Slaying Giants

This morning I began spending my daily quiet time with God with bible reading and prayer. I ended with looking back like a warrior standing on the highest rocks with his staff in hand; he gazes over the giants that he has slaughtered in his lifetime. Each giant had a name: fear of man, resentment, doubt, unbelief, victim, competition, lack of confidence, distrust in man, fear of success, criticism, shyness, and my list keeps going.
"Christ has set us free to live a free life. So take your stand! Never again let anyone put a harness of slavery on you." Galatians 5:1 (MSG)
Someone reading this might say it is impossible to overcome these things or it won't work for them. I know for myself I have said that "I'm okay nothing is wrong with me." "I am just fine the way I am."
One day came that I wasn't okay. I didn't like the life I was living, I didn't enjoy hearing the words coming out of my mouth or the thoughts I heard in my head. I had to do something about it. Have you been here before?
The day I cried out into the air "I can't take it anymore," was the same day my life changed. I noticed people coming into my life that taught me new ways to think, and act.  I recognized that I hung around people that would not help me if my life depended on them. I decided there was room for change and I had to make that change; it began with me.
This morning I answered a question in one of my recovery books. It went like this:
I think we all agree that recovery is a joy, but it also requires hard work. what do you do to celebrate your recovery~even the small victories?
I had to chuckle a little because there was a time in my life that celebrating anything meant a huge party with all the nastiness of life in it. Now my answer is different from back then.  Now I praise God. I have turned on music and danced, wrote about it to others, or rewarded myself with going to a special place or purchasing a special thing.
I didn't get here alone by no means. I give credit to the Lord for starting with me, as far back as I can remember, in 1988. It was a slow process, but as the pages turn in my book of life, I can see the ups and downs. I can see the good people that picked us up to go to church, the family that invited us to dinner, or the church family that took us in and loved on us. I was too selfish to give any love back. I took what I could get from them.
The Lord knew my heart and He never left me alone.
It wasn't until 2005 when I truly wanted more. It was then that I began a recovery group of a different kind. I went to church, but didn't participate too much. Then Pastor Terry spoke and it was like he was talking to me. I heart and soul broke and through my tears, my heart began to shift. My life truly changed. 
I didn't want to drink anymore. I still did what I didn't want to do. The giants were still fighting against me and I was losing the battle once more. However, Pastor Chad and his wife Dawn never gave up on me. They taught me about what God did and said about me. They showed me that God is love. My life changed even more.
God began to show me that the life I was living wasn't good for me or those around me. I began truly working the steps in celebrate recovery which was similar to Al anon or AA.
I didn't know I was slaying giants in my life, but I was. I didn't know I was being watched by others, but I was. I didn't know what plan God had for me, but He did.
Next, I learned to have an "attitude of gratitude." I began writing a list of things I was grateful for. I remember that having a roof that was caving in on my head was something to be grateful for. It's the small stuff and baby steps that count.
I share this with you because if you are looking to make a change in your life, know it can happen. Know that there are people in your path that encourage you for a reason and God does have a plan to prosper you and give you a hope and future. It is up to you to do the hard work in making it happen.
I don't know what your belief is but you cannot do it alone! Yes, I was the warrior standing on the cleft but it was the army behind me that helped me the most and God above that mapped my path out. The same can happen for you. Surrender today to make a change and then be like a begal puppy and go search for your bone which is your freedom in Christ.
~Be Encouraged!

PS. There are many churches on the corner of your city, visit them and find one that God is speaking to you. Find a recovery group that fits your schedule and lifestyle. If you have hurts that is from life alone, go to a celebrate recovery group. If you are dealing with a death in your family, go to grief share or the hospital and find someone to talk to. There is a recovery group for you no matter what the giant you are facing is.
Contact me and I will help you too.