Fulfilling the Heavenly Vision: We Do Recover

Ephesians 2:1-10

It is comforting how the Word of God extends to include recovering persons.

Some of us needed decades to learn how to obey God’s Word.  As explained in Ephesians 2:1-3, we were under the influence of a negative force.  Another way to say it is we decided to live life contrary to God’s Way and paid a huge price.

However, God’s mercy and redeeming nature granted us time and provided the resources necessary to meet “today.”  You know, this day, where you have an opportunity to live out the vision God has for your life.

How? 

The spiritual process looks something like this:  

Rejuvenated:  Before we even knew it, “God made us alive in Christ, even when we were dead.”  (Ephesians 2:5 NIV) 

God may have introduced you to Christ long before you began to live the life of recovery.  Or, maybe you can remember the moment when you had a spiritual awakening that brought your dead soul to life.  No matter how, when or how many times it happened, you have been rejuvenated – made young and alive again.

Restored – Then, through working the steps, prayer, meditation and consistently showing up at our places of healing, we experience restoration – being placed back in right relationship with God and Christ in the heavenly realm.  Why?  So God can show us off.  God wants the world to know that he can and will restore us.  And, His restoration power works through the kindness he has shown us through Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 2:6-7 NIV reads, “And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 

Recovered – We have been put back into the position where we can live out the heavenly vision God prepared in advance for us to do.  “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 2:10 NIV)

This is the spiritual awakening for me.  I remember looking up the word “recover” when I first entered this process in the 90’s.  My question before God was this: “How is it possible recovering people can return to a state of health, mind and strength if we never had it?”

Considering the sin and dysfunction some children must endure, how is it possible we were ever in a healthy, strong state?  Many of our collective cultural histories include traumas and oppression that hindered the human soul.

But this text spoke to me.  It is like God is telling us we were, and still are, the best of God’s creation and we are returning to a former state, even if it only existed spiritually or at birth.

Now, we have an opportunity, for some a duty, to live out the plan – heavenly vision – God prepared in advance for us to do.

We do recover.  We do return to a healthy state of mind, body and spirit and have an opportunity to work out our soul’s salvation and draw others to Christ through our own unique creative gifts.

Go on – Recover.

Minister Michelle