is insidious and the destruction that is caused inside is a cancer, slowly destroying who we are.  When we step out of that situation and begin to heal, recovery begins.  Recovery though as I am learning is only the first step.

Recovery is a process.  Many times it is two steps forward and one step backward.  There is a reason that an alcoholic says s/he is a recovering alcoholic; it is one day at a time.  The reasons that many of us were engaged in relationships that damaged us are ingrained in us.  The lack of self esteem, the inability to visualize ourselves as worthy of love and acceptance are only two characteristics that perpetuate the negative in our lives.  Personally I do not wish to focus on why those things are present inside of me.  I would rather focus on how to leave them behind.  Through God's love and His perception of who I am, who He created me to be, I can fully enter into recovery and not look back.  Easier said than done though....

Recovery is only part of that process.  I can recognize who I thought I was and move forward into being who God knows I am, but how do I figure out who that is?  Through discovery.  I have spent far too many years floating with the winds and waves of life.  I am beginning to see that perhaps I have become too passive in just trusting God to direct my life.  I have always embraced Proverbs 3:5-6 as my life verse - for almost 21 years now.   Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will direct your paths.  Daily my prayer is "Lord, your will be done in my life.  Tell me what to do and I will do it."  Lately however, I honestly feel as if I am just floating with no direction.  I know that is not Him.  I have heard His voice so distinctly so many times in my life with specific directions about where I was at that moment and what to do next.  Now however, He seems strangely quiet - or is He?

Could it be that He is speaking to me, but it is with a new voice and a new direction?  Could it be that I am supposed to have matured to a new level of intimacy and understanding with Him but I am listening with my old ears and "younger" spirit?  As our children mature, we speak to them differently.  We give them more advanced instructions assuming that they now have more depth to their thinking.  We assume that certain things they will automatically apply therefore we can give them the nuances to the situation instead of the basics.  All of life is like that.  Consider military training.  First there is boot camp which everyone must experience.  Then there is more specialized training as individual skill sets and abilities are identified.  For a small group of individuals there is highly specialized training to prepare them for an elite corps of troops with very specific assignments.  So it is with the body of Christ.

We all begin with our "milk" diet and then progress to more substantial nourishment.  As we grow in the body of Christ, our gifts are identified and we should be engaged in honing this anointing through study, prayer and practice. I know that over the past decade especially I have been actively engaged in the study and prayer, but how aggressively am I putting into practice what Holy Spirit is imparting to me?  How deeply am I truly engaged in "discovering" what is inside this treasure mine?  We have to take our children by the hand when they are young and guide them where they need to go.  But the time comes when we release them to go out on their own to find their way in life.  Why would the same principle not apply to our heavenly Father who created us with a distinct purpose in mind?

Recovery to discovery...  He has taken my hand to lead me out of the disaster that I was and now is empowering me to discover what the rest of this journey is.  If He has to continue holding my hand to lead me, then how will I ever grow up and learn to discern the nuances that maturity allows me to experience?   An inexperienced hiker must follow the worn path because to do otherwise would create confusion and disorientation. The experienced tracker however can make her/his way through the forest and discover incredible sights and wonders that most folks miss.  That is what I want my life to be like walking in His will.  I want to discover the treasures that He has tucked away for me to explore and enjoy.  Will you join me as we advance into the unknown listening for His quiet voice of direction?